The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, published in 2003, is the story of a young boy, Amir, the son of a wealthy Pashtun family in Kabul, Afghanistan, and his close friend, Hassan, the son of his father's servant. Coming from different backgrounds, the two boys to some extent experience different lives but still enjoy the opportunity to spend time together. The highlight of each year is the annual kite running competition. But Afghanistan is about to enter turbulent times and the lives of the boys are to drastically change.

The Kite Runner is a story about friendship, betrayal, attempting to seek forgiveness, father-son relationships, seeking truth, trust as well as an account of the lives of those living in Afghanistan during a series of revolutions. Amir and his father went to live in America but, after his father's death, Amir received communication from a family friend asking him to visit him in Pakistan where he was now living. This visit led Amir to return to Afghanistan to try and right a mistake from his past.

Having read this book immediately after reading Ian McEwan's book, Atonement,  I noticed similar themes where a mistake made by young people results in the perpetrators experiencing feelings of guilt throughout their life and the need to atone for their past behaviour. 

This is not necessarily an easy book to read but I found that I was compelled to keep reading to the end of the book.

Timeline: Afghanistan's turbulent history - ABC  

The Limestone Road

This was an appropriate book to read during the week before Anzac Day.  

The Limestone Road by Nicole Alexander is the story of Canning Christie and his father Michael as they try to make a new life for themselves after returning from serving in the Australian armed forces in North Africa during the Second World War. They were both injured during the same battle and repatriated home. The Australian Government had initiated a Soldier Settlement Scheme providing land for returned soldiers to farm. Canning and his father had acquired a property near Mount Gambier in South Australia.

Part of the property had been planted with tobacco plants which were ready to harvest. Michael quickly developed plans to increase the size of the plantation but Canning wanted to focus on the vineyard which was also established on their land. Initially they tried to work on both crops. 

For the first five years the land belonged to the government and there were many regulations that had to be observed. However it was also possible to have the assistance of Italian POWs, especially during harvest. This caused additional problems as both Canning and Michael had been fighting against Italian soldiers overseas. Canning also had assistance from Bastian who was avoiding authorities as during the First World War he had been interned because he was German and wanted to avoid that happening again.

The above issues affected the lives of both Canning and Michael as they attempted to adapt to living a life without war. Both the men had incurred severe physical injuries but they were both also suffering from shell shock, now referred to as PTSD. Canning, in particular, suffered from regular nightmares and, often, what  could be considered as ordinary incidents could aggravate past memories.

In The Limestone Road Nicole Alexander has written a moving historical fiction novel describing the challenges faced by many soldiers attempting to adapt to a 'normal' life after serving in wars overseas.

Keeping up appearances

Badara in South Australia is the small country town that Paige decides to retreat to with her three children. Paige soon discovers that it is not possible to remain anonymous in a small community where everyone seems to know everyone else's business. However in time she realises that generally kindness and concern, not interference, is usually behind the help offered by some community members. Eventually Paige comes to the conclusion that she should accept the offers of help as gifts of  friendship. 

It soon becomes obvious that there are many secrets in the town and, especially for some of the older ladies, these secrets are kept in order to keep up appearances. As well as the challenges faced by Paige living as a single parent looking after three children on a small income, the reader learns of secrets governing the lives of other members of the community including Briony, Marion and Sarah.

Social issues such as teenage pregnancy, children in same family with different fathers, homosexuality, drug addiction and problems of what is to become of family farms if the younger generation is not interested in taking on the property are some of the issues occurring in the novel Keeping up Appearances by Tricia Stringer. Overall this is a story of community spirit, hope, gradual understanding and acceptance of change and forgiveness.

The Others

Sometimes people do the most terrible things. Sometimes you just have to. This statement by the father at the end of part two of The Others by Mark Brandi dramatically changes the tone of this novel - a study of psychological power of a father over his son.

Jacob, an eleven year old boy, lives with his father on a small, isolated farm in Tasmania during a drought. Only at the end of the book do we learn the boy's name and location of the farm and this anonymity aids the thread of fear portrayed in the book. 

Although the son regularly has lessons from this father and has learned the basics of reading, writing and maths, his main source of information is from a dictionary and encyclopaedia. The father also teaches his son survival skills. Jacob has also had to learn to read his father's face to judge his father's moods. Sometimes after lessons Jacob is allowed to ask his father one question but depending on his father's mood it is sometimes best to remain quiet.

The story is told in the first person as Jacob records his life living with his father, cut off from other people. According to his father there has been a disastrous plague in the community. People referred to as the Others who live on the other side of the hill must be avoided. Jacob's mother has died. Her grave is on the property and occasionally he visits the grave. He does not know how his mother died. In fact Jacob knows little about his earlier life, only what his father has told him and that is not much.

Generally Jacob obeys his father's rules including remaining in his room when his father is not at home. The catalyst for change occurs when a lady from the past appears at the house and leaves a message.  Jacob hears male voices talking at night occasionally but this is the first time he has seen someone. His father refuses to tell him what is going on. After Christine's visit the son questions his situation, begins to explore beyond the farm boundaries on his own and makes a decision which will change his life.

Throughout the book there is an underlying and increasing current of fear and suspense. Initially Jacob's fear is of the Outsiders and what might happen if he disobeys his father. Eventually he begins to understand that most of what he has been told is a lie. The distrust of his father increases as he realises what his father has done and what he might he do.

Thanks to Better Reading and Hachette Australia for a preview copy of this book. #BRPreview 

Publication of this book is due at the end of June

All the devils are here

Another 'cannot put this book down until finished' read from Louise Penny.

All the devils are here is number 16 in the Armand Gamache Mystery series however, instead of being set in The Pines in Canada, the action takes place in Paris where Armand and Reine-Marie are visiting their children who live in that city. 

Shortly after arriving in Paris Armand's godfather, Stephen Horowitz, is deliberately run down outside a restaurant and one of his friends is murdered. Armand and his son-in-law, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, are determined to investigate especially when it is clear that someone is also trying to discredit Stephen and the work that he has done. Armand uses his contacts within the Paris police force to ensure that the matter is taken seriously.

Jean-Guy now works in Paris for a firm, GHS Engineering, and gradually becomes suspicious that all is not as it should be. As he and Armand investigate the Stephen Horowitz case they become convinced that GHS Engineering is somehow involved.

The solving of a crime is only one aspect of this book series. The relationships between the characters and their interactions with each other are important features. In this series Armand endeavours to discover what has caused the breakdown between him and his son, Daniel, and attempts to resolve it. 

In this novel a number of characters provide expertise in solving the crime including Reine-Marie, a retired librarian, and a number of her friends who are archivists and librarians in Paris. The city of Paris and its history also play an important role in the story. 

I am really looking forward to meeting Armand Gamache and his family and friends again in the next book in series.

Troubled Blood

 Troubled Blood is the fifth book in the Cormoran Strike series by Robert Galbraith (J K Rowling). Strike and Robin are partners of the detective agency set up by Strike in the first book in the series.The firm now has three subcontractors on staff plus Pat who does the admin work and all the staff are busy on a variety of cases. Strike is then approached by the daughter of a woman who was probably murdered forty years ago to try and find out what happened to her mother. This is the first cold case handled by the agency and Strike and Robin accept the challenge.

The disappearance of Dr Margot Bamborough occupies the team for more than a year, along with the other cases on which they are working. The more that Strike and Robin investigate the longer the list of possible suspects grows. After forty years many of the people they wish to talk to have died or disappeared making the challenge of finding what really happened more difficult.

Strike and Robin also have issues in their private lives requiring their attention. The aunt who looked after Strike when he was a boy is dying from cancer and he makes a number of trips to Cornwall to visit his aunt uncle. Meanwhile, Robin's husband is determined to make their divorce proceedings as difficult as possible. Strike also keeps receiving messages from family members wanting him to attend a function for his father's band's new album which is about to be released. As Strike has only seen his father twice in his life he declines the invitations. 

This novel therefore largely focuses on the lives of the two main characters as well as the cases they are endeavouring to solve. It is a good read even though at 927 pages it is a hefty tome.

Utopia Avenue

David Mitchell, (the author, not the comedian and actor) has written this novel about two years in the life of a British band formed in 1967. Folksinger, Elf Holloway, blues base guitarist, Dean Moss, guitarist Jasper de Zoet and jazz drummer, Griff Griffin combine their extensive talents to form a psychedelic, pop, rock, folk band named Utopia Avenue. 

The story of how these musicians met and learned to work together to showcase their music forms the basis of the novel which is divided into sections reflecting their three LPs. Music runs throughout the novel, not just the story of the band and the lives of the individual band members, but scattered throughout the book are names of musicians from the late 1960s. For those of us who grew up in the 1960s the book takes us on a musical trip back to our youth.

The book is definitely about life in the 1960s and sex, drugs and rock ' n' roll, but it also portrays four very different individuals as they have the chance to develop their talent and be accepted in the higher regions of the pop music world at that time. 

As the story evolves  all the characters have to come to terms with who they really are and decide on the lives they really want to live. Dean struggles to reconcile his relationship with his father. As a person with schizophrenia, Jasper also has to face his demons from the past as well as in the present. Each chapter focusses on one character but through that character's story the story of the group as a whole is devolped. I really enjoyed through fiction this brief glimpse into a world of music past.