The Wasted Vigil by Nadeem Aslam is as impressive as books like A Fine Balance and A Thousand Splendid Suns. It takes place in contemporary Afghanistan and links together the stories of five very different characters. This is an intense and sad story of people being controlled by their circumstances. It's one of the best that I've read.
I also read this over the weekend. It's a graphic novel memoir that looks at the marriages and physical relationships of a group of Iranian women. It is told as an afternoon of secrets and shocking (humorous) stories that the women share over tea. Marjane Satrapi is the author of The Complete Persepolis, which was one of my favorite books last year. This was light and entertaining, and it did not have the serious themes of The Complete Persepolis. I am very interested in reading more from this talented author.
Today I completed Firefly Lane, which I read because a friend was raving about it. It's about a friendship that starts between two girls who are quite opposite in every way and continues through decades of ups and downs. I don't want to say too much about the storyline in case it would spoil it for someone else, but I enjoyed watching how these two characters endured the tests of their friendship. I think that this would be a very good book club selection. I'd rate this one a 4/5.
I have just finished this novel by Michael Lavigne which is about a father who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease and his son who has come to Florida to care for him as he is dying. The father, a Holocaust survivor and popular Jewish philanthropist, gives his son a box of journals that reveal that he may have actually been a Nazi who stole the identity of a victim to survive. The son has the task of finding the truth while he deals with his own personal problems. The book goes back and forth between the son's story and the father's journals. I found the father's story to be the interesting part of the book that kept me reading. I never really felt invested in the son's personal problems with his ex-wife and son. I would say that it was good, but not great. 3.5/5
It's safe to say that I am an Alice Hoffman fan now. This is my third book by her, and I loved it. It's actually more a series of continuing short stories that interconnect as different inhabitants of a farmhouse in Cape Cod live there over a 200 year period. There are clear themes that are present throughout the different stories which gives it a creepy feel. I can't believe that it took me so long to pull this one off of the shelf. I really enjoyed it.
I started this book tonight, and I may have to stick it into the freezer when it's time to go to sleep. So far it's quite good, however, I wonder what a scardy cat like me was thinking when I got it. Anyone else tried this one? I'm off to hide under the covers and read a little more.
ETA: Finished it. I predicted the outcome, but that didn't stop it from being a page turner for me. This one pushed my creepy-book-comfort-zone, but I had fun reading it. 4/5
This is a beautifully written book which centers on a tormented Indian family that is living in Malaysia. The order of events is flipped so that the reader knows the fates of a few characters before getting to know them. The story also weaves in and out of time and changes perspectives. I think that all of these things are done effectively, however, and the author's use of language is amazing. The problem that I had with this book is that I found most of the characters unlikeable and hopeless. It was a bleak and depressing story that I kept hoping would have a silver lining eventually. However, I still think it is worth reading. Just don't grab it for a fun vacation book.
