Books like The glassblower's breath by Sunetra Gupta

George Orwell’s dystopian classic 1984 explores the chilling power of totalitarian regimes, surveillance, and propaganda in a future society.

During World War II, a foster girl in Nazi Germany steals books to share with neighbors and a hidden Jewish man, proving literature’s power to nourish the soul amid darkness.

Six friends navigate love, career, and cultural clashes while working nights at an Indian call center for a U.S. appliance company, culminating in a transformative Thanksgiving call that turns their lives upside down.

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.

The Moor's Last Sigh traces a family’s fortunes in 20th‑century India, weaving themes of love, secrecy, and the pursuit of power through generations.

In an Indian immigrant family in North America, 13‑year‑old Lila and her 12‑year‑old brother Hari fight to keep their home together as they face financial hardship. Hari’s trip to Bombay returns him with hopeful plans for their future.

Monsieur Perdu, a literary apothecary aboard a Seine barge, prescribes novels to heal broken hearts. When his own love remains a mystery, he journeys south of France to find closure and prove stories can mend souls.

In Kabul in 2007, Rahima and her sisters face a drug-addicted father and limited schooling. Their only refuge is the ancient custom of bacha posh, letting Rahima grow up disguised as a boy until marriageable age.

An Englishman finds himself in the most unlikely of places: the sun-baked countryside of India. With no job, no prospects, and no sense of belonging, he must rely on his wits and humor to survive.

Dorothea Mathis, a burned‑out hotel keeper in Strawberry Valley, Oklahoma, finally meets her old college crush, former Army Ranger Daniel Porter, whose return to care for ailing father sparks a fiery, rain‑kissing romance.

A Scottish master glassblower arrives in rural New Jersey, inspiring a teacher’s dream of glazing a schoolhouse while romance tugs at the heart of a young girl torn between duty and desire.

A New York computer operator uncovers a 1895 Calcutta experiment that used mosquitos to transfer chromosomes between people—prompting a thrilling exploration of science, predestination, and the ethics of genetic manipulation.

"In the village of Lauscha in Germany, things have been done the same way for centuries. The men blow the glass, and the women decorate and pack it. But when glassblower Joost Steinmann passes away unexpectedly one September night, his three daughters must learn to fend for themselves. While feisty Johanna takes a practical approach to looking for work, Ruth follows her heart, aiming to catch the eye of a handsome young villager. But it is dreamy, quiet Marie who has always been the most captivated by the magic and sparkling possibilities of the craft of glassblowing. As the spirited sisters work together to forge a brighter future for themselves on their own terms, they learn not only how to thrive in a man's world, but how to remain true to themselves--and their hearts--in the process."--p. [4] of cover

A Chinese mother and her adopted daughter, raised by an American couple, discover how a rare native tea links their worlds and transforms their family's destiny across cultures.

Made into a powerful, award-winning film in 1970, this important Kannada novel of the sixties has received widespread acclaim from both critics and general readers since its first publication in 1965. As a religious novel about a decaying brahmin colony in the south Indian village of Karnataka, "Samskara" serves as an allegory rich in realistic detail, a contemporary reworking of ancient Hindu themes and myths, and a serious, poetic study of a religious man living in a community of priests gone to seed. A death, which stands as the central event in the plot, brings in its wake a plague, many more deaths, live questions with only dead answers, moral chaos, and the rebirth of one man. The volume provides a useful glossary of Hindu myths, customs, Indian names, flora, and other terms. Notes and an afterword enhance the self-contained, faithful, and yet readable translation