
Nata’s Books
#1 The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida (Shehan Karunatilaka)
WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 2022 SHORTLISTED FOR THE RSL ONDAATJE PRIZE 2023 Now with added author content - a Map of Colombo as viewed from the afterlife + Dramatis Personae A magical realism whodunnit set amid Sri Lanka's civil war Colombo, 1990. Maali Almeida, war photographer, gambler and closet gay, has woken up dead in what seems like a celestial visa office. His dismembered body is sinking in the serene Beira lake and he has no idea who killed him. At a time where scores are settled by death squads, suicide bombers and hired goons, the list of suspects is depressingly long, as the ghouls and ghosts with grudges who cluster round can attest. But even in the afterlife, time is running out for Maali. He has seven moons to try and contact the man and woman he loves most and lead them to a hidden cache of photos that will rock Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka's foremost author delivers a rip-roaring epic, full of mordant wit and disturbing truths. 'Recalls the mordant wit and surrealism of Gogol and Bulgakov.' Guardian 'Outstanding... the most significant work of Sri Lankan fiction in a decade.' New European
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#2 1Q84 (Haruki Murakami)
An ode to George Orwell's "1984" told in alternating male and female voices relates the stories of Aomame, an assassin for a secret organization who discovers that she has been transported to an alternate reality, and Tengo, a mathematics lecturer and novice writer.
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#3 The Goldfinch (Donna Tartt)
A young New Yorker grieving his mother's death is pulled into a gritty underworld of art and wealth in this “extraordinary” and beloved novel that "connects with the heart as well as the mind" (Stephen King, New York Times Book Review), named a New York Times Best Book of the 21st Century. Theo Decker, a 13-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don't know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by a longing for his mother, he clings to the one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into a wealthy and insular art community. As an adult, Theo moves silkily between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty labyrinth of an antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love — and at the center of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle. The Goldfinch is a mesmerizing, stay-up-all-night and tell-all-your-friends triumph, an old-fashioned story of loss and obsession, survival and self-invention. From the streets of New York to the dark corners of the art underworld, this "soaring masterpiece" examines the devastating impact of grief and the ruthless machinations of fate (Ron Charles, Washington Post).
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#4 Anna Burns „Milchmann“
Anna Burns' Roman "Milkman" spielt während der Unruhen in Nordirland und erzählt die Geschichte einer 18-jährigen Frau, die ungewollt in den Fokus eines mächtigen Paramilitärs gerät, bekannt als "der Milchmann". Die daraus resultierenden Gerüchte in der Gemeinschaft isolieren sie und beleuchten die erdrückende soziale Dynamik und die Macht des Klatsches in einer politisch angespannten Gesellschaft. Dieser Roman wurde 2018 mit dem Booker Literaturpreis ausgezeichnet und thematisiert Überwachung, die persönlichen Auswirkungen politischer Konflikte und den Kampf des Individuums gegen gesellschaftliche Erwartungen.
#5 Factfulness (Hans Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund, Ola Rosling)
Factfulness: The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts. When asked simple questions about global trends―what percentage of the world’s population live in poverty; why the world’s population is increasing; how many girls finish school―we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess teachers, journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers. In Factfulness, Professor of International Health and global TED phenomenon Hans Rosling, together with his two long-time collaborators, Anna and Ola, offers a radical new explanation of why this happens. They reveal the ten instincts that distort our perspective―from our tendency to divide the world into two camps (usually some version of us and them) to the way we consume media (where fear rules) to how we perceive progress (believing that most things are getting worse). Our problem is that we don’t know what we don’t know, and even our guesses are informed by unconscious and predictable biases. It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think. That doesn’t mean there aren’t real concerns. But when we worry about everything all the time instead of embracing a worldview based on facts, we can lose our ability to focus on the things that threaten us most. Inspiring and revelatory, filled with lively anecdotes and moving stories, Factfulness is an urgent and essential book that will change the way you see the world and empower you to respond to the crises and opportunities of the future.
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#6 Supremacy (Parmy Olson)
"Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT, and the Race That Will Change the World" by Parmy Olson is a non-fiction book that delves into the behind-the-scenes story of the intense competition between the two leading artificial intelligence companies, OpenAI (ChatGPT) and DeepMind (now part of Google). "Supremacy" explores themes of manipulation, exploitation, secrecy, and the rapid, often unchecked, progress in AI development. It highlights the ethical dilemmas and potential risks associated with the widespread adoption of AI, including concerns about bias and the lack of transparency in large language models. Ultimately, the book serves as a critical examination of the forces shaping the future of AI and its profound impact on society. It won the 2024 Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award.