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After spending his shift at a Tel Aviv hospital working on the human carnage caused by the latest suicide bombing, Arab-Israeli citizen and celebrated surgeon Amin Jaafari is shocked to be told his wife was the bomber.
While I didn't find The Attack
to be as mesmerizing as The Swallows of Kabul, it is still a deeply thought-provoking story. I expected to be brought into the mind of a suicide bomber, to see what turns a person to that kind of act of violence. But The Attack focuses more on the other people whose lives are affected by the actions of the bomber -- the husband, the friends, the family -- who may or may not have been aware of the devastating plans. I felt Jaafari's helplessness as he searched for the motivation that caused his beloved, kind wife to engage in seemingly senseless violence that perpetrated only more senseless violence until the final, horrific end.Perhaps the whole world would be a better place if we all thought long and hard about the words Dr. Jaafari's father told him as a child:
If you start from the principle that your worst enemy is the very person who tries to sow hatred in your heart, you're halfway to happiness.
Lezlie
The books in Khadra's trilogy:
Book One: The Swallows of Kabul
(My Review)Book Two: The Attack
Book Three: The Sirens of Baghdad
(My Review)
is no exception. Long time fans of the books know exactly what to expect, and new readers looking to test the waters could start here without being lost in confusion over long-term story threads that have nothing to do with the current case in which Alex and his friend, LAPD Lieutenant Milo Sturgis, are embroiled. It's a straight-up murder mystery perfect for providing a few hours of beach relaxation. If you find brutal, cross-dressing serial killers relaxing, that is. :-)
is a really long book, and had I not listened to it on audio (unabridged, of course, because I refuse to listen to abridged books), I'm not 100% certain I would have made it to the end. There are stretches of real dry material. However, with the assitance of a CD player, I enjoyed the book overall. I liked that I learned a lot about more than just John Adams. There is a ton of information about his wife Abigail and son John Quincy Adams, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton. . . . The list goes on and on. There are large portions of actual letters written by not only John and Abigail, but many other famous folk of that time, and it was fascinating to hear their actual words regarding not just the Declaration of Independence, the Revolution, the Constitution, and the like, but every day concerns about raising families, the decline of the education system and of the moral values of the country. I found the continuing debate over the issue of slavery most interesting. Probably because it seems so obvious to me that it is a vile institution, I find I have a hard time comprehending any argument that existed in its favor. (Adams, for the record, strongly opposed slavery and never owned any himself.)
, alternating chapters told by 
, then was less than luke-warm about his second, 
. I figured this one had an equal chance of being great or garbage. From the start, I could not put this book down. The juxtaposition of Ella and Pavel's lives serves to emphasize the hope and horror, the beauty and the tragedy of 
is the story of 
. I liked the book, but I had a lot of questions about parts of the story that were skimmed over or not told at all. All in all, 
, and settle in for royal scheming, amibition and betrayal as only Tudor England can so consistently provide.
with its various narrators that I felt like I was reading it again, but without the benefit of being positive how it ended. While I had my suspicions, I was blissfully ignorant of the fate of Lady Jane Grey until the end of the book. And I thought Jane was portrayed magnificently. Though she is painfully young upon her brief ascension to the throne, the story of her upbringing allows you to believe her amazing maturity and intelligence in dealing with her unwanted and unwelcome circumstances. My heart ached for her.
by Martin Amis
by Clare Clark
by Julian Barnes
by Christi Phillips
, the lives of a number of seemingly unconnected people cross in strange ways over the course of one night.
is the the story of Birahima, who tells of his three years as a child-soldier in war-torn West Africa. If you have an issue with offensive language in your reading, skip this book. There is not a single page that does not contain phrases that will make your hair stand up. Strangely, it doesn't come off as gratuitous. It bothered me at first, but after a while it seemed the only way this kid would talk, considering his life. With the atrocities he not only sees but participates in, the greed and corruption that surround him, it's not likely he's going to express his thoughts like a country gentleman. The book is exceedingly disturbing in it's bluntness. Not in a way that makes you sad, but in a way that makes you cringe and look away. You think to yourself, "He has to be making this up. This has to be exaggerated." But, even though it's fiction, you're sickly certain that he's not off the mark at all. You only wish he was. And then you get sad. It's sad what people do to each other.
. True, if ambiguity is not your thing, you may want to pass this one by, but even though I have only read 
, I couldn't wait to get to the rest of the story. It was worth every moment of anticipation. There is a short period as Francisco begins to tell his story when I started wondering if the book was going to hold up to it's promise. It moves rather slowly for a little while. But trust me. Stick with it! Warning: Those with sensitive stomachs will have a hard time with the battle scenes and the cruel treament of prisoners by the vile Don Fernando. He is the first character I have run across since Sir William in 
that I loathed so much I would concoct heinous deaths for him in my head while I was reading.
is your book! Hero 
is an interesting book, it really didn't do much for me. I was hoping for a 
. Peter bought the "man" version of 
, and we're reading a chapter each night before we go to bed and talking about the changes we want to make in our lifestyle to hopefully keep healthy for many, many years to come. It's fun to be able to do it together! I'm lucky to have married a guy who is pretty much game for just about any new fancy that strikes me. Dog agility, vegetarianism, singing in a band again, watching stupid B comedies. Some stick, some don't, but he'll usually at least give it a try. Though he has adamantly drawn the line at training for an ultramarathon. He did volunteer to be on my support team though. :-)
-- This is a nice general fitness magazine for when my attention span is questionable. They also have a great 
-- I'm not deluded enough to think I could follow this eating plan to the letter, but the more of it I can incorporate for life, the better. Like vegetarianism, even part-time helps in so many ways both personal and public. There is also a 
-- One of our neighbors (who really does run adventure races) told us about this book last summer. I thought I'd give it a try. At one of our last agility trials, I watched an 85-year-old woman run her dog. I want to be her someday. Maybe I can run that ultramarathon when I'm 90! They have a 
-- I love watching 
