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RISC Bookclub archive of past titles
These titles are voted for by the bookclub members themselves.
If you are not a member of the bookclub, please email liz@risc.org.uk before coming along to a meeting. Thank you.

Ancestor Stones - Aminatta Forna
July 24th 7.30pm
Recommended to us by a bookclub member, this stunning debut novel is about the untold stories of four remarkable African women. Abie follows the arc of a letter from London back to Africa to a coffee plantation that could now be hers. Thus begins the gathering of her family's history, through the tales of her four aunts, each born to a different wife of her grandfather. 'A writer of startling talent...' Daily Telegraph

A Golden Age - Tahmima Anam
28th August 7.30 pm
An incredible novel about motherhood, a country's war and a moving love story, this is set in East Pakistan in the 1970s, during the Bangladesh War of Independence. There were widespread, rave reviews of the hardcover edition, and it was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award. 'A Golden Age pays tribute, with sensitivity and restrained passion, to those who fought for one such arbour: a country to call home'

The Book of Not - Tsitsi Dangarembga
25th September 7.30 pm
This much awaited second novel from one of the most acclaimed Zimbabwean writers of her generation is already fulfilling the promise of her first novel "Nervous Conditions", par excellence. The novel chronicles the plight of the main protagonist Tambu in trying to find her identity and meaning of her existence. Dangarembga's authorial voice delves into the education system, the liberation struggle and attitudes of contemporary Zimbabweans.

A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini
January 31st, Thursday, Room 3
From the author of The Kite Runner.
Set mostly in Afghanistan, this book traces the gradually interlocking lives of two women, Mariam and Laila, as they survive the seemingly never-ending carnage that has nearly destroyed their country over the past 3 decades.

Ines of My Soul –Isabel Allende
Feb 28th, Thursday, room 3, 7.30pm
The fictional memoirs of Ines Suarez, the first Spanish woman to live in Chile in the 1500’s. This book is another of Allende’s beautiful, passionate and powerful novels.
“Passionate, breathtaking and bloodthirsty, this is historical fiction at is very best.”

Drift Latitudes – Jamal Mahjoub
March 27th Thursday, room 3, 7.30pm
For lovers of Andrea Levy’s Small Island, a novel that weaves a wonderful story out of the mixed-up cultures of Britain, and the heritage of those whose parents came here in the 40s and 50s. The Drift Latitudes" is about how we improvise our lives and the chances we take. From the Nubian boy who flees the tedium of home to find the bright lights of New York's jazz scene, to Ernst's daughter Rachel who turns her back on Europe and follows her husband to the Sudan, it is about the movement of people around our globe and the interdependence of our dreams.

Iran Awakening - Shirin Ebadi
April 30th, Wednesday room 3 7.30pm
This is a powerful and uplifting account of events in Tehran over the last three decades, a compelling view from someone experiencing it first hand.

'The riveting story of an amazing and very brave woman.'
Archbishop Desmond Tutu

'inspiring' New internationalist

Reluctant Fundamentalist –Mohsin Hamid
May 29th Thursday room 3 7.30pm

This bold new novel is a daring, fast-paced monologue of a young Pakistani man telling his life story to a mysterious American stranger. A riveting, brilliantly unsettling exploration of the shadowy, unexpected connections between the political and the personal.

Miss Chopsticks – Xin Ran
June 30th Monday room 1 7.30pm
A funny and intelligent story that follows the lives of three women, with little formal education, in modern day China. A real eye-opening look into this complex country from a woman’s point of view.
`A fascinating snapshot of the contemporary tension between rural
and urban China.' Observer