How Beautiful We Were is, in a word, fatalistic. The villagers are fighting a lost cause,– The David vs. Goliath story slowly morphs into a nuanced conflict.

Solovyov and Larionov by Eugene Vodolazkin (translated from Russian by Lisa C. Hayden) – A Russian novel which is part military history, part academic satire.

Zuleikha by Guzel Yakhina is a novel about a Tartar widow who has been exiled to Siberiawinner of the Yasnaya Polyana Literary Award & other Russian book awards

Chinonso is a poultry farmer living in Nigeria, when his stops the suicide attempt of Ndali, an upper class, educated woman from a rich family

The Cook by Maylis de Kerangal (translated by Sam Taylor) is a fictional biography of Mauro, a young man who dreams of working as a cook / chef.

A historical fiction book taking place in 1793, following the life of Hercules, a slave in Mt. Vernon, as well as President George Washington’s chef.