Pardes a moving story
921009
I enjoy SRK films and wanted to see this one.  I thoroughly enjoyed it!  He is extremely handsome in this! The story was good and he plays the hero. once again,personally I enjoy,seeing  him in the hero role. His character endures personal struggles-of to who should he be most loyal to.  Ultimately, his character makes the right decision. And I loved that about this movie.  A must see for all SRK fans in my opinion.
3985403
Such a beautiful, moving story, and well-written to boot. Having lost many family members myself to illness and violence, and wanting to feel their presence when they were gone, I was touched by this story. It brought me to tears with the struggles those who have already passed on have in letting their family pass into the light. SPOILER: At first I couldn't understand why a main character was written out of the story halfway through, but the author resolved the matter.

You're not only in for tears, but laughter as you watch the Deadlines interact with each other. I highly recommend this story.
2179522
This is a novel in 2 parts; a Holocaust novel with a difference.
The first part deals movingly with the story of Michael, a young man, who learns that an aunt, whom he previously thought had perished in the Holocaust, had, in fact, survived. In getting to know his aunt, Michael learns not only about his family story, but about the venality of the Nazis in carrying out medical experiments.
The second part is more violent and salacious, and transports us into the world of the very Nazis who perpetrated those atrocities.
I recommend this book, in which Teddy Goldstein shifts seamlessly from one world into the other. Well written, sparse where necessary, emotional in theme, and above all thought provoking.
806117
Moving story about two women and how they manage to navigate difficulties of living in a war-torn country where women have few opportunities and choices.  The women form a powerful bond of friendship in the midst of living with abuse and the hazards of war.  The book explores the limits on their own agency to make choices to shape their life circumstances.  It's a gripping story well worth the read.
73499
As someone whose family was in Japanese camps in SE Asia during WWII, I was thankful for its inclusion. Not many people know the atrocities the Japanese committed in that region. My personal connection to the story made it a moving experience and it awakened a lot of buried emotions. The ending was my favorite part, but I will not give any details away because it caused me to cry.

The story did have strange pacing at times, but overall, a worthwhile read.
2112257
So moving, really makes you think about the process of dying
2131069
Carbys Fate is the story of a family dispute over inherited property, though perhaps it is more accurately the story of a community struggle over land and its deep meaning for a long-time colonized people, in the spirit of John B Keanes play, The Field.

It is a great story but, more important, it is a story that is well told. For it is clear that the author knows these country people of Ireland intimately: their lives, their thinking and their habits of interaction. It is also clear that he loves them by the ways in which he goes to the trouble of presenting much more than the drama but also the deeper hopes and fears that drive it.

His narrator reflects this love in the way he describes the characters, particularly the main character of the drama who does little to endear himself to anyone. You get the sense that there is more to this rather crude and unattractive person, which emerges finally as the story comes to a climax. You can certainly feel the pain he has endured since childhood and continues to endure from the scornful attitude of his neighbors. At the same time, lest he appear as simply a victim, the author also lets us see into the hearts of these neighbors who contribute to his pain even as they support his cause.

However, he has little sympathy for the character who proves to be the catalyst that brings the entire process to a head  perhaps because he is an outsider with no sense of the family dynamic that is at play  though he holds back from biasing us too much until the very end when the tragedy has run its course and it no longer matters.

I was deeply moved by the denouement which is really an unraveling that still leaves enough threads for a promising new tapestry. Not unlike the story of Ireland itself. In fact, this wonderful little vignette is a true microcosm and even a symbol of an Irish culture that the modern world is in the process of breaking into and breaking down.
Daniel Martin
1154013
This a beautifully written novel  which will stay with the reader for some time. The characters are quite memorable and the story profoundly moving.  Being an avid reader I am often asked for recommendations . I will highly recommend this.
3532263
The bonds of love between a mother and a daughter and the heart rending circumstances of their separation are portrayed in a tender manner, with sensitivity and empathy for the circumstances faced by the characters. It is an emotionally moving story, easy to read although exploring deeply emotional issues. There is sadness yet hope for the future.

Set in apartheid Africa with a description of the brutality of the regime described through the experiences of people; the uprising in Soweto; Mandela burning his passbook and being arrested; yet written without any moral judgement.

Celia's employers, Michael and Rita Steiner adopt Miriam prior to emigrating to England. The story continues in England where Miriam experiences racial prejudice of a different kind and struggles with life thinking that her mother did not want her.

Miriam straddles two cultures. Shifting colour identities and feeling abandoned by her mother, Miriam struggles to find her identity and a sense of belonging. This leads her back to Africa where the story intensifies and the powerful narrative absorbs the reader in Miriam's journey.

Celia is distraught with her letters going unanswered and her attempts to find Miriam being a futile endeavour. She faces hardship and finds solace in the friendship of a white woman named Sylvia.

Friendships and relationships between the characters in dealing with circumstances are explored with empathy. The twist at the end enriches the story.

The rich description and language, transform the written word into realistic visual images. The interspersed humour brings a smile even when the circumstances are sad or deepens the sdness. Food, singing and the happy smiles of the African people provide glimpses of their culture.

The love between a mother and a daughter is a love that endures.

Altogether, a deeply satisfying, beautifully crafted novel that resonates long after finsihing the book.
1417181
I recommend this book to middle school students and older readers. THe story deals realistically with emotional isues; readers should be mature enough to understand these concepts.  I liked the way the author moved the narration among six diferent characters, rather than telling the entire story from one point of view. I enjoyed reading the book because the story was touching and moving.
586623
Beautiful and heartbreaking, this is a story about two school friends, taking place in Germany during World War II.

Pilenz is one of a crowd of teenaged boys who like to hang out together at the beach, occasionally swimming out together to a partially submerged Polish minesweeper. Mahlke is just a kid who wants to belong.

But Mahlke is deeply flawed, Pilenz explains. He is independent, inventive, original and individual, at a time when it was deadly dangerous to deviate in any way from the crowd. With dread, the reader begins to understand that, in telling this story, the narrator is performing a kind of atonement, seeking to repent of an as-of-yet unnamed sin.

A profoundly moving book. You don't have to look far to find the enemy, says Grass. He is already there, inside you, waiting for just the right time to pounce.
4932623
A great coming of age story. The main character in this story is a young woman who is trying to cope with the tragic loss of her boyfriend, while trying to do her part in resisting the Nazis; to find a missing Jewish teenager. This novel is so moving because the main character used her emotions and understanding that she had in her relationship to find the missing girl.
4208217
Loved this moving human story of these three children.  One can learn from their ideals and the way they looked at life, with such courage and hope.  They never gave up.  A great story, so moving, yet so sad.
2055065
Although I usually don't like to read books that have a lot of violence and hardship in them, I had a feeling that this book would have a strong core, and wanted to give it a try. It does have a positive core, despite the tragic events. It was a moving story, although definitely very hard to read at times. However, sometimes violence serves its purpose, as it did in this case. This is a story of human strength and power of soul, which is hauntingly real. I suppose the only reason I don't give it the full five stars is because it was so hard to read at times that it made me want to skip pages, but that is my problem, as I am quite sensitive.
3299477
This story is very moving.  It moved me to be worried, and happy, and sad, and mad, and relieved.... sometimes all within the same chapter.  The are extraordinary people who perhaps would have been much more ordinary had they not met.  I recommend this book with all my heart.
2886288
Beautifully written story, wonderfully graphic with rich characterizations. Gritty and urban, it's contemporary vibe reads almost like poetry in the beginning. Lyrical and sad, it recounts a husband's great well of grief and the trip he takes inside himself to deal with it. Confusing at times, it is still deeply moving, with vivid imagery. Each character is so wounded, so lost, one gets caught up in their struggles and roots for them to find away out of the prison called life.
887842
This story is moving. I think it should be required reading for high school students to help them understand that any person can make a difference if they make the decision to do so.
Don't hesitate to read this story. The book is well written and will stick with you.