Books like A purple sea by Ambai

Candide: A Tale of Conviviality and Optimism in a Wretched World

The God of Small Things chronicles the upended childhood of fraternal twins in India, exploring love, caste, and the impact of small moments on fate.

A collection of nine short stories by Jhumpa Lahiri that follows Indian and Indian‑American characters navigating identity, displacement, and complex relationships.

A reimagining of the epic tale of the Mahabharat, told from the perspective of Panchaali, the wife of the Pandavas, as she balances her wives' kingdoms and faces the threats of war and betrayal.

Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland traces two brothers—Subhash, who settles in America, and Udayan, who joins a political uprising in Calcutta—and their divergent paths until a tragic event forces a return to India and a quest to mend family bonds.

A woman's rise from poverty to political influence, inspired by stories told by a storyteller's daughter.

A former Japanese POW survivor in post-war Malaya journeys to the secluded Garden of Evening Mists to learn from a reclusive gardener, uncovering secrets of war and forgiveness amid the country's turbulent fight for independence.

Originally published in 1966

A collection of short stories by Brazilian writer Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, translated into English, that examine social life, manners, and customs through humor and irony.

A compelling collection of poems by Adrienne Rich that explores themes of war, oppression, future, death, mystery, love and the transformative power of language.

"A collection of stories that focus on love, lost love, death, the absurdity of the human condition, relationships and beauty. There is also a story about insects that is more human than most D.H. Lawrence. Leidner's fiction is deeply-infused with poetry but never turns purple."--Publisher's description.

In September 1838 a storm blows up on the Indian Ocean and the Ibis, a ship carrying a consignment of convicts and indentured laborers from Calcutta to Mauritius, is caught up in the whirlwind. When the seas settle, five men have disappeared - two lascars, two convicts and one of the passengers. Did the same storm upend the fortunes of those aboard the Anahita, an opium carrier heading towards Canton? And what fate befell those aboard the Redruth, a sturdy two-masted brig heading East out of Cornwall? Was it the storm that altered their course or were the destinies of these passengers at the mercy of even more powerful forces? On the grand scale of an historical epic, River of Smoke follows its storm-tossed characters to the crowded harbors of China. There, despite efforts of the emperor to stop them, ships from Europe and India exchange their cargoes of opium for boxes of tea, silk, porcelain and silver. Among them are Bahram Modi, a wealthy Parsi opium merchant out of Bombay, his estranged half-Chinese son Ah Fatt, the orphaned Paulette and a motley collection of others whose pursuit of romance, riches and a legendary rare flower have thrown together. All struggle to cope with their losses - and for some, unimaginable freedoms - in the alleys and crowded waterways of 19th century Canton.

A collection of Luigi Pirandello’s short stories translated into English, exploring the nuances of Italian social life, manners, and customs through sharp observation and subtle humor.

A whimsical child’s book that explores how fishes of different sizes introduce space relationships and size differences in the ocean.