Books like Disoriental by Négar Djavadi

A 1930s wartime tale of a blind French girl and a German boy whose lives intersect in occupied France, weaving themes of survival, friendship, and the moral choices people make amid World War II.

A personal, illustrated memoir of Marjane Satrapi’s childhood in Tehran, her coming‑of‑age during the Islamic Revolution, teenage years in Vienna and eventual exile from Iran.

After the Civil War, a veteran newspaper‑reader, Captain Jefferson Kidd, journeys through Texas and agrees to escort an orphaned Kiowa girl, Johanna, to San Antonio—a perilous trek that tests their survival and trust.

Madeleine Thien’s memoir‑style novel traces an intergenerational Chinese family from Mao’s Cultural Revolution to present‑day Vancouver, exploring how political upheaval reshaped musicians, parents and children across time.

Jende Jonga’s dream of a new life in New York turns into a struggle as his family faces the rigors of immigration law and the hidden dangers of working for a powerful executive.

An orchardist's lonely existence torn by love and pain, captured in vivid nature and human relationships.

A bustling Chinese immigrant family’s fortune crashes, forcing them on a cross‑country road trip that tests their bonds and redefines what home means.

A house that has stood for eight centuries is threatened by political upheaval in 1969 Iran.

A multigenerational family saga of American radicals, following two women—Rose Zimmer, the “Red Queen” of Sunnyside, and her daughter Miriam in Greenwich Village—through the shifting tides of 20th‑century political movements.

A childhood tragedy leads two girls—Josef’s adopted son and the Orphaned Mila—into the heart of the Satmar Hasidic community, where secrets, faith, and family bonds clash amid the upheavals of 20th‑century Europe.

A spy thriller set against the backdrop of World War II Paris, focusing on Jean Casson's tumultuous romance and moral compromises during the occupation.

"A unique and moving real-life story of the extraordinary bond between a young teacher and a penguin, this book will delight readers who loved Marley & Me, Dewey the Library Cat, The Good Good Pig, and any book by Jon Katz. In 1975, twenty-three-year-old Englishman Tom Michell follows his wanderlust to Argentina, where he becomes assistant master at a prestigious boarding school. But Michell's adventures really begin when, on a weekend in Uruguay, he rescues a penguin covered in oil from an ocean spill, cleans the bird up, and attempts to return him to the sea. But the penguin refuses to leave his rescuer's side. "That was the moment at which he became my penguin, and whatever the future held, we'd face it together," says Michell in this charming memoir. Michell names the penguin Juan Salvador ("John Saved"), but Juan Salvador, as it turns out, is the one who saves Michell. After Michell smuggles the bird back to Argentina and into his campus apartment, word spreads about the young Englishman's unusual roommate. Juan Salvador is suddenly the center of attention--as mascot of the rugby team, confidant to the dorm housekeeper, co-host of Michell's parties, and an unprecedented swimming coach to a shy boy. Even through the collapse of the Peronist government and amid the country's economic and political strife, Juan Salvador brings joy to everyone around him--especially Michell, who considers the affectionate animal a compadre and kindred spirit. Witty and heartwarming, The Penguin Lessons is a classic in the making, a story that is both absurd and wonderful, exactly like Juan Salvador"-- "Whether as rugby team mascot or assistant swimming coach, the penguin known as Juan Salvador touches and transforms everyone he encounters, including Tom Michell, the young teacher who finds him and rescues him from an oil spill disaster. After a time, Juan Salvador (meaning "the saved one") receives a new name: Juan Salvado, or "the savior." Set against the turbulent world of political unrest of 1970s Argentina, this multi-layered true story is a testament and tribute to animals and will no doubt resonate with the people who love them"--

Kimiâ Sadr fled Iran at the age of ten in the company of her mother and sisters to join her father in France. Now twenty-five and facing the future she has built for herself, as well as the prospect of a new generation, Kimiâ is inundated by her own memories and the stories of her ancestors, which come to her in unstoppable, uncontainable waves. In the waiting room of a Parisian fertility clinic, generations of flamboyant Sadrs return to her, including her formidable great-grandfather Montazemolmolk, with his harem of fifty-two wives, and her parents, Darius and Sara, stalwart opponents of each regime that befalls them. It is Kimiâ herself--punk-rock aficionado, storyteller extraordinaire, a Scheherazade of our time, and above all a modern woman divided between family traditions and her own "disorientalization"--who forms the heart of this bestselling and beloved novel, recipient of numerous literary honors.

A fiction novel that examines family life, sibling rivalry, and the allure of tall tales, and has been reviewed by the New York Times.