Paperback Sunday:

1. Snow by Orhan Pamuk, paperback, published by Faber and Faber, pp 440, Rs 500

2. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk, paperback, published by Faber and Faber, pp 452, Rs 500

3. Istanbul: Memories of a City by Orhan Pamuk, paperback, published by Faber and Faber, pp 350, Rs 595

4. Eldest by Christopher Paolini, paperback, published by Laurel-Leaf books, pp 704, Rs 450

5. Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer, paperback, published by Puffin books, pp 368, Rs 500

What the books are about

Snow:

After 12 years in political exile in Germany, a poet Ka returns to Istanbul for his mother’s funeral, and takes a commission to report on the municipal elections in Kars, near the Russian border. There he discovers a dangerous atmosphere, with tensions running high between the political Islamists and the ‘enlightened, pro-Western’ Turkish military. The second half of the novel takes place over a three-day period. Following the set-piece military coup, Pamuk brilliantly explores such themes as politics, love, ethics, religion and poetry, as we gradually discover the real truth concerning the poet and the snow covered old-world city of Kars.

My Name is Red:

In Istanbul, in the late 1590s, the Sultan secretly commissions a great book: a celebration of his life and his empire, to be illuminated by the best artists of the day — in the European manner. But when one of the miniaturists goes missing and is feared murdered, their master seeks outside help.

Istanbul: Memories of a City

Turkey’s greatest living novelist guides us through the monuments and lost paradises, dilapidated Ottoman villas, back streets and waterways of Istanbul — the city of his birth and the home of his imagination. This is a supremely moving account of one man’s love affair with the city that has been his home since his birth.

Eldest:

Darkness falls... Despair abounds... Evil reigns... Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have just saved the rebel state from destruction by the mighty forces of King Galbatorix, cruel ruler of the Empire. Now, Eragon must travel to Ellesmera, land of the elves, for further training in magic and swordsmanship, the vital skills of the Dragon Rider. It is the journey of a lifetime, filled with awe-inspiring new places and people, each day a fresh adventure. But chaos and betrayal plague him at every turn, and Eragon isn’t sure whom he can trust. Meanwhile, his cousin Roran must fight a new battle back home in Carvahall — one that puts Eragon in even graver danger. Will the king’s dark hand strangle all resistance? Eragon may not escape with even his life...

Artemis Fowl and the Opal...

Evil pixie, Opal Koboi, is back and she’s more dangerous than ever. This time she doesn’t just want power over the fairy people — this time she wants the humans too. Captain Holly Short is the only fairy with a hope of stopping her, but as Holly knows, it takes one genius criminal mastermind to fight another. But the 14-year-old genius that Holly is thinking of doesn’t even remember that fairies exist. How is she going to convince Artemis Fowl to help her stop Opal? Gold usually does the trick, and this time is should be no different. Or is Artemis changing?

Information courtesy: UNITED BOOKS, Ganesh Man Singh building, Northfield Cafe ph: 4229 512; Bluebird stores in Lazimpat & Tripureshwore, ph: 4245 726; Momo’s and More, Old Baneshwor; Himalayan Java; Saturday Cafe, Bouddha; Namaste Supermarket in Pulchowk, ph: 5525 017