Showing results by narrator "Lara Sawalha" in All Categories

16 modern fiction superstars shine a startling light on the romance and pain of the infamous literary pair Heathcliff and Cathy. Short stories to stir the heart and awaken vital conversation about love. Sixteen stories inspired by Wuthering Heights. In ‘Terminus’ a young woman hides in an...

In between dating, shopping, drinking, dancing and having fun, the girls of Riyadh live by Saudi Arabia’s strict cultural traditions. Well, not quite... They’re still trying to be good Muslims and please their families. But can you be a 21st century woman and a Saudi woman? A full-cast dramatisation of Rajaa Alsanea's best-selling novel, revealing the social, romantic, and sexual tribulations of four young women from the elite classes of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

2011, Syria. The Arab Spring is underway, and after a wave of peaceful protests, President Assad agrees to a release of political prisoners. Freed after 30 years, Dr Mahmoud is taken in by Taghreed and Emad Daffar, and brought to England by his old friend Jarvis Lorry and the daughter he has never met, foreign correspondent Lina. But his years of suffering have left him a broken man. Back in London, Jarvis convinces his nephew Sid Carton, a feckless but brilliant barrister, to defend a young Syrian émigré doctor, Shwan Dahkurdi, against charges of supporting terrorism. 

Bloomsbury presents Six Lives by Lavie Tidhar, read by Rory Alexander, Kishore Walker, Justin Avoth, Sara Alexander, and Lara Sawalha. SIX LIVES Six lives, connected through blood and history, each rooted in the dirt of their inheritance, look to the future, and what it might hold. THE GUANO...

Modern-day New York, a subway train. David, an American Jewish jazz musician, torn between his dreams and his parents' expectations, sees a woman across the carriage. Ameena, a British Pakistani artist who left Manchester to escape the pressure from her conservative family, sees David. When a moment of sublime beauty occurs unexpectedly, the two connect, moved by their shared experience. From this flows a love that it appears will triumph above all. 

Assyria, in the reign of Ashurbanipal. For Aurya and her daydreaming brother, Sharo, every day is a struggle for survival, as they dodge the beatings of their drunken father and scrabble for scraps of food. One violent evening, everything changes. Soon, they are on the barge of King Ashurbanipal, bound for the beautiful, near-mythical city of Nineveh.  

Contrary to popular assumption, Arab women were instrumental in shaping world history. Between Rome's intervention in the Arabian Peninsula and the Arab conquests, noblewomen ruled independently, conducting trade and making war. Their power was often celebrated as queen, priestess and goddess. With time they delegated power to the most important holy men of their age, influencing Arabian paganism, Christianity and Islam forever.

A man marked by magic. A woman marked by her past. On the other side of the Shadowpass, rebellion is brewing and refugees have begun to trickle into the city at the edge of the world. Looming high on the cliff is The Nest, a fortress full of mages who offer protection, but also embody everything the rebellion is fighting against: a strict hierarchy based on magic abilities. When Isha arrives as a refugee, she attempts to fit in amongst the other mages, but her tattoo brands her as an outcast. She can't remember her past or why she has the tattoo. All she knows is that she survived. 

Named a “Best Book of the Year” by New York Post “Farida Khalaf’s story is harrowing but crucial—especially when it comes to understanding what ISIS actually is and does.” —Glamour “As gripping as it is appalling…a compelling testament to the suffering of ordinary people caught...

From the winner of the Sahitya Akademi Young Writer Award and the Crossword Book Award for Fiction Shortlisted for The Hindu Prize for Literature 2015 ‘Explores with sharp beauty the mystery at the centre of loving anyone’ Sophie Mackintosh, author of The Water Cure How does the world see...

Farah and her lizard jinn, Layla, are travelling through a vast desert—returning to their village home after their adventures with Amira and Leo in Voyage of the Lost and Found. Farah is desperate to see her sister again, but then she discovers a hidden city—full of people who have concealed their magic for many years. At first Farah thinks she has found new friends, but everything is not what it seems, and dark magic lies just beneath the surface....  

The Sahar Peninsula lies just beyond the horizon, but it isn't the easiest place to get to. No maps will take you there, nor can it be charted by gazing up at the stars or down at a compass.... Twelve-year-old Amira has only ever known a life at sea with her sea-witch mothers. So when their ship is wrecked in a great storm, Amira is delighted to have an opportunity to explore land - accompanied by her best friend, Namur - a jinn in cat form.

In a remote refugee camp, many diverse lives collide. A child with a love of wizards and an ageing rock star share their fate with a collection of disparate visitors when the camp is attacked. Years later, they find a way to tell their stories.

“A rich family saga . . . [written with] voluptuous lyricism and emotional precision.” —The Washington Post The rebellions within an interracial family play out against the countercultural rebellions of the 1960s in this sexy, stylish, sophisticated new novel by the award-winning...

This powerful and lyrical debut novel is to Syria what The Kite Runner was to Afghanistan; the story of two girls living eight hundred years apart—a modern-day Syrian refugee seeking safety and an adventurous mapmaker’s apprentice—“perfectly aligns with the cultural moment” (The...

#1 New York Times bestselling author Jo Nesbo's story "The Jealousy Man" is now a major motion picture Killer Heat starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, and Richard Madden – from Amazon MGM Studios and streaming on Prime Video. From “the greatest contemporary writer of the...

This is the story of Mary Magdalene. The Gospels tell us she was a successful woman. But they also tell us she found herself under the control of seven demons until the day Jesus set her free. From that day forward she was one of the women who traveled with Jesus. She was a firsthand witness to much of His ministry. She was one of the few who stood at the foot of the cross. She was one of a handful who journeyed to the garden tomb. She was the first to actually see Jesus after He had risen.

The Book of Acts recounts the stories of numerous men and a few women God chose to use to plant His church in the first century. This is the story of one of those–a merchant called Lydia. Explore her story and the story of the times in which she lived—the portion you may already know … and the rest of the story that could have been.

“Muzoon takes readers on her perilous and ultimately hopeful journey from refugee child to advocate for others in need.” —Malala Yousafzai, bestselling author and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize When her family had to flee Syria, 14-year-old Muzoon was told to pack only the most essential...

Since the revolution-turned-civil war in Syria began in 2011, over 500,000 civilians have been killed and more than 12 million Syrians have been displaced. Rania Abouzeid, one of the foremost journalists on the topic, follows two pairs of sisters from opposite sides of the conflict to give listeners a firsthand glimpse of the turmoil and devastation this strife has wrought.