海角大神

The pursuit of truth is a theme that runs through many of the selections this month. In much of the world, people are dissatisfied with the status quo and eager to see changes for the better.聽

1.听惭辞迟丑听by Melody Razak

This month marks 75 years since Partition 鈥� the creation of Pakistan from northern India. The novel 鈥淢oth鈥� portrays one girl鈥檚 harrowing experience in the months leading up to that event. Alma, who is 14 and engaged to be married, lives with her Brahmin family in bustling, diverse Delhi. As independence from Britain dawns, religious tensions explode. Vivid and unflinching, the novel exposes the fissures created by rigid gender, religious, and caste-bound codes.

2.听惭补诲飞辞尘补苍听by Louisa Treger

At a time when public trust in the media is at an all-time low, Louisa Treger鈥檚 鈥淢adwoman鈥� is a reminder of how journalism can drive positive change. This work of historical fiction tells the story of Nellie Bly, the first female investigative reporter, who not only demanded justice from powerful institutions, but also insisted on dignity and compassion for the most vulnerable citizens.

3.聽The Ghetto Within聽by Santiago Amigorena

Santiago Amigorena crafts an emotional tribute to his grandfather, a Polish 茅migr茅 in 1940 Buenos Aires, Argentina, whose loved ones struggle to reach him as he becomes 鈥渋mprisoned by the ghetto of his own silence.鈥� His anguish is rooted in his mother鈥檚 increasingly dangerous circumstances in wartime Warsaw. The novel is layered with soul-searching prose and stark history.

4.聽All the Ruined Men聽by Bill Glose

Bill Glose cracks open the physical and mental challenges of American Gulf War soldiers and their families in this stellar collection of intertwined stories. Glose, a combat veteran, former paratrooper, poet, and journalist, writes movingly and with brutal honesty. He honors his comrades鈥� lives with empathetic and knockout storytelling.

5.聽American Fever聽by Dur e Aziz Amna

A 16-year-old Pakistani Muslim girl, aching to leave her familiar, proscribed world, embarks on an exchange program to rural Lakeview, Oregon, in 2010. It鈥檚 a bumpy ride. She chafes at others鈥� assumptions while wrestling with her own amid the challenges of high school, cultural vertigo, and illness. An affecting, well-told tale.

6.聽Calling for a Blanket Dance聽by Oscar Hokeah

Oscar Hokeah brings to life a kaleidoscope of characters from an unforgettable Native American family. His depiction of Indigenous cultures honors their strength of community with remarkable love and healing humor, sending out a vital drumbeat of hope for future generations.

7.聽The Crossroads of Civilization聽by Angus Robertson

Journalist Angus Robertson delivers a lively history of Vienna stretching back 2,000 years. He winds through Roman and medieval times, successive invasions, Habsburg rule, Napoleon鈥檚 occupation, and the upheavals of the 20th century.

8.聽Nomad Century聽by Gaia Vince

Climate experts say that over the next 50 years nearly half of the world鈥檚 population will be living in uninhabitable areas of the planet. What will become of these people? Where will they go? How will they live? The answers, as Gaia Vince points out, are not radical nor implausible; the solutions lie with the migrants themselves.

9.聽Life on the Mississippi聽by Rinker Buck

Travel writer Rinker Buck built a flatboat and traveled from Pittsburgh to New Orleans on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. His goal was to better understand how river transport 鈥� for good and ill 鈥� made America鈥檚 westward expansion possible.聽

10.聽The Inheritors聽by Eve Fairbanks

The end of South Africa鈥檚 apartheid regime in 1994 was met with jubilation. But the new government faced daunting challenges, and whatever its successes, it was bound to disappoint. Decades later, journalist Eve Fairbanks gets to know South Africans who grew up under apartheid and those who don鈥檛 remember it. The result is a moving group portrait of disillusion and resilience.