4. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
I read Kite Runner in 2012 and absolutely fell in love with Khaled Hosseini. I vowed to read every novel he has ever written or will ever write. So far, I have upheld this vow as I read his newest novel, And the Mountains Echoed, the week it was released. His writing is so beautiful I can hardly stand it, the emotions are real, and he has given me a greater depth of understanding of Iranian culture, religion, and lifestyle. I appreciate this part of the world so much more now. In our society, it is important to understand different perspectives and lifestyles, not merely to tolerate or condone their existence. In order to develop these perspectives, people must learn about and understand the culture. Khaled Hosseini's novels have given me that lesson and understanding.
I think A Thousand Splendid Suns hurt me more than Kite Runner ever could, and of his three novels, this one is my favorite. I read this novel the week before Memorial Day, sitting by the pool in my parent's backyard, grilling up tasty food, surrounded by the comforts living in a first-world country provides. The juxtaposition of my luxury and the pain and poverty the main characters of this novel experience made me appreciate the novel even more.
This novel follows the lives of several women living in Afghanistan. Through their unique experiences, we see the inequity of women and the heartbreak they experience. An unlikely friendship develops between the women and we experience their pain and devotion to each other and their children. Many political, social, and religious issues come about in this novel and are explored through actions. Hosseini has the gift of never telling the reader his own personal opinions about controversial topics. Instead, he allows the themes of his novels to become apparent through rich characterization and actions of flat, secondary characters. So much can be learned from a novel like this, and I don't believe anyone can read this novel and look at the world the same way after. I love a novel that challenges and changes my views. This one certainly did just that.
3. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Before I begin my review of this novel, I'll let you in on a little secret - I didn't actually read this novel. I listened to it. On audio. Gasp! I'm a big music fan, and most mornings, I listen to music as I get ready for the day. I also listen to music while I am working on school work or reading or sometimes just relaxing. Earlier this year, I discovered Audible, a website and app where you can download audio versions of books to listen to. It is through AmazonPrime and is wonderful! My sister loves books, but can't read due to her vision, so she uses Audible. I decided to give it a try, and what better book to begin with. Pillars of the Earth is an epic novel that takes place over the course of half a century, and the novel itself is over 1,000 pages. I started listening to this novel, and a few days later, my mom and I had to make an emergency drive to New Mexico. Ten hours in the car gave us a great jump-start on finishing this novel. Just listening to this novel in the morning as I got ready each day and in my car driving around, it took me a few months to finish, but man was it worth it! I love Ken Follett now! As soon as I was finished listening to this novel, I listened to it's sequel, World Without End, then The Handmaid's Tale and now, The Road. Audible is wonderful.
Onto the review. Like I said, Pillars is an epic novel meaning it takes place over about half a century. It follows a lot of characters, a lot of story lines, and a lot of years. The main thread of the story is the tale of a friar named Philip and the building of a great cathedral. Throughout the novel, you get to experience love loss and growth, children growing, deaths, evil, good, people face turmoil and triumphs. Basically, every part of life and human emotion is experienced in this novel. The thing I love most about Ken Follett is his ability to so deeply develop his characters. Usually in a novel, there is one character who is developed richly while all the other characters are just secondary and remain flat and static. However, Follett develops almost every character to such a deep level. He allows the reader to experience their pain and hardship, but he takes it to the next level - he allows the reader to explore the thoughts of the characters. Not just the thoughts the character acts upon, but every thought the character has. In real life, people question their actions and weigh the pros and cons of even minute choices. Follett does this with the characters in his novel and allows the reader to be part of that process.
I have never felt like I knew characters so deeply and richly as I did in this novel. I felt like I was the characters. I could predict what they were going to do. I could anticipate their actions. I knew what they thought and felt about every little or major event in the novel. Even the characters I truly hated, I understood. This novel has sad parts that make you cry and happy parts that make you rejoice. There are characters you fall in love with, characters you respect beyond measure, and characters that you wish nothing more than a painful and terrible death upon. This novel has it all. While it is definitely epic and takes a great deal of time and energy to read, it is worth it. I can't wait to read another Follett novel in the future!
2. Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
I was intrigued by this movie because of the title. I have long referenced "the silver linings" in my life and have written about them a time or two on this blog. I think finding the silver lining in any bad situation is the elixir of life; it is what keeps you sane and optimistic and lovable. I didn't see the movie, but when Jennifer Lawrence won the Oscar for best supporting actress, I wanted to see it. Then, I stopped and thought, "I bet it's a book". Lucky me, I was right! I purchased the book and decided I would read it before I watched the movie. I wouldn't want the movie to ruin the book for me, but I'm perfectly ok with allowing the book to ruin the movie. ;)
As soon as I started reading it, I knew I would love it. It was another psychological book. A book about a man who suffers from depression and anxiety. He has bouts of anger that are uncontrollable and many people call him crazy. I love books that deal with psychological disorders, especially if they are taboo or hold a negative social stigma. This book definitely fit that bill. Books like this, that really delve into psychological disorders and mental illnesses allow me to once again broaden my understanding of these issues. I'm quick to judge, but these books give me an outlet to better understand what people are going through.
Matthew Quick is a brilliant writer and so wonderfully captures what the main character, Pat, is feeling and his emotions. We get to see how out of control he can be and how much pain he is in. Pat is recently divorced, due to his illness, and has been released from the mental institution to live with his parents under very strict surveillance and rigid rules. Pat works out, watches Eagles games with his dad, and runs...a lot. On one run, he meets Tiffany, who suffers from her own mental illness and addictions. The two become friends and through dance lessons offered by Tiffany, Pat is able to work through his own issues. The emotions in this novel are very real and remind society that even if people have a mental illness, they are still real people with real feelings, dreams, and ambitions. Once again, we also see that hard work can bring you joy and friendship and family are the most important things in life. I love everything about this novel and could read it over and over again. I did watch the movie after reading the novel and love the movie too. It is one of my favorite movies even though it will never be as good as the book. :)
Tomorrow, I will reveal my "Number 1 Book of 2013" (which if you have talked to me in the last year, you already have guessed) and some of my reading goals for 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment