Historical Fiction

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1
Homegoing
Homegoing
Yaa Gyasi
Two half-sisters, Effia and Esi, are born in eighteenth-century Ghana, their lives divided by the forces of slavery and colonialism. Effia marries a British slave trader and lives in comfort above the dungeons of Cape Coast Castle, unaware that her sister Esi is imprisoned below before being sold into slavery in America. From the villages of Ghana to the plantations of the American South and the streets of modern Harlem, their descendants inherit the consequences of choices, violence, and histories they never experienced themselves. Spanning eight generations and three centuries, Homegoing is a powerful exploration of how slavery reshapes families, how trauma travels across generations, and how the past continues to influence the present.
Ghana 2016
2
The Automobile Club of Egypt
The Automobile Club of Egypt
Alaa Al Aswany
When Egypt’s 2011 revolution brings millions into the streets demanding dignity, justice, and freedom, a diverse cast of Egyptians finds itself swept into a historic struggle. There are idealistic young activists, ambitious politicians, wealthy businessmen, religious conservatives, and ordinary citizens hoping for a better future. Yet as the revolution unfolds, the forces of money, military power, and religious authority begin to undermine its promises. Personal ambitions collide with political ideals, and those who once stood together discover how easily truth can be manipulated to preserve power. Through interconnected lives, Alaa Al Aswany captures the hope and disillusionment of a nation fighting to determine its future, exposing the mechanisms through which authoritarianism survives even when a revolution appears to have succeeded.
Egypt 2016
3
The Labyrinth of the Spirits
The Labyrinth of the Spirits
Carlos Ruiz Zafón
In post-war Barcelona, where the shadows of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship linger over everyday life, a young investigator named Alicia Gris is drawn into a dangerous mystery involving one of Spain’s most powerful political figures. Working for a secretive government agency, Alicia is tasked with locating a missing minister, but what begins as a straightforward investigation soon reveals a far-reaching conspiracy involving political corruption, kidnapping, and murder. As Alicia follows the trail of clues, her investigation brings her into contact with the Sempere family, whose lives have been intertwined with the mysteries of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books for decades. Daniel Sempere, still haunted by questions surrounding his mother’s death, finds himself drawn into a final confrontation with the secrets that have shaped his family. Together, Alicia and Daniel uncover a disturbing history of violence, betrayal, and buried truths. The fourth and final novel in Zafón’s Cemetery of Forgotten Books series, The Labyrinth of the Spirits brings together characters and mysteries from the previous books in an intricate literary puzzle. Combining Gothic atmosphere, historical fiction, suspense, and a profound love of books, Zafón creates a sweeping portrait of a city haunted by its past. At its heart, the novel explores how literature preserves memory, how authoritarian power attempts to control truth, and how courage and friendship can help people emerge from the darkest chapters of history.
Spain 2016
4
Newcomers: Book One
Newcomers: Book One
Lojze Kovačič
The first volume of this three-part autobiographical series begins in 1938 with the expulsion of the Kovačič family from their home in Switzerland, eventually leading to their settlement in the father’s home country of Slovenia. Before leaving their home, the ten-year-old son of the family imagines his father’s country as one of beauty and fairytales, but as they make their way to the land of their exile, the family realizes that any efforts to make this place a home will be in vain. Confronted by misery, hunger, and hostility, the young boy refuses to learn Slovenian and falls silent, his surroundings becoming a social, cultural, and mental abyss. Narrated by the boy with uncanny naiveté, the novel follows his family’s journey in a fragmented mosaic of memories. Some are innocent and tender, while others are miserable and ruthless, resulting in a profound and heart-wrenching description of a period torn apart by conflict, reflected in the author’s powerful and innovative command of language.
Slovenia 2016
5
The Tale of Aypi
The Tale of Aypi
Ak Welsapar
On the shores of the Caspian Sea, in a small fishing village in Soviet Turkmenistan, the inhabitants face the threat of losing their ancestral home. The authorities have ordered the community to relocate so that their land can be redeveloped, while a ban on fishing threatens the villagers’ traditional way of life. Most residents reluctantly accept their fate, but Araz, a stubborn and principled fisherman, refuses to surrender the place where his family has lived for generations. As he challenges the authorities, his resistance exposes the fear, conformity, and quiet compromises that allow injustice to flourish. Woven into the contemporary struggle is the haunting legend of Aypi, a beautiful young woman who was unjustly executed centuries earlier. Her restless spirit returns to seek vengeance, linking the village’s buried past with its present crisis. Blending political allegory, folklore, and supernatural elements, Ak Welsapar’s novel explores freedom, cultural identity, and humanity’s enduring connection to the land. It is also a powerful reflection on the consequences of authoritarian rule and the courage required to resist it.
Turkmenistan 2016
6
Small Country
Small Country
Gaël Faye
Set in Burundi in the early 1990s, Petit pays follows Gabriel, a ten-year-old boy growing up in Bujumbura, the country’s capital. Living with his French father, Rwandan mother, and younger sister, Gabriel enjoys an idyllic childhood filled with adventures with his friends, bicycle rides, and the simple pleasures of everyday life. But as his parents’ relationship begins to unravel, political tensions intensify, and the approaching civil war threatens the peaceful world he has always known. Through Gabriel’s innocent yet increasingly troubled perspective, Gaël Faye portrays the devastating impact of conflict on childhood, family, and belonging. As violence spreads through Burundi and the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi unfolds in neighbouring Rwanda, Gabriel is forced to confront his own mixed heritage and the painful realities of a divided society. Blending nostalgia with the brutality of history, the novel explores the loss of innocence, the fragility of home, and the lasting scars of displacement. Inspired by the author’s own experiences, Petit pays is a moving reflection on childhood interrupted by violence and the struggle to preserve one’s identity amid historical upheaval.
Burundi 2016
7
When the Moon Is Low
When the Moon Is Low
Nadia Hashimi
When the Moon Is Low follows Fereiba, an educated Afghan woman whose relatively secure life is shattered when her husband becomes a victim of political violence. Left to care for her three children, she decides to flee Afghanistan as the country’s instability and insecurity intensify. Their journey towards Europe exposes them to dangerous border crossings, exploitation, separation, and the uncertainty faced by refugees seeking safety. When circumstances force Fereiba and her teenage son, Saleem, onto different paths, both must find the strength to survive in unfamiliar environments. Moving between their experiences, Hashimi portrays the human cost of displacement and the difficult choices families make when their homes are no longer safe. The novel explores motherhood, resilience, and the search for freedom, highlighting the courage required to rebuild a life when everything familiar has been lost.
Afghanistan 2016
8
A House Without Windows: A Novel
A House Without Windows: A Novel
Nadia Hashimi
A House Without Windows follows Zeba, an Afghan woman accused of murdering her husband, Kamal. Arrested and imprisoned while awaiting trial, she finds herself in a women’s detention centre in Kabul, where she encounters other women whose lives have been shaped by violence, coercion, and restrictive social expectations. Zeba’s children struggle to understand their mother’s arrest, while Yusuf, an Afghan-born lawyer raised in the United States, returns to Afghanistan and becomes involved in her defence. As the investigation unfolds, the novel reveals the complicated circumstances surrounding the death and the challenges of establishing justice in a society where women’s voices are often dismissed. Through Zeba’s story and those of her fellow prisoners, Hashimi examines domestic abuse, gender inequality, and the courage required to seek justice in a system that frequently fails vulnerable women.
Afghanistan 2016
9
Time of White Horses
Time of White Horses
Ibrahim Nasrallah
Set in Palestine, before the creation of the state of Israel, this lyrical and deftly written novel spans three generations living in the small village of Hadiya. Reaching back into the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the immense history of this period is brought into focus by the very human stories of Hajj Mahmoud, his son Khaled, and grandson Naji. As the cruel hand of history hovers above them, their destinies are shaped by outside forces - first the crumbling Ottoman Empire, then the British Mandate, and finally the Nakba. Nasrallah's elegant and epic tale is one of both suffering and survival, heart-break and hope.
Palestine 2016
10
Stork Mountain
Stork Mountain
Miroslav Penkov
Stork Mountain follows a young Bulgarian-American man who returns to his ancestral village in Bulgaria after the disappearance of his grandfather, a former communist official. Hoping to uncover the truth about his family’s past, he becomes immersed in the history and traditions of a rural community near the Turkish border, where generations have lived through political upheaval, shifting national identities, and religious tensions. As he investigates his grandfather’s life, the narrator encounters stories of forbidden love, ancient rituals, and the complicated legacy of Bulgaria’s communist era. The village’s inhabitants preserve memories and customs that seem increasingly distant from the modern world, while the narrator struggles to reconcile his American upbringing with the homeland he has inherited through family history. Miroslav Penkov blends folklore, historical fiction, and contemporary storytelling to explore belonging, migration, and the ways personal identity is shaped by collective memory. The novel reveals how the past continues to influence the present, even when its stories have been forgotten, distorted, or deliberately concealed.
Bulgaria 2016
11
The High Mountains of Portugal
The High Mountains of Portugal
Yann Martel
The High Mountains of Portugal weaves together three interconnected stories spanning nearly a century, exploring grief, faith, and the mysteries of human existence. In 1904, a young Portuguese archivist named Tomás discovers an ancient religious artifact and embarks on a journey through the countryside in search of its meaning. Thirty-five years later, a Portuguese pathologist confronts a personal tragedy that challenges his understanding of love and belief. In the final story, a Canadian senator living in contemporary Portugal finds himself drawn into an unexpected relationship with a chimpanzee, prompting him to reconsider the boundaries between humans and animals. Through these unusual narratives, Yann Martel explores the ways people respond to loss and search for meaning in a world that resists easy explanations. Blending philosophical reflection, historical fiction, and elements of the surreal, the novel examines faith, mortality, love, and humanity’s connection to the natural world.
Portugal 2016
12
Soviet Milk
Soviet Milk
Nora Ikstena
Set in Soviet-occupied Latvia between 1969 and 1989, Soviet Milk tells the story of three generations of women whose lives are shaped by political oppression, emotional isolation, and the struggle for personal freedom. At its centre is a talented young gynaecologist who refuses to accept the restrictions imposed by the Soviet system. After a professional conflict with the authorities, she loses the career she has worked towards and is sent to practise medicine in the Latvian countryside. Increasingly withdrawn and unable to find meaning in her life, she struggles to connect with her daughter, who grows up feeling the weight of her mother’s unhappiness. The story alternates between the voices of the mother and daughter, revealing how political repression reaches into the most intimate corners of family life. While the mother retreats into despair, the daughter searches for understanding, belonging, and hope, finding emotional stability in the care of her grandmother. As Latvia approaches the restoration of its independence, the women’s personal struggles become intertwined with their country’s desire for liberation. Through its portrayal of a fractured mother-daughter relationship, Ikstena explores how authoritarian systems can damage individual lives across generations. Yet the novel also celebrates the resilience of women, the sustaining power of familial love, and the possibility of breaking free from inherited suffering.
Latvia 2015