Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran ; &, Oscar and the Lady in Pink

Set in the 1960s in Paris' Jewish quarter, Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran is about a troubled Jewish boy, Moses, or Momo, who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a solitary Muslim shopkeeper named Monsieur Ibrahim. Momo's hilarious yet heart-wrenching story begins when he loses his virginity in a bordello at the age of 11. Ibrahim offers Momo his ear and advice and gradually teaches the precocious boy that there is more to life than whores and stealing groceries. When Momo's father, a passive-aggressive lawyer who neglects his son's well being, disappears and is found dead, Ibrahim adopts the newly orphaned boy. Eventually, the two decide to make a trip across Europe to the birthplace of Monsieur Ibrahim that brings them to the most important crossroads of their lives. As this deeply funny and exquisitely crafted plot unravels, it reveals how we learn the most essential lessons of life and death when we expect them the least. Oscar and the Lady in Pink gives us an entirely different tale of love and courage. Oscar is ten years old and dying of leukemia. He knows that his bone marrow transplant has failed, but the only person in the hospital who will talk to him ab… (more)