Around the World ~ Greece, Japan, Indonesia

The House by the River ~ by Lena Manta, 2007, fiction (Greece)

Theodora knows she can’t keep her five beautiful daughters at home forever — they’re too curious, too free spirited, too like their late father.  And so, before each girl leaves the small house on the riverside at the foot of Mount Olympus, Theodora makes sure they know they are always welcome to return.  Having survived World War II, the Nazi occupation of Greece, and her husband’s death, Theodora now endures the twenty-year-long silence of her daughters’ absence.  Her children have their own lives — they’ve married, traveled the world, and courted romance, fame, and even tragedy.  But as they become modern, independent women in pursuit of their dreams, Theodora knows they need her — and each other — more than ever.  Have they grown so far apart that they’ve forgotten their childhood home, or will their broken hearts finally lead them back again?

The Great Passage ~ by Shion Miura, 2011, fiction (Japan)

Kohei Araki believes that a dictionary is a boat to carry us across the sea of words.  But after thirty-seven years of creating dictionaries, it’s time for him to retire and find his replacement.  He discovers a kindred spirit in Mitsuya Majime — a young, disheveled square peg with a penchant for collecting antiquarian books and a background in linguistics — whom he swipes from his company’s sales department.  Along with an energetic, if reluctant, new recruit and an elder linguistics scholar, Majime is tasked with a career-defining accomplishment:  completing The Great Passage, a comprehensive 2,900-page tome of the Japanese language.  On his journey, Majime discovers friendship, romance, and an incredible dedication to his work, inspired by the words that connect us all.

The Question of Red ~ by Laksmi Pamuntjak, 2013, fiction (Indonesia)

In this sweeping saga of love, loss, revolution, and the resilience of the human spirit, Amba must find the courage to forge her own path.  Amba was named after a tragic figure in Indonesian mythology, and she spends her lifetime trying to invent a story she can call her own.  When she meets two suitors who fit perfectly into her namesake’s myth, Amba cannot help but feel that fate is teasing her.  Salwa, respectful to a fault, pledges to honor and protect Amba, no matter what.  Bhisma, a sophisticated, European-trained doctor, offers her sensual pleasures and a world of ideas.  But military coups and religious disputes make 1960s Indonesia a place of uncertainty, and the chaos strengthens Amba’s pursuit of freedom.  The more Amba does to claim her own story, the better she understands her inextricable bonds to history, myth, and love.

These three books are among nine offered free for Kindle for another five days.