Four books about place

A House Without Windows

Nadia Hashimi

This novel tells the story of Yusef, an Afghan-born, U.S.-raised lawyer who returns to Afghanistan to practice human rights law. His first case: defending Zeba, imprisoned for brutally murdering her husband. Since she won’t defend herself, it falls to Yusef to piece together the truth of what happened. Only then can he properly defend her. Much of the book takes place in a women’s prison with inmates jailed for adultery and suspected adultery. Even though Yusef is Afghan-born, he thinks like an American and has to learn the culture before he can find justice for his client.

It Ain’t so Awful, Falafel

Firoozeh Dumas

It is the late 1970s, and 11-year-old Zomorod Yousefzadeh—born in Iran, but already on her second stint living in California—takes the name Cindy (from The Brady Bunch) as one way to fit in. This humorous fish-out-of-water tale recounts Cindy’s experiences as she tries to blend into American culture despite having foreign parents. When a revolution topples the Shah of Iran, and revolutionaries take Americans hostage, her schoolmates and neighbors see her family as enemies. This YA novel finds humor in the immigrant experience and uses an entertaining story to teach history and build understanding for Cindy and her family.

The Marches

Rory Stewart

Former diplomat and British parliamentarian Stewart previously wrote a book describing his walking journey across Afghanistan. Here he walks across Britain, following the route of Hadrian’s Wall and exploring the borderlands between England and Scotland. Although he plans the journey with his father, an 88-year-old, tartan-wearing Scot, that plan falls apart, though conversations with his dad still preoccupy Stewart. He writes about Roman history and meets up with interesting people along the way. Through them he describes the evolving British and Scottish identities. This travel narrative is about a place—and the people over centuries that have called that place home.

Street of Eternal Happiness

Rob Schmitz

Journalist Rob Schmitz lives on a Shanghai street called, in English, Street of Eternal Happiness. He uses the lives of a handful of the street’s residents to explore modern China. By telling the stories of flower seller Zhao, accordion-maker and sandwich shop owner CK, Aunty Fu, and others, Schmitz explores the long-lasting effects of the Cultural Revolution, the power of get-rich-quick schemes, Chinese capitalism, marriage, and generational differences between those who “tasted bitterness” and the children of affluence. It’s a fascinating look inside modern China through the lives of a handful of ordinary people.

Afterword

Robert Sabuda’s The Christmas Story (Candlewick, 2016) is a gorgeous pop-up book that tells the Christmas story in six elaborate paper cutouts/pop-ups. The white with gold trim cutouts depict familiar scenes in detailed and dramatic ways. Angels pop up. Stars hang high. Animals peek around corners. My 3-year-old granddaughter found it fascinating—but it’s also delicate and has a $35 price tag.

Two other recent picture books caught my eye: Scott Freeman’s The True Story of Christmas (Big Picture Publishing, 2016) puts the Nativity story in the context of Creation, Fall, and Redemption. Beautiful illustrations accompany the text, which is suitable for even young children. Dandi Daley Mackall and Lisa Manuzak’s Zacchaeus and Jesus (Tyndale Kids, 2016) tells the story of Zacchaeus two times: first from the perspective of Zacchaeus and then from the perspective of Jesus. The dramatic illustrations beautifully complement the rhyming text. —S.O.