Historical Fiction

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1
Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence
Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence
Rebecca F. Kuang
What if translation were the most powerful weapon in the world? In 1830s Oxford, Robin Swift, an orphan from Canton, is brought to England to study languages at the prestigious Royal Institute of Translation, known as Babel. There, silver-working transforms the subtle differences between languages into extraordinary magical power, helping the British Empire expand its influence across the globe. But as Robin and his fellow students uncover the violence and exploitation sustaining this system, they face an impossible choice: serve the institution that gave them a future or destroy the machinery of imperial power. Blending dark academia, historical fantasy, and political intrigue, Babel examines the relationship between language and power, asking what is lost when cultures are translated, exploited, and controlled by those who rule.
United Kingdom 2022
2
The Republic of False Truths
The Republic of False Truths
Alaa Al Aswany
Cairo, 2011. After decades under a repressive regime, tensions are rising in the city streets. No one is out of reach of the revolution. There is General Alwany, a high-ranking member of the government's security agency, a pious man who loves his family yet won't hesitate to torture enemies of the state; Asma, a young teacher who chafes against the brazen corruption at her school; Ashraf, an out-of-work actor who is having an affair with his maid and who gets pulled into Tahrir Square through a chance encounter; Nourhan, a television personality who loyally defends those in power; and many more. As these lives collide, a new generation finds a voice, love blossoms across class divides, and the revolution gains strength. Even the general finds himself at a crossroads as his own daughter joins the protests. Yet the old regime will not give up without a fight. With an unforgettably vivid cast of characters and a heart-pounding narrative banned across much of the region, Alaa Al Aswany gives us a deeply human portrait of the Egyptian Revolution, and an impassioned retelling of his country's turbulent recent history.
Egypt 2022
3
The Last Days of Terranova
The Last Days of Terranova
Manuel Rivas
What if a bookstore could preserve everything the world is trying to forget? In 2014, Vicenzo Fontana faces the imminent closure of Terranova, his family’s beloved bookstore, threatened by property developers after decades of serving as a refuge for dissidents, exiles, and forbidden books. Spending one final night among its shelves, the elderly bookseller revisits the people and events that shaped his life and the history of the shop. His memories lead back to 1935, when his father first opened Terranova, and forward through the Spanish Civil War’s legacy, Franco’s dictatorship, and the turbulent years of political resistance. Among the bookstore’s visitors are idealists, rebels, writers, and people fleeing persecution, each carrying a story of their own. Blending literary allusions, political history, and poetic storytelling, Manuel Rivas creates a moving tribute to books as vessels of memory and instruments of resistance. As Terranova faces its final hours, the novel asks what we lose when the places that protect ideas and shelter outsiders disappear.
Spain 2022
4
Kibogo
Kibogo
Scholastique Mukasonga
When drought devastates a Rwandan village during the 1940s, its people turn to an ancient legend: Kibogo, a mythical prince who sacrificed himself to bring rain to his suffering people. But the villagers now live under Belgian colonial rule, where Christian missionaries insist that salvation can come only through their faith. As famine deepens, traditional beliefs collide with European Christianity, and the boundaries between religious devotion, political power, and superstition become increasingly blurred. A young seminarian begins reinterpreting biblical stories through Rwandan mythology, while an elderly priestess preserves the spiritual traditions that missionaries seek to erase. Told through four interconnected stories, Scholastique Mukasonga’s novel combines folklore, sharp satire, and historical reflection to explore how a community protects its identity under colonial domination. Both playful and profound, Kibogo celebrates the resilience of oral storytelling and asks who has the authority to define truth, faith, and the stories a people pass on to future generations.
Rwanda 2022
5
Yñiga
Yñiga
Glenn Diaz
Yñiga Calinauan leads a quiet, unremarkable life in Manila until a retired army general accused of murdering peasants and political activists is arrested across the street from her home. Days later, her neighbourhood is burned to the ground, in what some suspect is retaliation. Forced to flee, Yñiga returns to M—, the small fishing town where she grew up, hoping to recover the peaceful existence she has lost. But the violence she thought she had escaped follows her, drawing her into a history of political repression and family trauma that she can no longer ignore. As the boundaries between her past and present begin to collapse, Yñiga must confront the legacy of her activist father, who disappeared years earlier, and the unresolved wounds that continue to shape her family. Blending political thriller, dark humour, and literary fiction, Glenn Diaz’s novel examines the enduring consequences of state violence in the Philippines. Against a landscape haunted by disappearances and historical injustice, it explores the possibility of resistance—not only through dramatic acts of rebellion, but also through the determination to remember, endure, and refuse silence.
Philippines 2022
6
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
Shehan Karunatilaka
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida follows Maali, a war photographer and gambler who awakens after his death in a mysterious afterlife. Set against the backdrop of Sri Lanka’s violent civil conflict in the 1980s, the novel gives Maali seven moons—or seven days—to discover who killed him and to help the people he loves find a collection of photographs that could expose atrocities committed during the war. As he navigates a bureaucratic and chaotic realm of the dead, he encounters other spirits and gradually confronts the dangers he faced while alive. Karunatilaka combines supernatural fiction, dark humour, and political satire to examine violence, corruption, and the struggle to preserve truth in a society marked by fear. The novel explores the responsibilities of witnessing, the power of evidence, and the difficulty of achieving justice when the dead have been denied a voice.
Sri Lanka 2022
7
Lack of Light
Lack of Light
Nino Haratischwili
The Lack of Light follows four women—Nene, Ira, Dina, and Keto—whose friendship begins in a Tbilisi courtyard during the final years of the Soviet Union. As they grow up, Georgia undergoes dramatic political and social transformations, including independence, civil conflict, and the rise of criminal networks. Each woman pursues a different future, but their lives remain bound together by shared memories, personal loyalties, and the consequences of choices made during their youth. Years later, a photographic exhibition devoted to Dina prompts Keto to revisit their intertwined histories and reconsider the events that shaped their friendship. Haratischwili portrays a generation coming of age amid uncertainty, where private hopes collide with political violence and social instability. The novel explores friendship, memory, loss, and the lasting impact of a society struggling to define itself after the collapse of an empire.
Georgia 2022
8
The Book of Everlasting Things
The Book of Everlasting Things
Aanchal Malhotra
Set in Lahore during the final years of British rule in India, The Book of Everlasting Things tells the story of Samir Vij, a Hindu perfumer, and Firdaus Khan, a Muslim calligrapher. Their shared appreciation for beauty, craftsmanship, and traditional arts develops into a deep love as they imagine a future together. However, the Partition of India in 1947 transforms their world, dividing communities and forcing them onto opposite sides of a newly created border. Samir becomes an Indian citizen, while Firdaus becomes Pakistani, making their relationship increasingly difficult to sustain. Spanning decades and continents, the novel explores the ways political upheaval reshapes private lives and cultural traditions. Through the evocative worlds of perfume-making and calligraphy, Malhotra examines love, memory, belonging, and the enduring power of art to preserve what history threatens to destroy.
India Pakistan 2022
9
As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow
As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow
Zoulfa Katouh
Set during the Syrian revolution and the ensuing civil war, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow follows Salama, a young pharmacy student who becomes a medical volunteer in a hospital in Homs. Once hopeful about her future, she now witnesses the devastating effects of violence while struggling with the trauma of losing loved ones and the responsibility of protecting those who remain. Haunted by an imagined companion named Khawf, whose presence reflects her fear and inner conflict, Salama faces an agonising choice: stay in Syria to help her community or flee the country in search of safety. Her growing relationship with Kenan, a young man who dreams of a future beyond the war, offers a fragile source of hope. Katouh explores courage, grief, love, and the moral dilemmas faced by ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances.
Syria 2022
10
The Hacienda
The Hacienda
Isabel Cañas
Set in Mexico in the aftermath of the War of Independence, The Hacienda follows Beatriz, a young woman whose father was executed and whose family home was destroyed during political upheaval. When wealthy landowner Don Rodolfo Solórzano proposes marriage, she accepts, hoping to secure a safe home and a fresh start. However, after moving to his remote estate, Hacienda San Isidro, Beatriz begins experiencing terrifying visions and unexplained disturbances. As she investigates the property’s dark history, she seeks help from Padre Andrés, a young priest hiding secrets of his own. Blending Gothic horror, historical fiction, and forbidden romance, Isabel Cañas explores women’s vulnerability within patriarchal society, the lingering effects of colonialism, and the struggle for independence in a world shaped by power and superstition.
Mexico 2022
11
Woman of Endurance
Woman of Endurance
Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa
Set in nineteenth-century Puerto Rico, A Woman of Endurance follows Pola, an African woman kidnapped from her homeland and forced into slavery on a sugar plantation. Subjected to horrific violence and forced to bear children who are taken from her and sold, she gradually loses her faith and trust in others. After escaping and being transferred to another plantation, Pola encounters a community of enslaved women who offer her compassion, friendship, and the possibility of healing. As she develops a bond with an orphaned girl and begins to trust those around her, she slowly reclaims her sense of humanity and reconnects with her Yoruba spiritual heritage. Through Pola’s journey, Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa explores the brutality of slavery, the resilience of women, and the power of solidarity, cultural identity, and hope in the face of oppression.
Puerto Rico 2022
12
Rose and the Burma Sky
Rose and the Burma Sky
Rosanna Amaka
In 1939, in a village in southeastern Nigeria, young Obi dreams of building a better life for himself and his family. When a colonial army jeep passes through his village, the prospect of a uniform and a steady wage appeals to him—not least because he hopes to impress Rose, the woman he loves. But when Rose becomes pregnant by another man, Obi’s world collapses. Haunted by unanswered questions about her lover, he joins the British colonial army and is sent to fight in the brutal Burma Campaign of the Second World War. As Obi confronts the horrors of war, his heartbreak becomes entangled with a mystery that will have devastating consequences. Through his journey from rural Nigeria to the battlefields of Southeast Asia, Rosanna Amaka brings attention to the often-overlooked experiences of African soldiers who fought for a colonial power. Blending an intimate story of unrequited love with the wider injustices of empire, Rose and the Burma Sky explores sacrifice, racial inequality, and the lasting consequences of choices made in moments of despair.
Nigeria Myanmar 2023