Two women in modern-day Kabul, Afghanistan survive war with the Soviets, Mujahideen, Taliban, and an abusive husband. This novel is a great window into a faraway and mysterious country now intimately connected to our own.

Blinn

I liked this tale full of magic and mystery set in Renaissance Florence and the Mughal Empire of India.

Blinn

A Franciscan monk arrives at a monastery in 14^th century Italy to facilitate a high-level political meeting. While he’s there, several monks fall victim to gruesome murders. Eco’s engrossing mystery is an amazing window into the politics, religion, and culture of Europe during this time period, and is also worth reading for the scenes in the monastery’s labyrinthine library.

Blinn