Khaled Hosseini, with his books, 'The Kite Runner' & 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' has brought out the soul of Afghanistan in his words. His words add magic to the all magical land.
He has brought many people like us close to what Afghanistan actually is, rather than being a hot topic in debate or top story in news articles. I would say that my view about Afghanistan has changed after reading his books.
Both his books deal with Afghanistan before and after the wars, and both end with a new light of hope shining at the distant horizon for the people of Afghanistan.
Where 'The Kite Runner' deals with a child facing complexities, and in a world of his own, his fears, his wishes, his dreams, his aspirations dominated by his how he falls prey to a system where not every person is treated equally - but how can a strong feeling be justified in the mind of a child, who even after many years, away from the place - the system & and: the people he betrayed, his conscience is heavy with guilt and somewhere inside he knows, that debt has to be paid. And He gets his second change with Rahim Khan's message "There is a way to be good again.", coming back to the land of his birth which was nowhere close to the land he had grown up in. The book leaves your ears ringing with Hassan's call "...For you, a thousand times over." Everytime, this line came up in the book and i couldnot stop but feel a tear trickling down my cheeks. Hassan's letter to Amir actually left me with a broken Heart.
Its not easy to touch so many hearts and lives with just words, and in that respect Khaled Hosseini has done a commendable job.
'A Thousand Splendid Suns' runs parallely between two women, born in different decades, but in every right independent. Its starts with One Women, her growing up years, her married life and then with the birth of another girl in a household, the story shifts to her growing up years and her love life, and the step she initially takes to save that love. 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' is the story of people who stayed back and lived with the ongoing war. Where millions were dying, how two women with different pasts and values get connected to each other with a never ending bond. And then there is no limits for Love, "Love just is" (As Paulo Coelho puts it in 'The Witch Of Portobello') - no meanings, no definitions, no baundaries.
I loved both the books, both bear with them the soul of Afghanistan and Khaled Hosseini keeps alive that spark. Both the books are set in Afghanistan and talk about how it suffered under war.
Check out my books on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/profile/Veens
25.10.08
The Soul of Afghanistan...!!!
19.10.08
let the final drum roll beat!!!
Posted by Anonymous at 6:01 pm 13 comments
Labels: challenge, Read-a-thon
:D YAY!
Posted by Anonymous at 12:15 am 8 comments
Labels: challenge, Read-a-thon
18.10.08
:-)
Posted by Anonymous at 6:57 pm 16 comments
Labels: challenge, Read-a-thon
Read-a-thon Cheer-Leader ;) -1 hr!
Posted by Anonymous at 6:03 pm 1 comments
Labels: challenge, Read-a-thon
17.10.08
Review: the road of lost innocence by Somaly Mam
' the black one - she will have the three flags' - power, honour and money. 'She will travel in plane andshe will be a leader in the family'. She will help you.'
It's still happening constantly, today, tonight. My story doesn't matter, except that it stands for the hundreds' of girls stories too, and there stories is why I don't sleep at night. They haunt me.
But I couldn't take the image of the sex-related violence out of my mind. There was nothing I could do to annihilate my past. Coming back to life, to some kind of innocence, felt immposible. I didn't know where my youth was, where to dig to look, if not for happiness, at least for some kind of peace.It is the evil done to me, that propels me on. Is there any oter way to excercise it?
The Frech seemed to eat vast quantities of everything, but especially meat. I could hardly believe, how much they put inside themselves everyday.I was oversome by it all; the succession of dishes, the abundance and the fact that people left food on their plates[...] We could fees whole families in Cambodia just with these left-overs.
Posted by Anonymous at 1:00 am 6 comments
16.10.08
Short Story Review 5: Looters by Laura Jamison // BLOG ACTION DAY
It was true that they had a lot in common, but really Denise grew toward and around Gwen, like a vine seeking the sun and finding, on its way, a dependably lovely stake to curl around
If she could just imitate Gwen’s ways—act like someone who expected nothing but laughs and gifts from the world—maybe she could fool fate.
On October 15th bloggers everywhere will publish posts that discuss poverty in some way. By all posting on the same day we aim to change the conversation that day, to raise awareness, start a global discussion and add momentum to an important cause.
So lets us also JOIN! Please sign up and promote this day on your blogs. Spread the awareness. Let's be the change, that we want to see! Let's do our single-penny of good to combat poverty!! a little always counts in a BIG WAY! My mom always says, if you put 1 Re and 1 Re together it grows to 2 Re and everntually WILL become 100 too. So lets do ur tiny bit and help in whatever way possible!
Posted by Anonymous at 8:40 am 2 comments
Labels: 100 shots of short, 2008-read, review, Short Stories, social issues
15.10.08
I am waiting Lady, pick me up please!
“What tomes are waiting patiently on your shelves?“
HEAT by Arthur Herzog [2003]Congo Song by STuart Cloete [1943]
Posted by Anonymous at 6:13 pm 12 comments
Labels: Booking through thursday
Yay!!!
Posted by Anonymous at 9:31 am 6 comments
Labels: Man Booker Prize Winner
14.10.08
Guess what?!
Guess who knocked on my doors today?!
Photocredit - who else?! Veens herdelf :)
Posted by Anonymous at 9:53 pm 6 comments
Labels: challenge
12.10.08
Giveaways and Giveaways!!
There is a giveaway of 4 amazing titles at Bookfool's blog, Bookfoolery and Babbles.I have asked for The Lost Diary of Don Juan: A Novel. Which one are you requesting?!!!
I want to get An Exact Replica of A Figment of My Imagination
**sigh** is it sinful to want so many titles?! ;) of course NOT! So I entered in the giveaway at Linus's Blanket!! Go and check it out :)
Dar @ Peeking between the Pages is giving away The Triumph of Deborah by Eva Etzioni-Halevy :) So what are you waiting for?! Sign in there!
Check out my books on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/profile/Veens
Posted by Anonymous at 11:49 pm 3 comments
Labels: giveaways
I won I won I won!!!!
Yup!! I won!! :-) **HUGE SMILE**
OK, lemme calm down here !!
I am so freaking EXCITED. Guess what?! I wona copy of MATRIMONY! YAYAYA!
can you believe that?!
A HUGE THANKS to ALEA @ Pop Culture Junkie! thank u thank u.
And the thing is that, the publishher's are ready to ship it to India!! Awesomeness personified !! :D
okay!! so this is how Glad I am!!!!!
:)
Someday, maybe I will also host a giveaway ;) !! HOPEFULLY!!
I will let you guys know, when I get the book ... :) :) :)
Check out my books on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/profile/Veens
Posted by Anonymous at 11:44 pm 21 comments
Short Story Review 4: Don't Stop Now by Al Riske
Posted by Anonymous at 9:00 am 1 comments
Labels: 100 shots of short, 2008-read, review, Short Stories
Short Story Review 3 : Mallard and May by Cecelia Ahern
Posted by Anonymous at 2:07 am 6 comments
Labels: 100 shots of short, 2008-read, review, Short Stories
10.10.08
Short Story Review 2: The Ghost by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
**====**
Posted by Anonymous at 7:16 pm 7 comments
Labels: 100 shots of short, 2008-read, review, Short Stories
Booking through Thursday's ME- me!
First time on Booking through Thursday :-)
I like this me-me a LOT!
What was the last book you bought?
I bought Just Listen By Sarah Dessen and Skinny Dip by Hiaasen Carl. Though Neither of them have reached me yet. **sigh**!
Name a book you have read MORE than once
Hmm! Seeds of Corruption by Sabri Moussa. I am still reading it, re-reading it. I have not been able to complete it. ut there are some parts I find worth re-reading. :-)
Has a book ever fundamentally changed the way you see life? If yes, what was it?
Yes. The Alchemist By Paulo Coelho. Actually made me realize a lot of things that I had previously never thought about,
How do you choose a book? eg. by cover design and summary, recommendations or reviews
Mostly by reviews of fellow bloggers. You can see my blog-list on the left, those are the people I take recommendations from :-). But if I am at a bok-store, and I see a gripping summary at the back, I do take my chance at it ;). And I have bought couple of books, because I loved their cover designs too :o).
Do you prefer Fiction or Non-Fiction?
I prefer fiction mostly!
What’s more important in a novel - beautiful writing or a gripping plot?
BOTH!
Most loved/memorable character (character/book)
Robert Kincaid from The Bridges of Madison County. Sarah Ferguson The Ghost by Danille Steel. Actually speaking I like 2nd beau much more. I can't rememeber his name. **sigh**
Which book or books can be found on your nightstand at the moment?
Seeds of Corruption by Sabri Moussa and The God of small things by Arundhati Roy
What was the last book you’ve read, and when was it?
The Gathering By Anne Enright, read my review. Finished it on Oct 2nd [ Gandhiji's Birthday :-) ]
Have you ever given up on a book half way in?
Oh Yah! Recently, You are here by Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan. Didn't like it at all :-(
Posted by Anonymous at 12:21 pm 8 comments
Labels: Booking through thursday, me-me