Soltalk April 2018 | Page 51

BookTalk to Laura ’ s , ones without safety barriers or morals ; and , she is forced to decide whether to share her creation with the world . If it falls into the wrong hands , she knows , its power could be abused . But what if Organon is the only thing that can stop humanity from hurting itself irreparably ?
House of Names ( p ), Colm Tóibín ’ s stunning story of a family at war with itself in Ancient Greece moves into small paperback . Clytemnestra eagerly waits for her husband Agamemnon , to return victorious from the sack of Troy . Before setting out , he had sacrificed their beautiful young daughter to the gods . When Agamemnon returns home , his wife will be waiting , for his death , for her revenge . And so , this story of heart-breaking loss and brutal reprisal begins : their son Orestes is sent into the countryside to escape the darkness but cannot avoid the bloody violence that swirls around the court . Their other daughter , meanwhile plots her own course of retribution .
Other general fiction titles worth a look include All The Beautiful Girls ( l ), a much praise , behind-the-glamour tale of Las Vegas showgirls , by Elizabeth J Church ; Happiness ( l ), by Aminatta Forna ; The Dinner ( p ), by Holland ’ s Herman Koch ; and , Red April ( p ), by Santiago Roncagliolo .
Moving to non-fiction , the latest crop of history titles includes the paperback edition of The Moor ’ s Last Stand , Elizabeth Drayson ’ s account of how more than half a millennium of Muslim rule in Spain ended . She presents the poignant story of Boabdil ( Muhamad XI ), the last Muslim king of Granada . Betrayed by his family and undermined by faction and internal conflict , he was defeated in 1492 by the forces of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of the newly united kingdoms of Castilla and Aragón . Their victory marked the completion of the long Christian reconquest of Spain and ended seven centuries in which Christians , Muslims and Jews had , for the most part , lived peacefully and profitably together .
Key : ( l ) hardback or large paperback ( p ) small paperback
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