Andrea Hörnke-Trieß Books

A riveting and powerful story of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship and an indestructible love

Seeing, feeling, tasting, smelling and hearing - if you join Rafiq Shami and his sister Marie Fadel on a stroll through their native Damascus, you will discover this Queen of the Orient with all your senses. Rafiq Shami, award-winning writer and master storyteller, describes the colorful scenes of the old town and relays the stories of its inhabitants overheard in the coffee houses. Reading his prose one seems to be able to smell the cardamom and the coriander sold in the spice market and hear the cries of street traders. Inspired by his stories, one can follow his sister Marie Fadel’s recipes and recreate the tastes of the Orient.

A magical mixture of East meets West, and mothers in conflict with daughters – for anyone who enjoyed ‘Bend it like Beckham’ but prefers food to football…There's East. There's West. And then there's Maya…Maya, her mother Nalini, and her brother Satchin have left a carefree life in India to come to England. But when Maya's father disappears, leaving only deceit and debt behind, they are left to fend for themselves in a strange, damp land.Maya, though, doesn't know of her father's betrayal. Nalini, determined to preserve her children's pride, tells them that their father died in an accident and, as their struggle to make a life begins, whole realities are built on this lie. While Nalini cooks exotic pickles which enchant all who eat them, Maya begins to adapt to her new home – the unfamiliar food, the language, the music – and then to explore and make bold plans, plans that her mother does not understand.But even a white lie cannot remain hidden forever – and when the truth resurfaces, it changes everything…