Super Multi-cultural Read
359474
As a former school librarian I was very impressed by Shooting Kabul.  It was well written.  The characters were believable and became real to me.  I felt it gave a true picture of how difficult it must be to go to an American school and put up with the ignorant prejudice from some classmates.  We need books like this in our libraries and homes  to show the moderate face of Islam and the universality of love of family and the human experience.
4537737
this book has an incredibly deep cultural insight, sounds so true it is hard to imagine someone wrote this simply by inspiration.  i only spaced my reading, because i didn't want to come to the end.  a totally catching story.
4820223
I love to read books about different cultures and people. I enjoy learning about the differences and similarities I share with them. This collection of short stories is varied. There are some happy endings, sad endings, chilling endings and no endings. Some of the people involved were good and some were downright evil. The author spent most of his adult life in Brazil and these stories take place in the various places where he lived.

There are sixteen short stories and they are fiction but feel like they could be real. I usually read stories that have a definite ending or at least I have a good feel for where it's going by the end. Some of these stories ended abruptly, and I felt like there was more, so I had to determine my own ending to the story.

The stories are great to discuss since they deal with human issues, like love, loss, greed, envy and revenge so they made me think. Overall, this is an interesting read. If you like reading about other cultures and people, this is a book you will enjoy!

I received a copy for review. My opinion is 100% my own.
4014178
This book joins the company of but a handful of libros I have completed in a single sitting, without taking my eyes off the pages until I had finished it. In The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, I discovered a remarkable dichotomy of idioma and cultura that hit me close to home; the book absorbed me from the first paragraph. Daz manages to mesh Latino and American cultures in a fresh, exuberant way; his writing is unlike that of any other contemporary author I have yet encountered.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is a work of metafiction, which makes the linguistic code-switching employed by the (seemingly omniscient) narrator(s) that much more extraordinario: the Spanglish sounds so crisp; the hilarious informality of street vernacular, both American and Hispanic, juxtaposes smoothly with the distinguished prose of a practiced writer, and our dear principal narrator-author executes this meta-duality in masterful fashion.

I admired the many allusions, ya sutil o no, to works of fantasy and science fiction, employed in the book to characterize both Wao and the primary narrator. I love the Lord of the Rings and the references to LOTR in particular profoundly demonstrate just how much Oscar relied on it to keep him going in life.

This book is especially impactful to me, as I am fluent in English and Spanish and have grown up and lived in both cultures (specifically Mexican as opposed to Dominican, but many Latin cultural values and paradigms are similar). I can relate to las luchas del pobre Oscar in many ways, and I have seen the struggles he and his family experience in this book in the lives of those dear to me.

Wao is well worthy of the Pulitzer it earned, and I look forward to reading more of Daz's work.
1952757
Exactly the kind of high-concept, unfamiliar-territory kind of book I love most. Its not for every reader, to be sure, but it is very definitely for this one.

(Do be warned, though, that this book is quite brutal at points. Trigger warnings galore. These are by no means the core of the book, but that makes them doubly jarring when you do reach them.)

Ive accumulated Many Thoughts about this book, but a few central notes:

---

 At the level of sheer storytelling craft, Palmer is astounding. She makes the story do mid-air acrobatics here, and pulls it off.

 This book is a masterpiece of worldbuilding, and of exposition for that worldbuilding. Palmer excels at creating intriguing questions and promises; questions that are just begging to be answered. And every question she answers raises a new question, one layer further. (I hope she can keep it up to the finish, but so far shes done admirably with the answers as well.)

 Fantastic, fantastic ideas and themes. I particularly love the idea of sensayers, which the book opens with  its a complete reworking of the ideas of religion and theology. In many senses, some of what this book does is create a functioning future culture which is founded on very modern values: individualism; equality; global community. In the real world, our values sometimes feel at odds with a culture founded around less-recent principles. A world trying to extrapolate the kind of culture we might bring about is strange, unique, and fascinating.

 The novel leans on heavily stylized voice, and constant conversation with the reader. I absolutely loved it. I do suspect, though, that some readers will find this less delightful than I did. Its one of those books where you should really read the first couple of chapters as a sample; itll be a love-it-or-hate-it situation. I loved it.

 This is Part 1 of a duology. It cuts off very abruptly  with a reasonable stopping point, but abruptly nonetheless. I was a little shocked to realize I was two chapters from the end of the book.

 The audiobook narrator, Jefferson Mays, is excellent. Best reader Ive had the fortune to encounter so far. Incredibly expressive, a huge range for representing an epic and diverse cast of characters, never over the top, and makes even the narrative (and typographical!) gymnastics flow naturally. (I understand the printed book has some typographical tricks I probably missed in the audio, but somebody else will have to weigh in on those :P )
3174735
Several years ago I was browsing through a used book store and saw a book with a strange title, and this really neat looking ringworld on the cover. I had never heard of Banks, and certainly never heard of the Culture or Consider Phlebas. But I grabbed it. And I was completely blown away.
I've been a Culture devotee ever since.  And this time I got even more than I was looking for.
A lot of Banks' novels just use the Culture universe as a vehicle for the larger story Banks is trying to tell. Whether or not the reader likes it, its what makes the Culture universe so impregnably great.  Sure, he could water it down, give everyone what they're clamoring for, and cash in - but I think Banks saves his favorite plot threads for use in Culture novels, or ones that he can fit to it anyway. I found Matter highly satisfying.  It is so much larger than just another Culture novel.  Banks has a tendency to go off into the thicket from time to time, but in Matter I felt the story had a coherent, consistent pace.  The plot does speed up in the end but so does the excitement!  Part of what makes Bank's writing so exciting is how he leaves just enough up to the imagination to take your thoughts to that next level - moments when you get to climb up there with him and his lofty creativity.
In the end, Matter wraps up not the backing Sci-Fi plot intricacies we're drooling to know more about, but the theme, and very well.
1621050
Yes, this book is great.  It opens one's eyes to all the ethnicities in the world and how the different "tribes", albeit it Mexican, Black, White, Teenagers, Asian, Mixed with two or three ethnicities, etc., communicate.  So, read it and learn to love people for their character, not the slang they speak.
3495276
This was a great read. I especially enjoyed the cultural introit to a people and a land I had not read about very much before. I was entirely charmed by them as described by this author, and was sorry when the book came to an end. It was interesting to walk with these characters through the changes that moved them from a relatively primitive culture into one with most aspects of what first-world cultures consider 'normal.'

I would recommend this book to others.
4766796
Told in alternating points of view, this is a story that transcends time, religion, and culture.

Josephine "Jo" March and her twin brother Chris are the great-grandchildren of THE Rev. Paul Pelton, son of an Oklahoma preacher later turned missionary.  Their maternal grandmother, Faith, was born in China and is now a nurse and medical missionary.  Ron, their maternal uncle, was the youngest ever televangelist and he continues his preaching.

As Jo learns some things that have been kept from her, she finds herself on a mission to meet long-lost family members, and in turn, discovers many truths about the way our defined faith both unites and divides us.  When Jo goes off to college, she studies both Arabic and Urdu with the intent of becoming a missionary herself, but ends up working for a private defense contractor as an interpreter for interrogations, and at the same time, her brother Chris signs up to fight in the war in the Middle East.

The stories I loved most here were those of Sadiq and his mother Deena as Sadiq grows up in Pakistan.  His mother's heartbreaking early life, with a father whose brother tricked him into leaving their wealth behind during Partition, the deception wrought on her to trick her into marriage with an unstable man, and her early widowhood at 19 made my heart ache for her.  When the man-made "holy" law of Sharia forced her to give her son to his paternal grandparents to raise right before he turned 6, as a mother, I felt her pain. Reading their story, I came to a greater understanding of the historical divide between Shia vs. Sunni Muslims, as it somewhat parallels the historical emnity of some "Christians" vs. Jews.

There are other tearful moments as well, as we read of some of the innocents caught up in the price of war, not just civilians, but even those who fight in the war, as Chris returns home with PTSD.

All of these interwoven stories highlight not only our differences, but our similarities.  Jo's search for identity leads her on a road of redemption through mistakes and tears, but I closed the book with a warm glow.  Ms. Haji reveals a true gift for writing through her lovely prose.  There were so many shining examples of almost poetic clarity that I had a hard time picking just a few to include here.  This is definitely a must-read for those of us who like reading and learning about other cultures and have questions about faith, both Christian and Muslim.  This book illustrates that we're not so different after all, and that love, loss, and more are a universal experience for all of us.

QUOTES

"These tears are the proof, Sadee, that there is love in the world.  Tears are only bitter when we cry selfishly for ourselves.  When we deny and forget the sweet love that tears are made of.  When we let our sorry turn to anger.  When people cry for each other, it is a good thing" ..... "you are opening your heart to God, who must see what we do and weep for us, too, for the suffering we cause to one another and to ourselves."

Every woman should be looked at in such a way, at least once in her life.  With a longing that cannot be contained - with love that goes beyond mere feeling because it transforms and - like the verse of the poem he had read - it dissolves, as an offering, a gift.

It never occurred to me.  That Abbas Uncle would later use the name of that same God against me.  That he had consulted with lawyers and mullahs - all of them men.  That they had told him that Sadiq belonged to him.  That after he was weaned, I had no right to my own son.

Writing:  5 out of 5 stars
Plot:  5 out of 5 stars
Characters:  5 out of 5 stars
Reading Immersion:  5  out 5 stars

BOOK RATING:  5 out of 5 stars

Reading Groups:  This would be a wonderful discussion book.  I can picture the many threads that this would open up.
3012852
As a Turkophile enamored of the ideas and cultures in search of the Goddess, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. You will also dig it if you are interested in ethnic culture and symbolism, especially if you  also like rugs and/or weaving or empowerment of women in the old/third world. If you don't care about any of that, you might not get this book or like it. I cannot honestly say its literary virtues are mighty enough to pull readers in who don't already share that stuff.
3063306
This book is so phenomenal! It drew me in from the beginning with Ishar's, fierce female character, a woman who is fighting for peace by attempting to unite with her fellow island cultures. She has such strong morals throughout the novel as she battles the differences between her people and their way of living and the way the other groups view basic livelihood.

For example, in some other tribes, women do not fight in battles; they are homemakers and mothers who receive the men home from the battles and, though it sounds very old-school in today's world, Keech was able to put a great spin on it so it didn't seem demeaning at all towards women. Some of these cultures didn't want someone other than the mother raising their children, so the mothers had very serious and respected rolls within the community. The role of being a mother and homemaker was so important to their culture they wouldn't dare risk the life of their women on the battlefield.

However, in Ishar's culture, women were able to fight and went very high in the ranks. They were treated as equal to men who fought beside them and trained just as hard. Women who went into battle did not have husbands to come home to. If they were warriors, they were not mothers because they didn't want to leave their children motherless (so it seems the cultures have deep roots in common that aren't immediately recognized). The warrior women may choose to lay down their swords if they wish to take a husband/become a mother, and there are hints that Ishar may do just that. But, another twist! How can she not fight this ultimate battle when so much is a stake? Is it worth laying down her sword in order for her to be happy?

There are a lot of little plot twists like this throughout the novel that really make the reader think. I put myself in Ishar's shoes numerous times to try and decide what I would do and many times I couldn't come up with a good answer. On top of all this going on, there's evil in the works, hands of those who don't wish to unite the different cultures who try to prevent peace however they can. There's so much going on in the novel you want to both savor it and flip the page quickly to find out what will happen next at the same time.

As the title suggests, this seems to be a series since the battle (and the tyrants mentioned throughout) never show up. It such an amazing groundwork novel for what is sure to come, full of beloved characters I ended up hating or falling in love with, which to me, is the key aspect of a great novel. If I care for the characters, you have me hooked. Keech did a fantastic job with this.

If you like old-time novels, settings with characters waking to wind blowing through open windows instead of AC blowing from the ceiling, if you like novels with a completely new world created by the author, if you like novels with suspense, love, hatred, battles and impossible choices, you will absolutely love The Treason Blade.
417126
I enjoyed this book for a variety of reasons.  It's a great way to learn about other cultures almost firsthand without leaving your home.  This author's style is so easy to read- well I did have to look up a few definitions - but her words just seemed like they flowed effortlessly. I learned to appreciate the special things each country possessed.  Her family adventures were fun to read about. This book will make you appreciate home and travel! I loved the last part especially where she explains about wanderlust. This book deserves 5 stars for sure!
2133750
I love to read stories about the families of other cultures, especially how the people handle the transition from one country to another that is vastly different than what they know.  Violence is part and parcel of every culture, some more than others, especially in countries that subjugate woman.  Even in the good o' USA we have a way to go for the physically weaker sex.  Maybe it's in the dna, who knows.  I do not believe there is any "war" on women at all, here, but as a woman who was physically mistreated and suffer ptsd as a result, I know how easy it is to fall into a pattern.  This story gives the perspective from four women in one family and how they looked at it and how it affect them.  Excellent read.
4176740
Really good- keeps you engaged, loved learning about the culture.
663270
We checked this book out of the library and will buy it here on Amazon soon. The books offers readers some of the most stunning illustrations ever. It took me a few glances to realize that it wasn't a real picture. The reader goes from the foot of the Himalayas to an African Market, to a fish market in NYC.  I hope that the author publishes more. The book features vocabulary local to the cities it features. A great read to any culture shelf at home or in a classroom.
3795087
I really enjoyed reading this novel. It basically covers a woman that teaches English in another country, and shares the cultural differences in history, everyday activity, language, and relating to others. I found it a great read, and would encourage others that have ever considered international travel to give it a chance as well.
2149542
This book integrates it all. Culture, langauage, cooking, family, poetry, and fun. I highly recommend this book.