Miller is a bold poet working from the "pure energy of language, without apology."--The Boston Book Review

Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav (1772-1810) is widely considered to be one of the foremost visionary storytellers of the Hasidic movement. The great-grandson of the Ba'al Shem Tov, founder of the movement, Rabbi Nachman came to be regarded as a great figure and leader in his own right, guiding his followers on a spiritual path inspired by Kabbalah. In the last four years of his life he turned to storytelling, crafting highly imaginative, allegorical tales for his Hasidim. Three-time National Jewish Book Award winner Howard Schwartz has masterfully compiled the most extensive collection of Nachman's stories available in English. In addition to the well-known Thirteen Tales, including "The Lost Princess" and "The Seven Beggars," Schwartz has included over one hundred narratives in the various genres of fairy tales, fables, parables, dreams, and folktales, many of them previously unknown or believed lost. One such story is the carefully guarded "Tale of the Bread," which was never intended to be written down and was only to be shared with those Bratslavers who could be trusted not to reveal it. Eventually recorded by Rabbi Nachman's scribe, the tale has maintained its mythical status as a "hidden story." With utmost reverence and unfettered delight, Schwartz has carefully curated A Palace of Pearls alongside masterful commentary that guides the reader through the Rabbi's spiritual mysticism and uniquely Kabbalistic approach, ultimately revealing Rabbi Nachman to be a literary heavyweight in the vein of Gogol and Kafka. Vibrant, wise, and provocative, this book is a must-read for any lover of fairy tales and fables.

“A fabulous interweaving of fantasy, politics, and sisterhood—this unusual, tense tale will have you on the edge of your seat!”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Tamora Pierce Red Queen meets House of Salt and Sorrow in Mara Rutherford's debut YA fantasy Crown of Coral and Pearl, which follows a young woman from a village on the sea who must impersonate her twin on land to save everyone she loves from a tyrannical prince. For generations, the crown princes of Ilara have married the most beautiful maidens from the ocean village of Varenia. Nor once dreamed of seeing the mysterious mountain kingdom for herself, but after a childhood accident left her with a scar, she knew her twin sister, Zadie, would likely be chosen to marry the crown prince. Then Zadie is injured, and Nor is sent to Ilara in her place. She soon discovers her future husband, Prince Ceren, is as forbidding and cold as his home. And as she grows closer to Ceren’s brother, Prince Talin, Nor learns of a failing royal bloodline, a murdered queen...and a plot to destroy her village. To save her people, Nor must learn to negotiate the treacherous protocols of a court where lies reign and obsession rules...but discovering her own formidable strength may cost her everything she loves. Books in the Crown of Coral and Pearl duology: Crown of Coral and Pearl Kingdom of Sea and Stone

Afghan-American Nadia Hashimi's literary debut novel is a searing tale of powerlessness, fate, and the freedom to control one's own fate that combines the cultural flavor and emotional resonance of the works of Khaled Hosseini, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Lisa See. In Kabul, 2007, with a drug-addicted father and no brothers, Rahima and her sisters can only sporadically attend school, and can rarely leave the house. Their only hope lies in the ancient custom of bacha posh, which allows young Rahima to dress and be treated as a boy until she is of marriageable age. As a son, she can attend school, go to the market, and chaperone her older sisters. But Rahima is not the first in her family to adopt this unusual custom. A century earlier, her great-great grandmother, Shekiba, left orphaned by an epidemic, saved herself and built a new life the same way. Crisscrossing in time, The Pearl the Broke Its Shell interweaves the tales of these two women separated by a century who share similar destinies. But what will happen once Rahima is of marriageable age? Will Shekiba always live as a man? And if Rahima cannot adapt to life as a bride, how will she survive?

What if we could change our lives by Choosing Pearls? An oyster can transform an irritant into an iridescent pearl. How awesome! What if we could do the same in our own lives? What if we could take the debris—the hardships we endure—and alter them into precious gems? If you’re in need of a fresh perspective, feel overwhelmed or underwhelmed and don’t want your life to unravel...Choosing Pearls was written for you. In it, Margaret Elizabeth, unpacks inspirational stories from her life, her family, and a few familiar people, to illustrate how the pearl analogy has helped form meaning from memories. Part autobiographical, part energizing and fully magical, this memoir is entirely entertaining as Margaret shares her adventures, misadventures, heartaches and hopes. Weaving 26 personal anecdotes—authentic pearls—onto a thread of real silk, we experience how she chooses to use every letter of the alphabet (A-Z) to layer her life in these stories. Dance and celebrate along this shiny pearl pathway to share her encounters with relatives and friends, as well as America’s Got Talent, The Backstreet Boys, Barack Obama, Margaret Atwood, Margaret Trudeau, Oprah Winfrey, Tammy Faye Bakker, and a variety of other polished pearls. Most importantly, Margaret’s memoir offers the invitation and opportunity to actually examine your own personal story—your name and your calling—in a new and profoundly positive light. After all, WE get to choose which pearl our lives will resemble: the artificial or the authentic one.

A collection of 30 traditional Syrian and Lebanese folktales infused with new life by Lebanese women, collected by Najla Khoury. While civil war raged in Lebanon, Najla Khoury traveled with a theater troupe, putting on shows in marginal areas where electricity was a luxury, in air raid shelters, Palestinian refugee camps, and isolated villages. Their plays were largely based on oral tales, and she combed the country in search of stories. Many years later, she chose one hundred stories from among the most popular and published them in Arabic in 2014, exactly as she received them, from the mouths of the storytellers who told them as they had heard them when they were children from their parents and grandparents. Out of the hundred stories published in Arabic, Inea Bushnaq and Najla Khoury chose thirty for this book.

Imaginary world is always better than the realistic world. In the jounery of life, we will imagine and lives in our own dream castle. Our dream world takes us to the artistic world and imaginary person which taught life lessons, aspirations, adventures with innovations. Pearls of illusions is an anthology of poems, quotes, micro tales and short stories written by various talented authors about their imaginary person, place and world. The anthology "Pearls of illusions" is compiled by Arthy venkadakrishnan& Aruljothi Murugan with the contribution of 65 co-authors.

Tree of Pearls is a vivid exploration of the life of a singular woman who rose from slavery to become sultan of Egypt in the 13th century. Her achievements were the ending the Seventh Crusade, the inauguration of the Mamluk dynasty, and the building of innovative works of architecture that left an enduring mark on Cairo.