A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Synopsis :

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan's last thirty years—from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding—that puts the violence, fear, hope, and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives—the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness—are inextricable from the history playing out around them.

Propelled by the same storytelling instinct that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once a remarkable chronicle of three decades of Afghan history and a deeply moving account of family and friendship. It is a striking, heart-wrenching novel of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love—a stunning accomplishment.


This is what I say :

How could I not like A Thousand Splendid Suns.  I think it is such a sad beautiful book.  Fresh from reading The Kite Runner and And The Mountains Echoed, I can't wait to read A Thousand Splendid Suns.

Khaled Hosseini is such a talented storyteller.  The story of A Thousand Splendid Suns opens my eyes to a situation that I am not able to really understand.  Yet, it took a male author to write something so  beautiful on a theme from the female perspective on a culture that is very male dominated.  

While The Kite Runner is more of relationship between fathers and sons and between brothers, A Thousand Splendid Suns is certainly on relationships between mothers and daughters and between sisters.  It does leave one with an ache in your heart after reading and a sense of thankfulness for whatever circumstances you are facing being so different than this.

Set in the same era that the author so far set all his books on, A Thousand Splendid Suns is a must read whether you are a fan or not of Khaled Hosseini.  I am so glad I read all of his titles thus far.

And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

Synopsis :

So, then. You want a story and I will tell you one...Afghanistan, 1952. Abdullah and his sister Pari live with their father and stepmother in the small village of Shadbagh. Their father, Saboor, is constantly in search of work and they struggle together through poverty and brutal winters. To Abdullah, Pari - as beautiful and sweet-natured as the fairy for which she was named - is everything. More like a parent than a brother, Abdullah will do anything for her, even trading his only pair of shoes for a feather for her treasured collection. Each night they sleep together in their cot, their heads touching, their limbs tangled. 

One day the siblings journey across the desert to Kabul with their father. Pari and Abdullah have no sense of the fate that awaits them there, for the event which unfolds will tear their lives apart; sometimes a finger must be cut to save the hand. 

Crossing generations and continents, moving from Kabul, to Paris, to San Francisco, to the Greek island of Tinos, with profound wisdom, depth, insight and compassion, Khaled Hosseini writes about the bonds that define us and shape our lives, the ways in which we help our loved ones in need, how the choices we make resonate through history and how we are often surprised by the people closest to us. 


This is what I say :

Right after reading The Kite Runner, I went to treasure hunt for other titiles by Khaled Hosseini that I might have in my shelf. Unfortunately, there are none.  But luck was on my side as I found both And The Mountains Echoed and A Thousand Splendid Suns online, so here we are.

And The Mountains Echoed is written differently from The Kite Runner.  It is more like a collection of stories from different characters in the universe of Pari and Abdullah.  It gave really in-depth dimensions to these characters that readers might just not think much of in wanting to know more about what happen to Pari and Abdullah. 

Thw writing reminded me of Maeve Binchy who loved to write in similar manner...a core story was introduced and then she would weaved stories of characters surrounding the core story.  Khaled did something similar with this title and did it rather well too with family relationships being the core theme of the book.

I enjoyed And The Mountains Echoed. Next up, A Thousand Splendid Suns.

City of Gold by Anton Gill

Synopsis :

A rumour is going around the world that a vast source of gold has been discovered, if it's true it could mean the downfall of the US dominance over the financial world.


An international dealer in antique maps flies in to conclude the deal of his life. But at the meeting with his mysterious principals, he is double-crossed and murdered.


In New York INTERSEC Section 15 have been tasked by the US Treasury to find the gold and secure it for the US. But, for Jack Marlow and his team, the race to find the gold soon turns into a race to stay alive. 


This is what I say :

Today is the start of the third phase of MCO in the country.   This is a book I read prior to MCO but due to many reasons I only have the time to have the review posted.

There a bit of everything in this book.  There's a bit of Indiana Jones vibe, a bit of Davinci Code vibe, a bit of spy spy vibe...hahah...it is very mesh up and can be said quite mess up too.

The story told in current time was alternate in chapters with story of olden time starting from Sir Walter Releigh right up to WW2.  That is why it is pretty mesh up.  For the story told for present time, the main character Jack Marlow vibes a bit Jason Bourne and a bit Jack Reacher but no individual character that is worth mentioning.

I can't say totally a waste of time but it could have been so much better.

And yes, the title is City of Gold. 

Transmission by Hari Kunzru

Synopsis :

The award-winning writer of White Tears and The Impressionist takes an ultra-contemporary turn with the story of an Indian computer programmer whose luxurious fantasies about life in America are shaken when he accepts a California job offer.

Lonely and naive, Arjun spends his days as a lowly assistant virus-tester, pining away for his free-spirited colleague, Christine. Arjun gets laid off like so many of his Silicon Valley peers, and in an act of desperation to keep his job, he releases a mischievous but destructive virus around the globe that has major unintended consequences. As world order unravels, so does Arjun's sanity, in a rollicking cataclysm that reaches Bollywood and, not so coincidentally, the glamorous star of Arjun's favorite Indian movie.


This is what I say :

This book was lost among my other books on the shelves for many years.  I might have bought it during a book warehouse sales....Honestly, I can't remember.  I thought it was a chic lite and I was ready for one but unfortunately, I was wrong. Chic lite it was not.

Transmission is also not a thriller. Comedy? perhaps a bit but again not really.  It's more like a satire directed at the social situation of migrant skilled workers to the holy land of silicon valley?  Anyway, I didn't really like the book.  I find it confusing and at the end of the day, I didn't really know what and where the author's intention and direction with this book.

There's a lot of unknown factors too for example where is Arjun at the end of the book?  Either I missed a clue or it was intentionally written to be so, I really do not know.  

This was read before the MCO.

Hardcore Twenty Four by Janet Evanovich

Synopsis :

Trouble comes in bunches for Stephanie Plum. First, professional grave robber and semi-professional loon, Simon Diggery, won’t let her take him in until she agrees to care for his boa constrictor, Ethel. Stephanie’s main qualification for babysitting an extremely large snake is that she owns a stun gun—whether that’s for use on the wandering serpent or the petrified neighbors remains to be seen.

Events take a dark turn when headless bodies start appearing across town. At first, it’s just corpses from a funeral home and the morgue that have had the heads removed. But when a homeless man is murdered and dumped behind a church Stephanie knows that she’s the only one with a prayer of catching this killer.

If all that’s not enough, Diesel’s back in town. The 6-foot-tall, blonde-haired hunk is a man who accepts no limits—that includes locked doors, closed windows and underwear. Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli isn’t pleased at this unexpected arrival nor is Ranger, the high-powered security consultant who has his own plans for Stephanie.

As usual Jersey’s favorite bounty hunter is stuck in the middle with more questions than answers. What’s the deal with Grandma Mazur’s latest online paramour? Who is behind the startling epidemic of mutilated corpses? And is the enigmatic Diesel’s sudden appearance a coincidence or the cause of recent deadly events? 



This is what I say :

I told myself that I would not be involved in the life of Stephanie Plum after Sizzling Sixteen and yes, it has been two years.  I happen to come across the above as an e-book and thought why not just check out how Stephanie is doing after two years. Since then I guess Stephanie had many more adventures and here we are at adventure number twenty four, hence, Hardcore Twenty-Four.

So, how have you been Stephanie after two years?  I see that you are still stringing Morelli, Ranger and even Diesel along and ya, they're all here and it's like a great big party.  Not forgetting Grandma Mazur's who's forever game for something different.  Lula seems to be same old same old too.  

Nothing seems to change but I do miss you once in a while but no, I don't wish to get re-acquainted with you that frequently.  Maybe in another two years time?

I read this before the MCO starts. It's only now that I get a chance to post it out.  Stay safe everyone.