Literary Fiction Political

In a darkened cell, a brutally deposed dictator lies crippled - deprived of his power, his freedom and his eyes. On the edge of utter despair, his only companion is the young boy who brings him his meagre rations, a mere child who fears his own shadow. But to one who has held and lost the highest power, one thing alone is crystal clear: even emperors were mere children once. Ten years later the new ruler's son watches uneasily over his father's empire.

Imagine a faraway country that was once a friend of the West becoming the enemy, its people isolated and savagely repressed by a tyrant known as Great Uncle. As one of the country's most celebrated writers and a war hero, the storyteller has a better life than most – until he is made an offer he can't refuse. He must write a great novel, telling of the suffering of his people under the enemy's cruel economic sanctions and portraying Great Uncle as their saviour.

The year is 2002. Weekly news magazines dominate the political agenda in New York and Washington. A young journalist named Michael M. Hastings is an intern at The Magazine, wet behind the ears, the only one in the office who has actually read his coworkers' books. He will stop at nothing to turn his internship into a full-time position and has figured out just who to impress: Nishant Patel, the international editor, and Sanders Berman, managing editor - both vying for the job of editor-in-chief.

The Sabas family lives in a small Jordanian town that for centuries has been descended upon by all manner of invader, the latest a scourge of disconcerting Evangelical tourists. The border town relies on a blackmarket trade of clothes, trinkets, and appliances - the quality of which depends entirely on who’s fighting - but the conflict in nearby Syria has the place even more on edge than usual. Meanwhile, the Sabas home is ruled by women - Mother Fadhma, Laila, Samira, and now, Muna, a niece visiting from America for the first time - and it is brimming with regrets and desires.

The Committee pits friends against friends and threatens careers and lives in a struggle for the soul of a town, a university, and an ideal. Based on actual historical events and set against the backdrop of political, cultural, and class turmoil, this is a story of love - both licit and hidden - war, friendship, betrayal, compromise, and finally the necessity to stand firm against the encroachments upon freedom by men who believe they are doing God’s and the government’s righteous work.

Mitte der Achtzigerjahre. Berlin und ganz Deutschland teilt eine Mauer. Elias Effert ist Theatermann: Stückeschreiber, Regisseur, Liedermacher. Gerade haben ihm die Kunstwächter in der DDR gesagt, dass sie ihn nicht brauchen. Er kann gehen. Nur einer holt ihn auf dem Bahnsteig in Westberlin mit Blumen ab: Joachim, Chef eines großen Westberliner Theaters. Er will helfen. Aber Effert ist skeptisch und hält sich an Caroline, eine West-Freundin, die er aus Zeiten als erfolgreicher Ost-Künstler kennt. Sie ist bereit, ihn aufzunehmen.

In neun Episoden erzählt Cemile Sahin von neun Menschen, die ihr Exil in einem Hochhaus im Westen der Türkei finden. Sie alle haben Folter, Gewalt und Verschleppung durch Einheiten der türkischen Armee und der Polizei erlebt. Darunter: Eine Mutter, die ihren toten Sohn auf einen Pick-up lädt. Ein Mann, der seine schlafende Tochter draußen ins Gebüsch legt, bevor er sein Haus anzündet. Eine Frau, die angekettet in einer Hundehütte gehalten wird. Während sie von ihrer Flucht berichten, holt sie der systematische Terror des türkischen Militärs wieder ein.

Gebäude lassen sich abtragen und neu aufbauen, Erinnerungen nicht. Jan und seine Eltern sprechen nicht viel über das Heute und erst recht nicht über das Gestern. Erst als Herr Kern auftaucht, gerät das fragile Gleichgewicht der Familie ins Wanken: Welche Beziehung führte Jans Mutter mit dem Vater von Herrn Kern? Und was haben die Kerns mit der Kunst von Georg Baselitz zu tun? Immer weiter arbeitet sich Jan durch das Schweigen mehrerer Generationen, taucht ein in die Geschichte der Baselitz-Brüder, die Geschichte seiner Eltern und begreift, dass die Gegenwart nicht nur aus der eigenen Vergangenheit besteht.

Stoyo Petkanov, the deposed Party leader, is placed on trial for crimes that range from corruption to political murder. Petkanov's guilt - and the righteousness of his opponents - would seem to be self-evident. But, as brilliantly imagined by Barnes, the trial of this cunning and unrepentant dictator illuminates the shadowy frontier between the rusted myths of the Communist past and a capitalist future in which everything is up for grabs.

In South Africa, the controversial topic of botched traditional circumcisions has been very much in the news of late. A Man Who Is Not a Man recounts the personal trauma of a young Xhosa initiate after a rite-of-passage circumcision has gone wrong. With frankness and courage, author Thando Mgqolozana's powerful novel details the pain and lifelong shame that is experienced as a result of not just the physical trauma, but the social ostracism of being labeled "a failed man".

Road Trip Feeling, Romance & US-WahlkampfClarissa ist vor 10 Jahren nach Europa ausgewandert. Weil es mit dem russischen Ivan nicht klappte, flieht sie in ihre amerikanische Heimat, wo sie sich vom Liebeskummer erholen will. In Miami ist von Erholung allerdings keine Spur: Denn Clarissa findet sich mitten im amerikanischen Wahlkampf wieder, in den sie sich mehr und mehr (romantisch) verstrickt. Wunderbar ironisch zeichnet Irene Dische das Portrait einer jungen Emigrantin, die von sich selbst sagt: "Sich verlieben können ist eine Begabung, und ich habe sie."

Samuel has lived alone on an island off the coast of an unnamed African country for more than two decades. He tends to his garden, his lighthouse, and his chickens, content with a solitary life. Routinely, the nameless bodies of refugees wash ashore, but Samuel—who understands that the government only values certain lives, certain deaths—always buries them himself. One day, though, he finds that one of these bodies is still breathing.

Among these biographies, listeners will find aviators and artists, politicians and pop stars, athletes and activists. The exceptional men featured include artist Aaron Douglas, civil rights leader John Lewis, dancer Alvin Ailey, filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, musician Prince, photographer Gordon Parks, tennis champion Arthur Ashe, and writer James Baldwin.

Rosa and Esther march through downtown Detroit in August 1968 to protest the war in Vietnam. When a bloodied teenager reports that mounted police are beating protesters a few blocks away, the young women hurry to offer assistance. They try to stop the violence, but an officer is injured and the sisters are arrested. Rosa sees an opportunity to protest the war in court. Esther has an infant daughter and wants to avoid prison, which means accepting a plea bargain and testifying against her sister.

Una mujer acaba de perder a su marido y vela el cadáver durante la noche. Sobre la mesilla hay un libro - la Biblia - que la esposa hojea. Va leyendo los párrafos subrayados por el hombre que se ha ido para siempre. Una oleada de recuerdos le viene a la mente y empieza un lento, desordenado monólogo en el que la vida pugna por hacerse real otra vez. La pobre vida llena de errores y torpezas, de pequeños goces e incomprensiones. ¿Ha conocido Carmen alguna vez a Mario?

A novel of great humanity, compassion and astonishing immediacy, this unique debut portrays the emotional reality of contemporary life in the West Bank and the irreconcilable Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A collage of narrative voices and different points of view are woven around the murder of two young people, one Israeli and one Palestinian. Brave and bold, this gorgeously written work of fiction introduces a large cast of characters in a setting where violence is routine, even normal, and where survival is defined by boundaries, walls, and checkpoints.

Once a promising actor, Tim Brettigan has gone missing. His father thinks he may have seen him among some homeless people. And though she knows he left on purpose, his mother has been searching for him all over the city. She checks the usual places and stum­bles upon a local community group with lofty goals and an enigmatic leader who will alter all of their lives. Christina, a young woman rapidly becoming addicted to a boutique drug that gives her a feeling of blessedness, is inexplicably drawn to the same collective by a man who’s convinced he may start a revolution.

Thirty years after its great triumph in Vietnam, the US has again become mired in an endless foreign war overseas. Stories of super soldiers known as the Volunteers tuck in little American boys and girls every night. Yet domestic politics are aflame. Violent protests erupt throughout the nation; an ex-military watchdog group clashes with police while radical terrorists threaten to expose government experiments within the veteran rehabilitation colonies. Halfway between war and peace, the Volunteers find themselves waiting for orders in the vast American city-state, Empire City.

In the 99th district of a sprawling labour camp, the Author, Musician, Scholar, Theologian and Technician - and hundreds just like them - are undergoing Re-education, to restore their revolutionary zeal and credentials. In charge of this process is the Child, who delights in draconian rules, monitoring behaviour and confiscating treasured books. But when bad weather arrives, followed by the ‘three bitter years’, the intellectuals are abandoned by the regime and left on their own to survive.

One autumn night, as a grad student named Matthew is walking home from the subway, a handsome skateboarder catches his eye. Leif, mesmerizing and enigmatic, invites Matthew to meet his friends, who are experimenting with tarot cards. It's easier to know what's in other people's minds than most people realize, the friends claim. Do they believe in telepathy? Can they actually do it? Though Matthew should be writing his dissertation on the poetry of kingship, he soon finds himself falling in love with Leif - a poet of the internet age.