New Releases by Geraldine Brooks

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER - Pulitzer Prize winning author presents the stories of a wide range of Muslim women in the Middle East. As an Australian American and an experienced foreign correspondent, Brooks'' thoughtful analysis attempts to understand the precarious status of women in the wake of Islamic fundamentalism. "Frank, enraging, and captivating." - The New York Times Nine Parts of Desire is the story of Brooks'' intrepid journey toward an understanding of the women behind the veils, and of the often contradictory political, religious, and cultural forces that shape their lives. Defying our stereotypes about the Muslim world, Brooks'' acute analysis of the world''s fastest growing religion deftly illustrates how Islam''s holiest texts have been misused to justify repression of women, and how male pride and power have warped the original message of a once liberating faith. As a prizewinning foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, Geraldine Brooks spent six years covering the Middle East through wars, insurrections, and the volcanic upheaval of resurgent fundamentalism. Yet for her, headline events were only the backdrop to a less obvious but more enduring drama: the daily life of Muslim women.

Sidney, 1996. En plena nit, Hanna Heath, una prestigiosa conservadora de manuscrits medievals, rep una trucada: l''Haggadà de Sarajevo, un dels llibres més excepcionals i misteriosos del món, ha reaparegut després de romandre ocult durant anys i les Nacions Unides la reclament perquè en comprovi l''estat. Quan Hanna procedeix a estudiar-lo, descobreix entre les seves pàgines una sèrie de pistes estranyes: una ala d''insecte, un cabell blanc, una taca de vi& Així, la història del llibre és reconstruïda a través del temps gràcies a cadascuna de les mostres. El periple inclou la Sarajevo de 1940, la Viena hedonista de 1894, la Venècia antisemita de 1609, la Tarragona sotmesa per la Inquisició de 1492 i la Sevilla conspiradora de 1480, on va ser il"lustrat. A mesura que es van desvelant les identitats d''aquells que van intervenir en la seva elaboració, també són revelades les vides dels seus salvadors, els guardians del llibre, homes i dones que van arriscar les seves vides per protegir-lo de guerres, persecucions, exili, genocidi& fins aconseguir que arribés sa i estalvi fins als nostres dies. Però, està realment fora de perill?

En plena madrugada, Hanna Heath, una prestigiosa conservadora de manuscritos medievales, recibe una llamada: la Haggadah de Sarajevo, uno de los libros más excepcionales y misteriosos del mundo, ha reaparecido tras permanecer oculto varios años y las Naciones Unidas la reclaman para que compruebe su estado. Sin dudarlo, acepta el encargo y viaja a Sarajevo. Cuando Hanna procede a su estudio, descubre entre sus páginas una serie de extrañas muestras: un ala de insecto, un cabello blanco, una mancha de vino... A partir de cada una de las muestras, la historia del libro es reconstruida a través del tiempo.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize--a powerful love story set against the backdrop of the Civil War, from the author of The Secret Chord. From Louisa May Alcott''s beloved classic Little Women, Geraldine Brooks has animated the character of the absent father, March, and crafted a story "filled with the ache of love and marriage and with the power of war upon the mind and heart of one unforgettable man" (Sue Monk Kidd). With "pitch-perfect writing" (USA Today), Brooks follows March as he leaves behind his family to aid the Union cause in the Civil War. His experiences will utterly change his marriage and challenge his most ardently held beliefs. A lushly written, wholly original tale steeped in the details of another time, March secures Geraldine Brooks''s place as a renowned author of historical fiction.

This is a record of the Berber women whose way of life is being eroded as modern times and warfare encroaches.