The novel centers on Davita Chandal, a young girl whose parents are dedicated Communists living in New York during the Great Depression and World War II. Amidst personal loss and a changing world, Davita seeks solace and independence in the Jewish faith that her mother had previously abandoned.Â
The narrator finds himself trapped in this disorienting world where reason is helpless. Events dreamed seem to affect real life and vice versa. In a particularly unsettling twist, the narrator nearly has an affair with the innkeeper's wife, later sees this event on a "Seahorse" card, and eventually finds himself in a position where he has effectively replaced the innkeeper, growing to resemble him more with each passing, nightmarish day. The ambiguous ending leaves the reader wondering if the entire experience was a dream or a descent into a sinister reality.
The story follows Daniel Fox, who hopes for an ordinary day in New York City but instead witnesses a murder, gets kidnapped from the Museum of Ancient History, and ends up in a waiting room that leads to the capital of the underworld, the great city of Arison. In Arison, he discovers a world governed by strict rules and a hierarchy of "lower lords", and learns he may have a special, yet unknown, role to play.
The novel is set in France between 1910 and 1940 and tells a gripping story of family life, star-crossed lovers, and the impact of two world wars on a small town and an industrial family. It was first published posthumously in France in 1947, five years after the author's death in Auschwitz.
The novel is a crime story that begins with the apparent suicide of a young American student in Stockholm. The investigation leads a small team of police officers through a complex web of international espionage, corruption, and the real-life assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, exploring themes of treachery and the search for truth within a murky political world.
The novel is an epic historical fiction that spans over 300 years, from the late seventeenth century to the present day. It follows the descendants of two penniless Frenchmen who arrive in New France (North America) to work as woodcutters, or "barkskins". The story explores themes of environmental change, the history of the North American forests, cultural clashes between European settlers and Indigenous peoples, and the long-term consequences of resource exploitation.
