finished 03.10.10
Over the past few years I’ve read Jhumpa Lahiri’s books The Namesake and Interpreter of the Maladies. Recently Jen gave me her newest book, Unaccustomed Earth, and I enjoyed it as much as her previous books. She’s a great writer. Interpretor of the Maladies and Unaccustomed Earth are both books of short stories. I hope her next book is a novel, like The Namesake, because sometimes I love her stories and characters so much that I’m disappointed when they’re over so quickly.
finished 02.26.10
I got this book back in 2008 when Stuart Dybek spoke at the Google Chicago office and I worked there. The video below is the talk he gave. I think I actually remember missing his presentation, but still getting the book somehow. I finished 90% of the short stories that year or maybe last year but for some reason never finished the book. Last night I pulled it out and finished the rest. I enjoyed these short stories about everyday life in Chicago while the author was growing up.
finished 02.21.10
I know I just said that “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” was the best book I’ve read in a really long time and that I loved it, but I’m on a roll! A Thousand Splendid Suns was a really fantastic book as well. In very different ways. This book covers a 30-year time period and is based in Afghanistan. It’s told from the point of view of two female characters, Mariam and Laila, and tells the story of their childhood through to adulthood.
I read The Kite Runner back in 2006. When I heard Hosseini had written another book, I couldn’t wait to read it. For some reason it took me 3 years to get. I finally bought it at a thrift store and then could not put it down. I read it in just a couple days. It’s a heartbreaking story. I really identified with Mariam and Laila. I wanted to cry a a few times, but didn’t. I think A Thousand Splendid Suns is even better than The Kite Runner, so if you liked that book, for sure read this one. The writing is great and I loved Mariam and Laila.. and I did learn a thing or two not only about Afghanistan’s history, but about the culture and attitudes towards women there.