Book Reviews/A Writing Journey
Hanna is a rare book expert whose current job is to analyse and conserve a rare fifteenth century Hebrew manuscript. The book is saved despite the destruction of libraries in Sarajevo. After she discovers clues in the book’s binding, its mysteries send her on a journey of discovery until she locates the real saviours of this ancient manuscript.
There isn’t a novel by this Australian author I haven’t found intriguing, but this one’s my favourite.
Mari quits school after her father’s death to help her demanding mother run the Hotel Iris. Behind the reception desk she witnesses a prostitute scream abuse and storm out of the hotel, then hears the voice of the man from the hotel room and is intrigued. She spots him in the street one day and follows.
There are rumours about this man — that he killed his wife, but Mari can’t quell her attraction. Will she be safe with a man so much older than her? Will the rumours prove true? Or will something darker occur?
Read the Guardian’s review on the book cover — this is absolutely true of this macabre tale that I couldn’t put down.
This is a glimpse into the life of a Muslim family living in Cairo during the early 1900s. While Al-Sayyid’s authoritarian rule over his family makes us aware of the restrictions placed on women, he also offers humour within the dynamics of the family.
This was the first volume of a Cairo trilogy, and to me, Palace Walk was the best of Mahfouz’s books.
Arjie is a young Tamil boy unsure of his identity in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo. When racial riots break out in 1983 with the burning and killing of Tamils and their property, Arjie’s life is in danger.
Although this was Selvadrai’s debut novel, its tale has stayed with me more than any other of his more recent novels. To me it’s still his finest work.
Read and Write 
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