Around the World ~ China, Germany, Cuba

Life ~ by Lu Yao, translated by Chloe Estep, 1982 (translation 2019), literary fiction (China)

Lu Yao published only two novels before his untimely death — but their extraordinary influence catapulted the author to the top tier of Chinese contemporary fiction, establishing him as one of the most widely read and respected figures in Chinese literature.  In this first-ever translation of Lu Yao’s Life, we meet Gao Jialin, a stubborn, idealistic, and ambitious young man from a small country village whose life is upended when corrupt local politics cost him his beloved job as a schoolteacher, prompting him to reject rural life and try to make it in the big city.  Against the vivid, gritty backdrop of 1980s China, Lu Yao traces the proud and passionate Gao Jialin’s difficult path to professional, romantic, and personal fulfillment — or at least hard-won acceptance.

The First Mrs. Rothschild ~ by Sara Aharoni, translated by Yardenne Greenspan, 2019, historical fiction (Germany)

It is the turn of the eighteenth century in Frankfurt, Germany, and young Gutle and Meir Amschel Rothschild struggle to establish themselves in the cramped and restricted Judengasse.  But when Meir’s talents as a novice banker catch the attention of a German prince, Meir is suddenly afforded entrée into the European world of finance and nobility, and the Rothschilds’ lives are changed forever.  As proud as Gutle is of her husband’s success, she is also cautious — very much aware of the fact that her husband’s rise is tied to his patrons’ willingness to "see past" his Jewishness.  As their family grows, and a dream of fortune comes true, so does their belief that money will ultimately bring the power needed to establish Jewish civil rights.  This story is told through Gutle’s intimate journals, revealed across decades — from the French Revolution through personal tragedies and triumphs.

The Price of Paradise ~ by Susana López Rubio, translated by Achy Obejas, 2017 (translation 2019), fiction (Cuba)

Havana, Cuba, 1947.  Young Patricio flees impoverished Spain and steps into the sultry island paradise of Havana with only the clothes on his back and half-baked dreams of a better life.  Blessed with good looks and natural charm, he lands a job as a runner at El Encanto — one of the most luxurious department stores in the world.  Famous for its exquisite offerings from French haute couture to Arabian silks, El Encanto indulges the senses in opulent extravagance.  It caters to visiting Hollywood stars, rising politicos, and prerevolutionary Cuba’s wealthiest power players, including the notorious mobster César Valdés.  Falling in love with the mobster’s young wife, Gloria, is suicide.  But Patricio is irresistibly drawn to the beautiful girl with sad eyes, a razor-sharp intellect, and a penchant for both Christian Dior’s clothes and Einstein’s theories.  Within the walls of El Encanto, anything seems possible, even a love that promises to heal them and a desire that thrums with the mambo beat of the city itself.  In a reckless love affair that spans half a century, Patricio’s and Gloria’s lives entwine time and again, challenged by every twist of fate — for in a world of murder, betrayal, and revolution, those who dare to reach for paradise seldom survive unscathed.

These three books are among nine Read the World 2020 books offered free for Kindle through April 24 for World Book Day.