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Book report
Sep. 5th, 2008 12:32 pmIt’s time for another book report. (And I promise I will post on my vacation soon).
Searoad by Ursula K. LeGuin – It has been far too long since I’ve read LeGuin and I am seriously regretting that I waited so long to pick up another of her novels. This was not a work of science fiction or fantasy but rather a novel describing a remote town in California, on the coast. The novel demands your attention. It is sensitive and nuanced. Each character is fully developed, fully realized; they are real people and reading LeGuin, you know you are in the hands of a master storyteller. Although I can’t say that it was a driving page-turner – there’s not much of a plot here, more like snapshots of the town’s inhabitants and their lives -- it was very skillfully written, descriptive, beautiful, and sometimes heart-breaking. Grade: B
The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad – This book was a best seller. Its journalist author lives with a family in Afghanistan shortly after the fall of the Taliban, and tells us of their lives. It was nearly impossible to put down. Each family member’s story is fascinating. It’s also sad too. There is such widespread despair in the land. Everything is overshadowed by poverty, by the merciless treatment of women, by the wars that have ravaged the country. I think the most haunting story was that of Leila, youngest sister of the family patriarch. Given that she is the youngest girl and unmarried at the age of 19, she is treated like Cinderella – but there’s no Prince Charming in this story. There is also the sad story of one of the boys in the family whose father doesn’t value education so instead the boy works 12 hour days, every day, selling goods at a hotel. It was a depressing but superb book. Grade: A-
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Searoad by Ursula K. LeGuin – It has been far too long since I’ve read LeGuin and I am seriously regretting that I waited so long to pick up another of her novels. This was not a work of science fiction or fantasy but rather a novel describing a remote town in California, on the coast. The novel demands your attention. It is sensitive and nuanced. Each character is fully developed, fully realized; they are real people and reading LeGuin, you know you are in the hands of a master storyteller. Although I can’t say that it was a driving page-turner – there’s not much of a plot here, more like snapshots of the town’s inhabitants and their lives -- it was very skillfully written, descriptive, beautiful, and sometimes heart-breaking. Grade: B
The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad – This book was a best seller. Its journalist author lives with a family in Afghanistan shortly after the fall of the Taliban, and tells us of their lives. It was nearly impossible to put down. Each family member’s story is fascinating. It’s also sad too. There is such widespread despair in the land. Everything is overshadowed by poverty, by the merciless treatment of women, by the wars that have ravaged the country. I think the most haunting story was that of Leila, youngest sister of the family patriarch. Given that she is the youngest girl and unmarried at the age of 19, she is treated like Cinderella – but there’s no Prince Charming in this story. There is also the sad story of one of the boys in the family whose father doesn’t value education so instead the boy works 12 hour days, every day, selling goods at a hotel. It was a depressing but superb book. Grade: A-
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