A Thousand Splendid Suns

As I have posted previously, I really liked The Kite Runner, Khalad Hosseini's first novel, and I was eagerly anticipating reading A Thousand Splendid Suns. I was not disappointed. Hosseini takes us back to Kabul, Afghanistan again from the time before the Soviet invasion through the Taliban take over. Unlike in The Kite Runner, the main characters were not able to escape the country and so we live through these tumultuous decades with them. Mariam and Laila are very different women approximately 15 years apart in age, but they end up married to the same man. As Hosseini tells both of their stories he is also telling the story of many Afghan women who lived through the Soviet-run period (women are equal to men) and the Taliban-run time (women will not show their faces). Although written simply, Marian and Laila became vivid to my imagination and I found that I cared very much about what would happen to them. It was difficult to read about the sorrows of the Afghan people, but an important education in a culture I am not too familiar with.

The Sharing Knife-Beguilement

As I've mentioned before, I am not a particular fan of the fantasy genre. I have made another exception with one of my favorite authors: Lois McMasters Bujold. She is the author of the wonderful "Miles" series (sf) as I call it, so I decided to give Beguilement a chance based also on the recommendation of my friend, Cathy. Beguilement is the first volume in a series called The Sharing Knife. We meet Fawn and Dag, the two main characters who meet very unexpectedly and end up falling in love. I'm not giving anything away, it's on the back of the book cover. Fawn is the youngest child of a family of farmers and has run away to start a new life in a town. Dag is a Lakewalker patroller who is separated from his group and rescues Fawn. Lakewalkers are people who practice magic and fight secret evil forces to protect all others. The magic and fantasy part of the book are not overwhelming and, therefore, not a put off to someone like myself. Fawn and Dag are incredibly likable and I found myself in a state of wishing I could know them. This book is well written (goes without saying with Ms. Bujold!) and the characters are relatable even if in a world that is unlike our own. I have already ordered the second volume from my book club.