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Dalia Sofer's captivating first novel The Septembers of Shiraz provides an in-depth look at people's choices of love and family, and the resilience of human nature during times of upheaval and political strife. The book takes place in Iran in the early 1980s during the shift in the Iranian government from the old monarchy to a new Islamic regime. Sofer follows the story of Isaac Amin, a Jewish gem dealer, whose weak connections with the displaced Shah and prosperous lifestyle under the old monarchy lends him to be a political target under the new government.

The novel begins with Isaac's arrest and imprisonment. Sofer tells the story through Isaac�s observations and thoughts about his capture, and then of his experiences of friendship, pain and loneliness for his family within the prison. Sofer takes us through memories of Isaac's past interwoven with delicious descriptions of the Iranian countryside and the city of Shiraz. The narration of the story switches as Isaac's wife worries and searches for her husband while continuing through the everyday motions of life. Isaac's young daughter also tries to cope with her changing world, in which childish friendships are no longer innocent, and Isaac's older son, Parviz, studying in New York faces culture shock and alienation in a large city.

All of these character narrations combine to create a rich and interesting story. Within the text, Sofer deals with themes of materialism, religion, unhappy marriages and people's priorities in life. Isaac's thoughts and conversations with other political prisoners are reminiscent of Arthur Koestler's Darkness at Noon. However The Septembers of Shiraz is much more layered with character descriptions and touches on numerous human issues. The Septembers of Shiraz is an entrancing read up until the very last page, in which Sofer takes the story in unexpected directions.

~ Lilah

Hislop's beautifully written first novel encompasses the lives of four generations of Cretan women and their connection to the island, Spinalonga. The coastal town of Plaka where the Petrakis family lives is only a short distance away from Spinalonga, a small colony where lepers are sent. The island of Spinalonga is resented by the people of Plaka because of the lack of knowledge of the disease and the fear that one of villagers could contract leprosy. The novel begins in present day London with the great-granddaughter, Alexis who travels to Greece to find the answers to her own troubled relationship with her boyfriend, in her family's past. The story then switches to the narrative of Eleni Petrakis, Alexis' great-grandmother, whose diagnosis of leprosy leads to her subsequent banishment to the island of Spinalonga. Eleni Petrakis' story then moves to her two daughters grief and then acceptance of their mother's exile in Spinalonga.

An engaging read, I found that I could not put the book down because I was too interested in the characters of Eleni, Maria, Anna and Alexis and what happens to them. The writing also describes the beauty of the coast of Crete, which makes it a wonderful vacation book.

~Lilah