Book Review

While Mark was living in Utah and taking trips to Hawaii (I know, poor guy!) I was stuck in Texas packing all of our stuff and getting ready for the move. I had to do SOMETHING to help pass the time once the kids were in bed and everything was boxed up. So I picked up a few books that I'd heard great things about. It was brought to my attention that I never said much about the books I had read.

The first book was the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

This book takes place in Afghanistan at first and then America. It spans nearly 30 years. I’ve never been to the Middle Eastern countries mentioned in this book, but they came alive for me! It was such an easy read and never a dull moment. This was an excellent book about the relationship of a father and son and the relationship between two friends in very different worlds. Regret, redemption, hope. Very profound and difficult in parts, but it was one of the best books I've ever read. It leaves you with the sense that even after every thing the characters in the book have endured, there is still hope in the end.

The next book I read was The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards.

After reading the back of the book, I was really interested:

"This stunning novel begins on a winter night in 1964, when a blizzard forces Dr. David Henry to deliver his own twins. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy, but the doctor immediately recognizes that his daughter has Down syndrome. For motives he tells himself are good, he makes a split-second decision that will haunt all their lives forever. He asks his nurse, Caroline, to take the baby away to an institution. Instead, she disappears into another city to raise the child as her own."

Once I started reading it though, I just couldn't connect with the characters. I kept waiting and Waiting and WAITING for it to get better. It never did. It was a truly heartbreaking story about loss and sorrow and many wasted years. So I guess if you're into that type of thing, go for it!

The last book I read before the move was A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.

Once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down. I was so involved in the lives of Mariam and Laila. This book takes place in Afghanistan as does The Kite Runner. I loved the loose history lessons it provides and the relationships between the characters are amazing! This story is told through the eyes of two different women, their daily lives in Afghanistan and what it takes to survive.

The book cover says:

“It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives—the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness—are inextricable from the history playing out around them...

Propelled by the same storytelling instinct that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once a remarkable chronicle of three decades of Afghan history and a deeply moving account of family and friendship. It is a striking, heart-wrenching novel of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love—a stunning accomplishment”

It makes me grateful to be an American living in this wonderful, free country. It especially makes me grateful for my husband. I appreciate the struggle of Afghan women. This is my all-time favorite book. I cannot wait for another book from this author.

Then of course, there was the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer.

Twilight New Moon and Eclipse.

I am now awaiting the fourth and final book, Breaking Dawn. Great books. Very light reading compared to A Thousand Splendid Suns, but definitely fun and entertaining!