So, then. You want a story and I will tell you one...Afghanistan, 1952. Abdullah and his sister Pari live with their father and stepmother in the small village of Shadbagh. Their father, Saboor, is constantly in search of work and they struggle together through poverty and brutal winters. To Abdullah, Pari - as beautiful and sweet-natured as the fairy for which she was named - is everything. More like a parent than a brother, Abdullah will do anything for her, even trading his only pair of…
On a moonlit beach a father cradles his sleeping son as they wait for dawn to break and a boat to arrive. He speaks to his boy of the long summers of his childhood, recalling his grandfather's house in Syria, the stirring of olive trees in the breeze, the bleating of his grandmother's goat, the clanking of her cooking pots. And he remembers, too, the bustling city of Homs with its crowded lanes, its mosque and grand souk, in the days before the sky spat bombs and they had to flee.When the sun…
In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe has neither the look nor the voice of divinity, and is scorned and rejected by her kin. Increasingly isolated, she turns to mortals for companionship, leading her to discover a power forbidden to the gods: witchcraft.When love drives Circe to cast a dark spell, wrathful Zeus banishes her to the remote island of Aiaia. There she learns to harness her occult craft, drawing strength from nature. But…
From the bestselling author of The Miniaturist. Jessie Burton's Hidden Treasure is the phenomenal page-turning story of two children whose lives collide when they find an ancient treasure with the power to return to them the most precious thing they have ever lostFor the people who live on the banks of the Thames, the river is a living, breathing thing. It can take your treasures. It can hide your treasures. And, sometimes, it can give them back.Bo and Billy are two children who…
The boys at school are excited. The Olympic games are coming to the city. They may be too young to compete, but their teacher suggests the school should have its own games. Of course, girls have no part at all in these festivities but Elena discovers her twin brother, Cypselis, has made a bet with Big Bacchiad (the school bully). If Cypselis wins he will get a new goat. If he loses then Elena will become Bacchiad''s slave. Elena''s freedom is at stake - she needs all her cunning to make sure…
This is a tale of Neria, who works in the House of Death helping her father to make mummies. Neria enjoys her work, but when the pharaoh dies, everyone is so busy that Neria is given the responsibility of mummifying the pharaoh''s cat, to accompany him to the afterlife. The trouble is, Neria doesn''t want to kill and gut the cat! Can she find a way to save it - without being caught and punished?
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