Clean Fiction – The Book Worm's Library

The Kite Runner by: Khaled Hosseini

Francis — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 12:47:55 +0000

About the Book:

An epic tale of fathers and sons, of friendship and betrayal, that takes us from the final days of Afghanistan’s monarchy to the atrocities of the present.

The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant, The Kite Runneris a beautifully crafted novel set in a country in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption. And it is also about the power of fathers over sons — their love, their sacrifices, their lies.

The first Afghan novel to be written in English, The Kite Runnertells a sweeping story of family, love, and friendship against a backdrop of history that has not been told in fiction before, bringing to mind the large canvasses of the Russian writers of the nineteenth century. But just as it is old-fashioned in its narration, it is contemporary in its subject — the devastating history of Afghanistan over the past thirty years. As emotionally gripping as it is tender, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful debut.

Book Review: ★★★★★★

This is an intense book, with a fantastic story to tell. I picked it up originally because the title and the cover looked interesting. (I know — don’t judge a book by its cover.) But in this case, the judgment more than paid off. I could not put this book down. I staid up till 3:00 in the morning because I just couldn’t break away from the intensity of the story.

The character development in this book is very profound, and demonstrates what true writing really is. The characters are amazingly easy to identify with, and yet very complex. And the changes that are seen throughout the course of the story are both dramatic, and significant. Never have I read a book with such incredible character development. And while it is sad — and even leans towards the depressing, the power of the story is such that the reader just has to know what happens with the characters. I found myself relating to the characters, and looking on them as friends — Mr. Hosseini has truly demonstrated himself a master of character presentation.

The beauty of the land of Afghanistan, as well as the difficulties of the country through the changes of power are very moving, and is brought to life through this book. I, like most Americans probably knew very little about this amazing country, and its history prior to reading this book. However, following my introduction through this story, I have found that I will frequently seek out stories that deal with this country, its history, and the struggles that the people have gone through. The turmoil during the governmental changes, and the oppression that existed was eloquently presented in this book. I just can’t say enough good about the beauty that I found about the Afghan people, and their country — through this book.

I would highly recommend this reading. It is intense, and painful — but it is also real and beautiful. One of my favorite books — and one that I recommend frequently to others.

Tags: Family, Friendship, Historical Fiction, Loss, Love, Prejudice, Suffering, Survivor

Category: Fiction, Historical Fiction

The Forgotten Garden by: Kate Morton

Francis — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 12:47:21 +0000

About the Book:

A foundling, an old book of dark fairy tales, a secret garden, an aristocratic family, a love denied, and a mystery. The Forgotten Garden is a captivating, atmospheric and compulsively readable story of the past, secrets, family and memory from the international best-selling author Kate Morton.

Cassandra is lost, alone and grieving. Her much loved grandmother, Nell, has just died and Cassandra, her life already shaken by a tragic accident ten years ago, feels like she has lost everything dear to her. But an unexpected and mysterious bequest from Nell turns Cassandra’s life upside down and ends up challenging everything she thought she knew about herself and her family.

Inheriting a book of dark and intriguing fairytales written by Eliza Makepeace – the Victorian authoress who disappeared mysteriously in the early twentieth century – Cassandra takes her courage in both hands to follow in the footsteps of Nell on a quest to find out the truth about their history, their family and their past; little knowing that in the process, she will also discover a new life for herself.

Book Review: ★★★★★★

This book provides a mystery that spans four generations, over 100 years, three continents, and two different societal classes — and not a detective in sight! Featuring a rare book of dark fairy tales, a four year old child abandoned on a dock in Australia, an evil aunt, a sickly young girl, various love stories, and a perverted uncle — this book manages to tie them all together into one cohesive whole. Ms. Morton has demonstrated herself as a very gifted author, who can create a wonderful story from so many different parts that the reader is thrilled simply through the multiplicity of the story lines.

There is a line in this book that I found to be most apropos. “That my dear, is what makes a character interesting, their secrets.” This book is an excellent example of that very idea. The characters presented in this story cover a wide range of elements. Mental instability, vindictiveness, petty spite, hatred, envy, lust, love, devotion, loyalty, and the list goes on. But each of them has a secret. And what I loved most about these characters is the manner in which Ms. Morton carefully nurtures and eventually reveals these secrets. I found that I had the ending figured out within the first quarter of the book — but Ms. Morton is so gifted at weaving a truly convoluted story, that I couldn’t be absolutely certain that I was right about my suspicion until the last thirty pages of the book. And never once did she let me down with her development of the lives of all of these different characters.

The main heroin of the book is a slightly isolated, driven, free spirit that refuses to be contained by anyone, or anything. Taught by her mother to never “wait for someone to rescue you. . . A girl expecting rescue never learns to save herself.” This becomes the driving theme of the story. The woman that refused to be rescued by anyone — becomes a savior to all those around her in her own right. Until, she suddenly disappears, with no explanation of why. This becomes the driving mystery of the story. Eliza’s disappearance, and her only remaining clue was the stories she left behind. I loved the character of Eliza. She is everything to every one. The only person she ever seemed to let down was herself.

The other fun part of this book is the part that memory plays in the plot. Recreating memories of the characters through direct presentation, interaction with others, diaries, fairy tales, and mementos. Everyone seems to have a memory except for Nell. Her only happy memories, stripped from her when she turned 21 become the driving force behind the need to solve the mystery of the novel. “Memory is a cruel mistress with whom we all must learn to dance.” This line becomes the crux of the entire story. Our memories are what we make of them. We all have them — and what we do with them can only be determined by us.

This is a book that I found thrilling to read. It is a great story, with so many parts that it is simply fun to try and tie them all together, before the author does. An excellent read that I couldn’t put down.

Tags: Family, Friendship, Historical Fiction, Love, Mystery

Category: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Romance

A Life That Fits by: Heather Wardell

Francis — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 12:31:34 +0000

About the Book:

“Twenty-eight-year-old Andrea returns home from a business trip to find Alex, her boyfriend of fourteen years, nervously waiting for her. Assuming he’s finally going to propose, Andrea’s instead horrified to learn he’s been cheating on her and is leaving to be with the other woman, who he calls Andrea’s opposite.

At first Andrea’s paralyzed by shock and sadness, but the business analyst soon forms a plan: change every last detail of her life and become her opposite so Alex will come back to her.

It’s a challenge at first, but soon Andrea’s loving the changes she’s making, the new activities she’s doing, and the new people in her life. But will she change enough to get Alex back? And if she does, will he fit into the wonderful new life she’s creating for herself?”

Book Review: ★★★★★★

It is really funny to admit it — but I have found another favorite author. I gave up reading romance books years ago. And I gave them up because they all started to sound the same — different names for the characters — but the same story line over, and over, and over. So when I picked up Wardell’s first novel — Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo I chose to read it because of the title — I just couldn’t resist a book that had a polar bear in the title. But I found a book with great characters from the beginning — so when I was contacted to read another of her books — Stir Until Thoroughly Confused — I found that her talent for great characters just keeps getting better. Now I find myself waiting for her next book, and I am so happy to have been given the opportunity to read this latest book.

What I love about the characters of these books is that I so completely identify with the women of these stories. These are women that are struggling to live in the real world — with professions, dreams, ambitions, and they are still trying to figure out how to make the rest of their lives fit into this crazy kind of life. Simply put — these are characters that resound with me, because I know what kind of life they have. Add to the the fact that they are real — with struggles of doubt, the need to fit in and belong, and even a certain amount of self confidence issues — even when everyone around them sees the amazing people they really are, and I just found myself falling in love with these women — because I know what it feels like to be them.

This story actually resonated with me more than the other two. I loved the liberating feel of this story. The challenges faced by Andrea in this one is something that has taken me a lifetime to figure out. The concept that unless you are happy with yourself, no one else will ever make you happy. When Andrea finds herself dumped by her boyfriend of 14 years she challenges herself to remake who she is. At first it is just to become the opposite of who she was, so she can win her boyfriend back. But as this little project develops she finds that the most important person for her to be comfortable, and happy with is herself. This lesson is the most important lesson that anyone can learn. And once they figure out how to be happy with themselves, they can then find joy and fulfillment in their life. This theme is the reason this story felt so real for me — which of course made it a book that is more than worth reading.

Add to that the fact that Wardell has a real gift for presenting the city of Toronto that I just really fell in love with, and this whole book becomes a real break from the everyday world. Overall this is a book, as well as an author that I have come to really appreciate for the talent of writing, and the gift for developing realistic characters and stories. Even though these fall in the category of romances — they don’t fall into the trap of the standard romance storyline. Nor does she resort to the good guy always wins, and in the end everything is perfect. Rather the story develops in a much more realistic method, and that lends an element of truth to the storyline as a whole.

Tags: Friendship, Loss, Love, Romance

Category: Fiction, Promo Book Reviews, Romance