Nose in a Book

Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with books, not bombs in Afghanistan and Pakistan by Greg Mortenson

Many people have read Three Cups of Tea and are familiar with Mortenson’s mission to build schools in Pakistan.  In this book Mortenson continues to build schools in Pakistan (with some new challenges) and begins to to build schools in post 9/11 Afghanistan.

As you can imagine, building schools in Afghanistan after 9/11 is no easy task.  And after the earthquake in Pakistan in 2005, Mortenson and the CAI had to change the way they built schools in Pakistan.  Add to all that that the CAI’s policy is to build schools in the most remote areas first and then work their way towards the more populated regions.  Mortenson has some amazing people working for him that don’t seem to ever let anything get in their way when it comes to moving forward with these schools.  It’s really inspiring to read about the school building process and the people in the villages where the schools are being built.  (Above: Sitara School, Afghanistan)

I was very impressed with the writing and the way the story was told.  It’s entertaining and engaging and Mortenson told the story that was cohesive and had good flow.  The only complaint I have is that there were some editing problems, missing or wrong words, and some typos.  But the book contains events from as late as September of 2009 and the book was published in early December 2009 so I’ll cut them some slack in the editing department!  If you enjoyed Three Cups of Tea, you will definitely enjoy this one.  If you haven’t read Three Cups of Tea you should probably start there before picking up this one.  I think both books are definitely worth reading.

All images courtesy Central Asia Institute.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Read for: Book Club, Global Reading Challenge 2010 – Asia

I just finished reading this book for the second time.  I have to admit, I really didn’t enjoy it the first time around.  I think I was expecting something more like The Kite Runner, with more of a plot, which it doesn’t have.  I’m happy to report that I enjoyed it a lot more  the second time around.  Since the first time I’ve read a lot more books about this part of the world in this time period and it’s helped me to appreciate what this book is really about.

The book is divided into four parts starting with Mariam, a young harami (bastard) girl whose father is a rich man.  Her mother hangs herself and Mariam finds herself married to a much older man and transported 650 miles across the country to Kabul.  Part two introduces Laila, an even younger woman who through an entirely different series of events, finds herself orphaned, pregnant and forced to marry the same man.  Rasheed is not a happy man and he takes it out on his two wives.  Eventually the two women become friends and develop a mother-daughter relationship.

A major theme of the novel is the oppression of women as the Taliban comes to power and removes virtually all womens rights.  Before I read this book and The Kite Runner (and other books from this part of the world) I didn’t know anything about the trials that people suffered under the hands of the Taliban.  I also realize how oppressive some of these regimes were.  I’ve really like reading these books because I think it’s important for us to be informed about the world around us.

Besides that, though, the book did have some sweet and hopeful moments.  There were parts that made me cry for these women, knowing that although they are fictional, there are women having to make the same tough decisions and go through the same struggles that Mariam and Laila did.  Even though the book was sad in parts and had the potential to be depressing, I never found that it got me down.  It seemed that through everything these two women had to endure, they always found something to cling to, something to help them carry on.  Even when it seemed that all hope was lost, they still had strength.

So, although this book was a very different type of book than The Kite Runner (which was very plot driven), it still told a very powerful story.  I found I was glad I gave this one a second chance.  I’m still not adding it to my top ten or anything, but I did like it a lot better this time around!

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner begins with Amir (the narrator) making this statement: “I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975.”   That cold winter’s day, Amir failed to stand up for his good friend Hassan when he needed it the most.  The one thing in the world that Amir desired the most, was the approval of his father, and that day, he traded Hassan’s happiness for his father’s love and affection.  Sadly his father’s approval was short-lived and Amir could not get over his guilt at the betrayal of such a close friend and so pushed him even farther away, this time putting physical distance between them by forcing Hassan and his father to leave.

After living in California for 25 years, Amir is summoned to Pakistan to see an old family friend (Rahim) who is dying. Rahim is able to answer some of Amir’s questions about the fate of Hassan and his father and reveals to him that Hassan had a son that is living in an orphanage in Kabul.  Rahim is also able to provide some insight into the Amir’s strained relationship with his father.  Amir returns to Afghanistan determined to find Hassan’s son and bring him back to Pakistan to be cared for.  Through this process Amir is able to forgive himself and find peace.

My favourite thing about this book is the story.  It’s gripping and emotional.  It’s truly a book you can’t put down.  There are parts of the story that are sad, and parts that are happy.  And it’s so well written, the characters are so real.  I really feel for the characters and feel with them.

There are some really bad things that happen to the characters in this story.  It could be very depressing, but the way Hosseini tells the story, I felt sad and outraged when these things happened, but not depressed, it didn’t bring me down.  Hosseini has a way of telling the story, that lets you accept what happened and move on.  He allows the reader to hope for happiness for the characters.

I read Hosseini’s second novel A Thousand Splendid Suns and didn’t like it nearly as much as The Kite Runner.  It’s a good book, but it’s not at all the same type of story.  I think I would have liked it a lot more if I hadn’t known it was by the same author.