The Bibliophile's Compass

Title : What We Can Know Author : Ian McEwan Publication Year : 2025 Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pages : 320 Source : ebook Genre : literary fiction, historical fiction, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Speculative Fiction First of all, What Can We Know? Absolutely nothing! I honestly don’t know how to review this book, because I was having the time of my life reading it while also being immensely annoyed by it. I was glued to the pages, deeply annoyed by the characters, and distinctly uncomfortable ever siding with or even empathising with anyone Ian McEwan puts on the page. At this point, I’m convinced it’s his signature move: make the reader squirm by the end, all by dragging out secrets that really should have stayed buried with no expiration date. This book is shelved as Science Fiction, Dystopia, Climate Change, Speculative… which is cute, but where are mystery, thriller, crime, and campus novel in that list? If you show up for one genre, you’ll leave with an armful of others and find you...

Title : Madonna in a Fur Coat Author : Sabahattin Ali Publication Year : 1943 Rating : ⭐⭐⭐💫 Pages : 192 Source : physical book (English) & audiobook @storytel.tr (Turkish) Genre : literary fiction, romance, historical fiction Madonna in a Fur Coat follows an unnamed narrator in Ankara (my current hometown), who plays a sort of Nick Carraway role from The Great Gatsby — quietly observing and recounting the life of someone else. That “someone else” is Raif: not a glamorous Gatsby figure at all, but much closer to Melville’s Bartleby, the Scrivener. This is a love story, yes, but not the kind you expect when you hear the word “romance.” Our narrator is jobless, penniless, and essentially homeless when he bumps into an old friend who helps him land a position. That’s how he meets Raif, the German language translator at the office. The novel is set in the 1930s, and that timing really matters: the love story, the social issues, the gender dynamics — they all make more sense wh...

Brief Summary To satisfy the hunger of the serpents on Zahhak’s shoulders, two young men are sacrificed daily. Armayel and Garmayel, two virtuous men driven by conscience, infiltrate the royal kitchen as cooks to save lives. By mixing sheep brains with the victims' brains, they manage to save one youth from every pair, sending the survivors to the safety of the mountains—an act of quiet defiance that preserved the spark of the nation’s future. The Myth of the Necessary Sacrifice In the inverted world of the tyrant, the slaughter of the youth is framed as a "remedy"—a medical necessity for the stability of the crown. This "false cure" suggests that the nation’s lifeblood must be drained to keep the parasitic snakes of the state at bay. In modern times, this remains the ultimate metaphor for a system that justifies the destruction of the next generation's potential under the guise of national security, treating the sacrifice of the young as a mandatory pric...

1906 Caesar and Cleopatra by George Bernard Shaw | Ireland | 160 | 1945 Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams | US | 104 | 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 2020 Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell | UK | 384 | 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 2020 Love After Love by Ingrid Persaud | Trinidad and Tobago | 410 | 2020 Stay Where I Can See You by Katrina Onstad | CAN | 304 | 2020 Samlade verk by Lydia Sandgren | Sweden | 690 | 🏆 2020 Hex by Rebecca Dinerstein Knight | US | 224 | 2020 Artforum by César Aira | Argentine | 80 | 2022 Maps of our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer | UK | 448 | 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 2022 Metronome by Tom Watson | US | 320 | 2026 The Adjunct by Maria Adelmann | US | 352 | 2026 Ruins by Lily Brooks-Dalton | US | 400 | 2026 Upward Bound by Woody Brown | US | 208 | 2026 Son of Nobody by Yann Martel | CAN | 352 | 2026 Love Is an Algorithm by Laura Brooke Robson | US | 400 | 🔗 Check this list for Today in Bookish History for March: https://fable.co/list/b46e5f96-a49b...

Brief Summary Zahhak’s reign is established as a thousand-year darkness defined by the total inversion of moral and social values. Under his rule, wisdom and virtue are forced into hiding while madness and deceit are celebrated as the new standard of the state. The era is epitomized by the capture and systematic corruption of Shahrnaz and Arnavaz, the daughters of Jamshid, who represent the stolen heart and voice of ancient Iranian civilization. The Architecture of Stagnation The "thousand years" of Zahhak is less a chronological measure and more a psychological one—a never-ending cycle of national pain that paralyzes growth. It represents a regressive force that actively reverses the flow of time, pulling a society away from its natural perfection and back toward chaos. In 2026, this manifests as a leadership that works tirelessly to undo social and intellectual progress, trapping the nation in a manufactured, stagnant past that feels like an eternal sentence. The Inver...

1894 Candida by George Bernard Shaw | Ireland | 74 | 2021 Girlhood by Melissa Febos | US | 336 |🏆🏆🏆 2021 100 Poems to Break Your Heart by Edward Hirsch | US | 512 | 2021 Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge | US | 336 | 2021 Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia | US | 224 | 2021 The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade | US | 432 | 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🔗 Check this list for Today in Bookish History for March: https://fable.co/list/b46e5f96-a49b-430a-a3a7-b892ccefcf63/share

  Brief Summary After centuries of a golden age, King Jamshid’s pride causes the divine glory ( Farr ) to depart from him, plunging Iran into civil strife and regional fragmentation. Desperate for order, the Iranian people and warriors turn to a foreign figure, Zahhak, mistakenly inviting a monster to occupy the throne of Jamshid. The era ends in absolute tragedy as Jamshid is hunted down and brutally executed by Zahhak, marking the end of ancient Iranian legitimacy and the beginning of a thousand-year darkness. The Spectre of Fragmentation The emergence of local power-seekers ( Xasravi ) throughout the provinces was the first sign of the collapse of the unified Iranian vision. In the modern era, the fear of a nation divided into separate, warring regions is often weaponized to justify the grip of an illegitimate authority. Yet, this narrative ignores the enduring reality that those within the borders remain Iranians first; the pulse of national identity persists despite attempt...

1979 Cloud Nine by Caryl Churchill | UK | 111 | 2022 The Very Last Interview by David Shields | 164 | 2022 How Strange a Season by Megan Mayhew Bergman | US | 304 | 2022 Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson | AUS | 384 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ( My Review ) 2022 Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus | US | 560 | 🏆 🔗 Check this list for Today in Bookish History for March: https://fable.co/list/b46e5f96-a49b-430a-a3a7-b892ccefcf63/share

  Brief Summary After seizing the throne, Zahhak is further seduced by Iblis, who appears as a master chef to introduce a predatory diet of meat and blood, fundamentally altering the king's nature. Through a deceptive kiss on the shoulders, Iblis causes two black serpents to sprout from the king’s flesh, parasites that cannot be removed and represent unquenchable greed. To pacify these serpents, Iblis, now disguised as a physician, commands that they be fed the brains of two young men every day, turning the state into a machine that consumes its own future to sustain a dying tyrant. The Lure of Total Control The transition to tyranny often begins with the "populist promise" of absolute authority. Iblis offers Zahhak a world where every beast, bird, and human is a servant, provided the leader remains loyal to a destructive, external ideology. In a 2026 context, this reflects the dangerous allure of a leadership that seeks to control not just the borders, but the nature,...

2023 White Cat, Black Dog: Stories by Kelly Link | US | 272 | 🏆🏆 2023 Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls | US | 368 | 2023 The Great Reclamation by Rachel Heng | Singapore | 464 | 🏆🏆🏆 2023 The New Earth by Jess Row | US | 592 | 2023 Chlorine by Jade Song | US | 256 | 2023 Evil Eye by Etaf Rum | US | 352 | 2023 Lone Women by Victor LaValle | US | 304 | 🏆🏆🏆 2023 Ten Percent Thief by Lavanya Lakshminarayan | IND | 368 | 🔗 Check this list for Today in Bookish History for March: https://fable.co/list/b46e5f96-a49b-430a-a3a7-b892ccefcf63/share

  Brief Summary The story of Zahhak begins with a chilling betrayal: a shallow-headed prince is seduced by Iblis (the Devil), who appears as a helpful advisor. Bound by a secret oath, Zahhak agrees to a plot to murder his father, the righteous and generous King Mirdas (King of Arabs), by trapping and killing him in a pit during his dawn prayers. By murdering the "Good Father," Zahhak seizes the throne through blood and deceit, marking the moment a righteous lineage is replaced by a parasite of the dark. The Enduring Threat to the National Soul The introduction of a foreign disruptive force into the narrative serves as a timeless reminder of the vulnerability of the Persian plateau. When the "Good King" Jamshid fell to pride, the void was filled by an external chaos that sought to dismantle the very foundations of Iranian identity. This ancient tension reflects a recurring historical struggle: the constant threat of a leadership that is alien to the values of the ...

2025 Death at the White Hart by Chris Chibnall | UK | 368 | 2025 The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits | US | 240 | 🏆 🔗 Check this list for Today in Bookish History for March: https://fable.co/list/b46e5f96-a49b-430a-a3a7-b892ccefcf63/share

  Brief Summary Jamshid’s seven-hundred-year reign represents the absolute peak of ancient Iranian civilization, marked by the discovery of medicine, navigation, metallurgy, and the establishment of the social order. He famously creates a utopia where death and disease are banished, culminating in the first Nowruz celebration atop a flying throne. However, blinded by his own achievements, Jamshid claims divinity and absolute authority over both the material and spiritual worlds, causing the Divine Glory ( Farr ) to depart and leaving the nation vulnerable to the darkness of tyranny. The Harmony of Just Rule In the Shahnameh , a just king does more than manage a state; he brings harmony to the cosmic order. During Jamshid’s early years, his power was so balanced and righteous that it resonated through the supernatural world, commanding demons and birds alike. This "Golden Age" suggests that when a leadership is truly aligned with justice, the environment, the economy, and t...

1940 The Fifth Column by Ernest Hemingway | US | 112 | 2013 And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott | CAN | 368 | 2019 A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine | US | 464 | 🏆🏆🏆 2019 The Other Americans by Laila Lalami | Moroccan-American | 336 | 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 2024 All the World Beside by Garrard Conley | US | 352 | 2024 The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones | US | 464 | 2024 Worry by Alexandra Tanner | US | 304 | 🔗 Check this list for Today in Bookish History for March: https://fable.co/list/b46e5f96-a49b-430a-a3a7-b892ccefcf63/share

Brief Summary Tahmuras, the son of Hushang, ascends the throne with a mission to purge the world of evil. He is credited with the domestication of swift predators like the cheetah and the invention of weaving and carpets. Most famously, he subdues Ahriman (the Devil) to use him as a steed, eventually defeating a demonic rebellion and forcing the captured spirits to reveal the "secret art" of writing in thirty different scripts. The Mandate to Bind Chaos In the Shahnameh , the title Div-Band (Demon-Binder) represents the essential duty of a ruler to restrain the forces of lies, irrationality, and economic ruin. This ancient concept of "binding" the demon reflects a timeless Iranian yearning for a leadership capable of taming the chaotic elements—whether internal or external—that threaten to tear the social fabric apart. A ruler only retains the Farr (Divine Glory) as long as they remain a bulwark against this darkness; should they become the source of the "...

1997 Lighthousekeeping by Jeanette Winterson | Uk | 204 | 1997 Gut Symmetries by Jeanette Winterson | UK | 240 | 2009 Tunneling to the Center of the Earth by Kevin Wilson | US | 224 | 🏆🏆 2025 The Rest of Our Lives by Benjamin Markovits | US | 256 | 🏆 2025 Counting Backwards by Binnie Kirshenbaum | US | 400 | 2025 Tilt by Emma Pattee | US | 240 | 🏆 2025 Sister Europe by Nell Zink | US | 208 | 2025 The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne by Ron Currie Jr. | US | 368 | 2025 Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert by Bob The Drag Queen | US | 240 | 2025 Silent Catastrophes: Essays in Austrian Literature by W. G. Sebald | GR | 544 | 2025 Thrilled to Death: Selected Stories by Lynne Tillman | US | 320 | 2025 Twist by Colum McCann | Ireland | 256 | 🔗 Check this list for Today in Bookish History for March: https://fable.co/list/b46e5f96-a49b-430a-a3a7-b892ccefcf63/share

  Brief Summary As the founder of industry, King Hushang transforms human existence by mastering metallurgy and hydraulic engineering. He does not merely rule; he toils alongside his people to create saws, axes, and irrigation systems, domesticating the wild and providing the "speakers" of the world with food, clothing, and structure. His reign concludes with a poignant reminder that even the greatest civilizer must eventually surrender his throne to the relentless march of time. Leadership Through Labor and Utility In the Shahnameh , true leadership is never a parasitic endeavor; it is rooted in productivity . Hushang is the "first laborer," a ruler who earns his legitimacy by getting his hands dirty to forge the tools his people need. Rather than erecting hollow monuments to his own ego, he builds infrastructure designed to reduce human suffering. This ancient standard of "good governance" stands as a silent, painful critique of any modern authority t...

2015 The Wolf Border by Sarah Hall | UK | 432 | 2020 The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel | CAN | 320 | 🏆🏆 2020 The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin | US | 488 | 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 2020 Enter the Aardvark by Jessica Anthony | US | 192 | 2020 The Herd by Andrea Bartz | US | 336 | 2020 Lakewood by Megan Giddings | US | 288 | 2020 The Everlasting by Katy Simpson Smith | US | 352 | 2022 I Am Not Your Eve by Devika Ponnambalam | UK | 182 | 2026 A Beautiful Loan by Mary Costello | Ireland | 223 | 2026 The Unpolished Life of Eleanor Whitfield by Rachel Hanna | US | 276 | 2026 Light and Thread by Han Kang | South Korea | 176 | 2026 The Danger of Small Things by Caryl Lewis | US | 272 | 2026 The Beheading Game by Rebecca Lehmann | US | 307 | 2026 Almost Life by Kiran Millwood Hargrave | UK | 384 | 2026 Celestial Lights by Cecile Pin | FR | 256 | 2026 The Moonlight Runner by Karen Robards | US | 359 | 2026 Ruins, Child by Giada Scodellaro | Italy | 128 | 🔗 Check ...

  Brief Summary (SPOILERS) While hunting in the mountains, King Hushang encounters a dark, monstrous serpent representing the forces of chaos. He hurls a stone at the creature; though the serpent escapes, the impact against a boulder creates a miraculous spark. Recognizing this "divine radiance" as the discovery of fire, Hushang establishes a new era of enlightenment, community, and the sacred festival of Sadeh. Divine Accountability and Humility In the Shahnameh , true sovereignty is never absolute; it is a stewardship. Upon discovering fire, Hushang immediately turns to the Creator in prayer, acknowledging that his power and his discoveries are gifts from a higher moral order. This ancient model of leadership serves as a quiet, symbolic critique of any modern authority that places itself above accountability. It suggests that when a ruler forgets they are subservient to a universal truth, they lose the ethical foundation required to lead a nation. The Radiance of Truth ...

1782 Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos | FR | 418 | 1844 The Spectacles by Edgar Allan Poe | US | 40 | ⭐⭐ ( My Review ) 2020 The Wife Upstairs by Freida McFadden | US | 420 | 2021 The Vietri Project by Nicola DeRobertis-Theye | US | 240 | 🔗 Check this list for Today in Bookish History for March: https://fable.co/list/b46e5f96-a49b-430a-a3a7-b892ccefcf63/share

  Brief Summary (SPOILERS) After the tragic loss of Prince Siamak and peaceful death of Gayumars, Hushang ascends the throne with wisdom and divine favor. His forty-year reign marks the dawn of the Iron Age, as he masters the elements to separate metal from stone and establishes the first true structures of civilization. Through the discovery of fire and the promotion of agriculture, he transforms a grieving land into a prosperous empire defined by technical mastery and the rule of law. The Sacred Chain of Legitimacy In the Shahnameh , Hushang does not seize power through raw ambition; he "places the crown upon his head in place of his grandfather." This creates a seamless, sacred transition that anchors the nation’s identity in continuity rather than chaos. Today, this ancient verse mirrors a profound, quiet longing for a governance that feels truly legitimate - one that is rooted in the authentic soul of the people rather than the volatility of modern power struggles. ...

1928 This Year of Grace by Noël Coward | UK | 2022 Don't Know Tough by Eli Cranor | US | 337 | 🏆 2022 Portrait of an Unknown Lady by Maria Gainza | Argentine | 192 | 2022 The Town of Babylon by Alejandro Varela | US | 320 | 🏆🏆 2022 Vinegar Hill by Colm Tóibín | Ireland | 144 | 2022 Monarch by Candice Wuehle | 256 | 🏆 🔗 Check this list for Today in Bookish History for March: https://fable.co/list/b46e5f96-a49b-430a-a3a7-b892ccefcf63/share

  Brief Summary (SPOILER) After the tragic loss of Siamak, his son Hushang is raised by King Gayumars to be the next leader of the Iranian people. Realizing his own time is ending, Gayumars passes all the secrets of the kingdom and the command of the army to his young, brilliant grandson. Hushang, embodying both intelligence and culture, gathers a unique army composed of humans, spirits, and wild animals to seek justice. In a fierce battle, Hushang confronts the Black Demon and successfully decapitates the symbol of evil, restoring the nation’s honor. With the vengeance complete and a capable successor on the throne, the first king, Gayumars, peacefully passes away. Intelligence as the Ultimate Weapon The Shahnameh reminds us that Hushang’s power did not spring from raw violence, but from the very roots of his name: Housh (intellect) and Farhang (culture). In the face of modern brutality, the most potent response remains a refusal to descend into the crude tactics of the oppres...

1860 English novelist George Eliot finishes her novel "The Mill on the Floss" in Wandsworth, London | UK | 704 | 1888 Sweet Lavender by Arthur Pinero | UK | 200 | 1957 Orpheus Descending by Tennessee Williams | US | 83 | 1985 Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson | UK | 192 | 🏆 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ( My Review ) 2000 Angel Falls by Kristin Hannah | US | 400 | 2019 The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell | American-Zambian | 576 | 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 2023 Y/N by Esther Yi | US | 224 | 🏆 2023 Flux by Jinwoo Chong | US | 352 | 🏆🏆 2023 Commitment by Mona Simpson | US | 416 | 2023 Lone Women by Victor LaValle | US | 304 | 🏆🏆 2023 Ten Planets: Stories by Yuri Herrera | Mexico | 112 | 2023 American Mermaid by Julia Langbein | US | 336 | 🔗 Check this list for Today in Bookish History for March: https://fable.co/list/b46e5f96-a49b-430a-a3a7-b892ccefcf63/share

Brief Summary (SPOILER) Gayumars is the first king of the world, establishing civilization and the "Royal Glory" ( Farr ) from his home in the mountains. His era is peaceful until the envious Ahriman (the Devil) plots to destroy Iranian greatness by sending a monstrous Black Demon. Gayumars’ beloved son, the young prince Siamak, goes out to face the demon "bare-bodied" without armor to protect his father’s throne. Tragically, the demon overpowers Siamak and rips him apart, making him the first martyr (Javidnam) of the Iranian nation. Overwhelmed by grief, Gayumars and the entire world mourn for a year until a divine messenger commands them to stop weeping and seek justice through a war of vengeance. The Triumph of the Poet Despite countless attempts to erase the Shahnameh from our collective memory, Ferdowsi always emerges triumphant. His stories of Iran-zamin often seem to loop in a cycle of tragic repercussions rather than happy endings, yet we return to them bec...

1852 Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe | US | 266 | 1906 Captain Brassbound's Conversion by George Bernard Shaw | Ireland | 116 | 🔗 Check this list for Today in Bookish History for March: https://fable.co/list/b46e5f96-a49b-430a-a3a7-b892ccefcf63/share

1951 The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk | US | 560 | 🏆 1953 Camino Real by Tennessee Williams | US | 161 | 2015 Ru by Kim Thúy | CAN | 141 | 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 2019 The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley | US | 400 | 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 2024 James by Percival Everett | US | 320 | 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 2024 The Morningside by Téa Obreht | Serbia | 287 | 🏆🏆 2024 Annie Bot by Sierra Greer | US | 240 | 🏆🏆 2024 Possessed by Witold Gombrowicz | POL | 416 | 2024 Who's Afraid of Gender? by Judith Butler | US | 320 | 2024 The Mars House by Natasha Pulley | UK | 480 | 2024 Memory Piece by Lisa Ko | US | 304 | 🏆🏆 2024 Wild Houses by Colin Barrett | Ireland - CAN | 272 | 🏆 2025 Mice 1961 by Stacey Levine | US | 260 | 🏆🏆 🔗 Check this list for Today in Bookish History for March: https://fable.co/list/b46e5f96-a49b-430a-a3a7-b892ccefcf63/share

1773 She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith | UK | 144 | 2004 The Electric Michelangelo by Sarah Hall | UK | 368 | 🏆🏆 2010 Solar by Ian McEwan | UK | 304 | 🏆 2025 Wildcat Dome by Yuko Tsushima | JAP | 272 | 2025 The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones | US | 448 | 2025 Hot Air by Marcy Dermansky | US | 208 | 2025 Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins | US | 400 | 2025 Theft by Abdulrazak Gurnah | Tanzanian | 296 | 2025 Rooms for Vanishing by Stuart Nadler | US | 44 | 2025 O Sinners! by Nicole Cuffy | US | 464 | 🏆 2025 Spellbound: My Life as a Dyslexic Wordsmith by Phil Hanley | CAN | 272 | 🔗 Check this list for Today in Bookish History for March: https://fable.co/list/b46e5f96-a49b-430a-a3a7-b892ccefcf63/share

1849 Hop-Frog by Edgar Allan Poe | US | 34 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ( My Review ) 1924 Welded by Eugene O'Neill | US | 43 | 1997 Naked by David Sedaris | US | 291 | 🏆 2020 The Animals in That Country by Laura Jean McKay | AUS | 288 | 🏆🏆🏆 2020 The Eighth Girl by Maxine Mei-Fung Chung | UK - China | 480 | 2020 The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai | Vietnam | 342 | 2020 The Boy from the Woods by Harlan Coben | US | 384 | 2025 The Writer by James Patterson | US | 378 | 2026 Paradiso 17 by Hannah Lillith Assadi | US | 296 | 🏆 2026 Life: A Love Story by Elizabeth Berg | US | 208 | 2026 I Am Agatha by Nancy Foley | US | 256 | 2026 Sisters in Yellow by Mieko Kawakami | JAP | 428 | 2026 Under Water by Tara Menon | IND | 223 | 2026 The Plans I Have for You by Lai Sanders | US | 2026 The Fountain by Casey Scieszka | US | 304 | 2026 I Love You Don't Die by Jade Song | US | 288 | 2026 Lucien by J.R. Thornton | US | 320 | 2026 The Monroe Girls by Antoine Volodine | FR | 278 |...