World identities

The word identity is defined as the set of personal and behavioural characteristics which define an
individual as a member of a certain group. Based on race, ethnicity, religion, language and culture
people distinguish themselves from other groups and form their understanding and pride in who they
are.

Identity in literature may refer to the author's adoption of a new culture and language as a means of
expression following a migration from his country of origin to another one. As a result the genre of
"migrant literature" has developed which explores the issues of migration, exile and formation of new
identity in immigrants. Also it could be associated with the deliberate use of pen names by authors as an
attempt to hide their origin or gender.

Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot,
bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one
way or round trip. Travel can also include relatively short stays between successive movements

The silence of the snow by orhan pamuk

Though most of the early part of the story is told in the third person from Ka's point of view, an
omniscient narrator sometimes makes his presence known, posing as a friend of Ka's who is telling the
story based on Ka's journals and correspondence. This narrator sometimes provides the reader with
information before Ka knows it or foreshadows later events in the story. At times, the action seems
somewhat dream-like. The story is set in the city of Kars which creates a sense of alienation for Ka as the
city is unlike anywhere else in Turkey, due to its history as a Russian garrison town.[

Ka is a poet, who returns to Turkey after 12 years of political exile in Germany. He has several motives,
first, as a journalist, to investigate a spate of suicides but also in the hope of meeting a woman he used
to know. Heavy snow cuts off the town for about three days during which time Ka is in conversation with
a former communist, a secularist, a fascist nationalist, a possible Islamic extremist, Islamic moderates,
young Kurds, the military, the Secret Service, the police and in particular, an actor-revolutionary. In the
midst of this, love and passion are to be found. Temporarily closed off from the world, a farcical coup is
staged and linked melodramatically to a stage play. The main discussion concerns the interface of
secularism and belief but there are references to all of Turkey's twentieth century history.
A thousand splendid suns by Khaled Hosseini
The story covers three decades of anti-Soviet jihad, civil war and Taliban tyranny seen from the
perspectives of two women. Mariam is the scorned illegitimate daughter of a wealthy businessman,
forced at age fifteen into marrying Rasheed, who grows increasingly brutal when she fails to produce a
child. Eighteen years later, Rasheed takes another wife, fourteen year-old Laila, a smart and spirited girl
whose only other options, after her parents are killed by rocket fire, are prostitution or starvation.
Mariam and Laila become allies in a battle with Rasheed, whose violent abuse is endorsed by custom
and law. The author gives a forceful portrait of despotism where women are dependent on fathers,
husbands and especially sons, the bearing of male children being their only path to an accepted social
status. Each woman in the end is forced to accept a path that will never be completely happy for them:
Mariam will have to sacrifice her life to save Laila after she murders their husband while Laila, even
though marrying her childhood love, must find a way to keep the sacrifice Mariam has made from not
becoming an act done in vain.

The amazing adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon

The story unfolds in the period leading up to World War II and continues through the war years and
beyond. The main characters are two Jewish cousins living in New York City, seeking success in the
emerging comic book industry. One is the artist Joe (Josef) Kavalier who is a Czech refugee, and the
other Sammy Clay, a writer born in Brooklyn.

The folded earth by Anuradha roy

Set in a remote hill top town in the Himalayas where the earth has folded to create the majestic scenery,
a young woman, Maya, recently widowed arrives to be closer to the scene of her husband's climbing
accident. There, she encounters a rich variety of characters who seem to leap of the page, foremost of
which two at opposite ends both of society and life's journey - Charu, a young peasant girl whose
emerging relationship with a young cook is touching and sweet, and Maya's eccentric landlord, a relict of
the Raj who may or may not be in possession of some intriguing personal letters that pertain to India's
history and the departing British.