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Joy over at Thoughts of Joy sponsored the 2nds Challenge, providing me with a "second helping" of 3 new-found authors:
Interpreter of Maladies, by Jhumpa Lahiri (first book: The Namesake) completed 10/11/2007 - review
A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini (first book: The Kite Runner) - completed 11/3/2007 - review
The Way the Crow Flies, by Ann-Marie MacDonald (first book: Fall on Your Knees) completed 12/2/2007 - review
I also completed my alternate selection for this challenge:
East of Eden, by John Steinbeck (first book: The Grapes of Wrath) completed 10/6/2007 - review
Favorite book of the challenge: Interpreter of Maladies. This is a wonderful collection of short stories, which I enjoyed even more than The Namesake.
Thanks to Joy for hosting this challenge!
Ann-Marie MacDonald
820 pages
First sentence: The birds saw the murder.
Reflections: Madeleine McCarthy is 8 years old in 1962, when her family moves from a Royal Canadian Air Force station in Germany to their next posting, in Centralia, Ontario, Canada. At the very beginning of this book, the author foreshadows the murder of a young child. But first, the reader is immersed in all the details of life on an air force base. From a child’s point of view, there are new friends to be made, and a new school to settle into. But there’s also a constant feeling of transience, since friends come and go at the military’s discretion: If you move around all your life, you can’t find where you come from on a map. All those places where you lived are just that: places. You don’t come from any of them; you come from a series of events.
As Madeleine and her brother Mike adjust to the new community, so do her parents, Mimi and Jack. Mimi and Jack are deeply in love, and their partnership has supported them through many military transitions. A former colleague of Jack’s, now retired from the military, calls upon him to perform some intelligence work that Jack believes will further the space race. He struggles with the secrecy required of these duties, while at the same time being fascinated by the opportunity to battle the threat of communism.
Life in Centralia is typical of the 1960s, much like “Leave it to Beaver.” Then the murder occurs, changing Centralia forever. MacDonald has so masterfully developed all the characters, and involved the reader in all facets of their lives, such that it is hard to imagine who would have killed a child. Madeleine is profoundly affected by the tragedy, but as with many early childhood experiences, she represses the events surrounding the murder and its aftermath. The story concludes with Madeleine, now in her 30s, coming to terms with the events in her past, and making amends where possible.
The Way the Crow Flies is a compelling story with a rich cast of characters. I liked this even more than MacDonald’s first book, Fall on Your Knees, which I read earlier this year. ( 
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)Here's another challenge brought to us by Thoughts of Joy! In the 2nds Challenge, I'm going to take a "second helping" of 3 new-found authors:
Interpreter of Maladies, by Jhumpa Lahiri (first book: The Namesake) completed 10/11/2007 - review
A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini (first book: The Kite Runner) - completed 11/3/2007 - review
The Way the Crow Flies, by Ann-Marie MacDonald (first book: Fall on Your Knees) completed 12/2/2007 - review
Bonus/Alternate:
East of Eden, by John Steinbeck (first book: The Grapes of Wrath) completed 10/6/2007 - review
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Khaled Hosseini
372 pages
First sentence: Mariam was five years old the first time she heard the word harami.
Reflections: Mariam is product of an affair between a well-off Afghan businessman and a servant in his home (harami is the Afghan word for an illegitimate child). Mariam longs for her father's love but, while he visits her regularly, she is not permitted inside his home. She is educated privately by a village man named Mullah Faizullah. At the age of 15, she is married off to Rasheed, a widower several years her senior. She leaves her native town of Herat to live with him in Kabul.
A few years later, Laila is born to a family in Mariam's new neighborhood. Her constant companion is a neighborhood boy named Tariq and, as they mature, friendship turns into love. Tariq's family flees Kabul during the Soviet occupation and, under very sad circumstances, Laila becomes Rasheed's second wife. Mariam has been unable to bear children, and is therefore useless to Rasheed. Initially, Mariam wants nothing to do with Laila; however, in time they begin to bond in solidarity against the abusive Rasheed. They share chores, they care for the children Aziza and Zalmai, and they take daring action to improve their circumstances. A deep, maternal love develops between Maraim and Laila, leading to an incredible sacrifice at the book's climax.
The story takes place against the backdrop of unrest, war, and terror that characterized Afghanistan from the early 1970s to the early 2000s. Hosseini paints a vivid picture of events; every single character experienced death and loss. The author also exposes the terrible oppression of women in Afghan culture: their dependence on men , their inability to move about the city alone, and their value only as a reproductive engine. The novel is laden with surprises which often made me gasp out loud. Just as things would begin to look up for the main characters, misfortune would strike. And yet, the ending is one of hope and love. I found this book both eye-opening and compelling, and deserving of all its critical acclaim. (
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Interpreter of Maladies
Jhumpa Lahiri
193 pages
Reflections: This beautifully-written collection of short stories portrays various “maladies” of the human condition, such as loss, loneliness, and isolation. As the title suggests, Lahiri interprets these maladies for her readers. And she is absolutely brilliant. The emotions raised by each story are so profound, and so deep, that you can't help but feel them at the core of your own being. As with any collection, a few stories stood out:
- A Temporary Matter – A couple mourns the loss of a stillborn baby, and begins sharing secrets with one another during a power outage. Their grief, and the void between them, is palpable.
- Sexy – Miranda, an American woman, has an affair with a married Indian man. At the same time, her office mate consoles her cousin in India, whose husband has left her for a young English woman. Miranda meets the cousin on a visit to the US and, while babysitting her son, has a revelation about her own romantic relationship.
- Mrs. Sen’s – An Indian woman has recently arrived in the US, and provides after-school care for a boy while her husband teaches at a local university. She is isolated and lonely, is afraid to drive a car, and longs for friends and comforts of home.
- The Third and Final Continent – A young man, educated in London, comes to the US to work at a university. He is recently married, and waiting for his wife’s immigration papers to be processed so she can join him. For six weeks he rents a room from Mrs. Croft, a 103-year-old woman whose daughter visits once a week to deliver food. He contemplates the woman’s infirmity and isolation, as well as his own emotional uncertainty about life as a married man.
After each of these stories, I had to set this book aside and allow the feelings to wash over and through me. Despite this, it was difficult to put down and even more difficult to let go of when finished. A wonderful book, and very deserving of the Pulitzer Prize. ( )
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