The Empire of Souls and Other Stories by Stuart Luijerink

The empire of souls and other stories is a collection of stories set in various cultures around the world. Starting with the plight of an individual surviving in the challenging environment of Zambia, the collection broadens to a Chinese family in a remote village hiding the existence of their offspring from the authorities and from one another, and then to the subtle struggle of nations vying for the international vote of a small tropical paradise. From a young woman of Indian descent making her way amidst the multicultural carnival of London, to avoiding crocodiles in outback Australia, dining in southern France, starting a new life amidst the rubbish tips of Central America, an emerging composer in Uzbekistan who strives to carve out an empire of souls for his original music amidst the turmoil of the collapsing Soviet Union, engaging the tug of war in Israel, surviving the Russian winter, hitch-hiking through the Sahara Desert, navigating the crowded streets of India, walking up the aisle of a gold encrusted church in Ecuador, cracking the polite etiquette of Tokyo, and fishing for something big amidst the fjords of Norway, the various cultures glimpsed in these fictional moments combine to sing the resonance of our multi-layered empires.