Aug. 6, 2008 - Recent Reading
I'm still plowing my way through dozens of books a month. Once a bookworm, always a bookworm. Some of the books are not worth mentioning, but I've come across a few winners.
First, the nonfiction:
I Don't: A Contrarian History of Marriage: Simply fascinating. It's not really a statement about marriage or what it should be, just the history of marriage from the particular perspective of the author. For me the most interesting chapter was on marriage during the time of the Reformation, and the role Martin Luther played in melding love and marriage. Who knew?
The Commoner: I'm not quite through this book yet but I can confidently say it's a great novel. The book describes the life of a "common" Japanese woman who marries the Crown Prince. The marriage is a true love match, unprecedented for royalty at that time. She knows she will suffer severe restriction and criticism as someone who was not groomed or raised to follow all the rules of the imperial court, and she does indeed suffer. The Commoner is beautiful and fascinating and refreshingly free of smut and coarseness.
Laughing Without an Accent and Funny in Farsi : Two of my absolute most favorite books ever, both by Firoozeh Dumas. Both are memoirs of her life in Iran and America with her family. I really connected with these books probably because I'm married to an immigrant who's perspective on America is very similar to Dumas' family. This country is abundant, confusing, wonderful, ridiculous, spectacular, bizarre, fabulous and frustrating. The English language is torture for people who have grown up with reasonable, rule-following languages, and sometimes what one wants to say, and what one actually says in English are two very different things! I also think that in today's political climate, it's important to remember that Iran is full of human beings very much like us, many of whom actually do look to and admire this country for it's freedoms and blessings.
You might notice a theme here: foreign fiction. I love it. If I see a book with an author's name indicating Asian or African origins, I grab it. I find such books much more interesting and engaging than a lot of American fiction.
Comments
Aug. 7, 2008 - Khaled Hosseini
Posted by Dad
If you haven't read them, be sure to read 'Kite Runner' and 'A Thousand Brilliant Suns' by Khaled Hosseini -- both are beautifully written evocations of modern Afghanistan and its woes. Some bits are a bit strong (especially with regard to violence), but then, so was life under the Taliban...
Sep. 1, 2008 - Thank you!
Posted by firoozeh dumas
What a lovely surprise to read your words! Thank you for blogging about my books.
Hope to meet you at a book event sometime.
Best,
Firoozeh
