During the unity between Syria and Egypt, the people of a small village in southern Syria submit a request to the region’s directorate about their desire to establish a public library. This request raises the astonishment of the authorities, as how can a village where most of its people have left due to drought, famine, and the approaching famine want paper instead of paper? the bread?!
With a circular narrative that begins with the submission of a purchase order and ends with the bookstore’s mysterious disappearance, the stories reproduce one after another, creating the novel’s grand narrative: the story of the desire for knowledge and imagination.
Ever since the Parisian girl Marie-Laure lost her sight, she has been living her own world, either between the pages of the books her father brings her, or in the corridors of the National Museum of Natural History where he works, enchanted by the wonders of the museum and the imaginative stories she hears about its holdings, especially the mysterious jewel: the Sea of Flames. She spends her days with her father with her usual routine, until the war begins, forcing them to run away carrying a dangerous secret.
On the other side of the war, in an orphanage in a small German town, a German teenager spends his days with his little sister, fascinated by the magic of radio and its ability to transmit news and stories from distant lands. Werner pursues his obsession to become an expert in installing and repairing radios, until the war requires him to join the engineering forces in the German army.
Through their story, Anthony Dorr tells in his charming novel about the good that we may see despite the ugliness of war, and about what war does to dreamers.
اقتباسات كتاب "دروس من الحياة". إنكم سعداء ولكنكم لا تدرون، سعداء إن عرفتم قدر النعم التي تستمتعون بها، سعداء إن عرفتم أنفسكم واستمتعتم بالمخزون من قواها، سعداء
No temporary address:
The book carries a sublime message that a young woman wanted to convey, despite her young age. However, life has taught her enough lessons to make her decades ahead of those of her age. The book is a bridge between the writer’s heart and the hearts of the people, so that she can express through it the “lesson” that makes us obsolete about the existence of a person. He guides us to it, and it is enough for us that words are able to console us and paint a picture of happiness in our hearts.
