by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
This book is about a young woman in Afghanistan whose education is halted and whose family is threatened by the incursion of the Taliban. Initially the girl's life is disrupted as girls are no longer allowed to go to school. Then her older brother leaves for Pakistan to avoid being forced to join the Taliban and her father and mother leave for northern Afghanistan to avoid prosecution by the Taliban as her father was a government official prior to his retiremnt.
The young girl is left in Kabul with a young brother and several sisters. She worries about how they will survive and support themselves and comes up with the idea of sewing clothes and selling them to local stores. She doesn' know anything about sewing but her oldest sister, who is married but lives in Kabul, teaches her and her sisters how to sew and bead items.
The girl produces some dresses and then, escorted by her young brother, goes to seek orders from a local tailor. She succeeds and is so successful she ends up recruiting other women to help sew the dresses. This provides her family and also other women with money to survive. She later becomes involved with NGO's mentoring other women,
The book was written almost like a novel, with dialogue, etc. It is interesting to read about how creative people can be in very difficult circumstances. It is sad that after decades there is still no stability in Afghanistan.
Thursday, 31 May 2012
Monday, 21 May 2012
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
by Deborah Moggach
I picked up a copy of this book because a movie version has just come out. The book is the story of several British seniors who find it hard to survive financially in Britain and who are enticed by promotional material about a senior's hotel in India.
The characters include a woman who doesn't trust coloured people, a couple who have done a lot of world travel, the skirt-chasing father of one of the partners in the project who has been kicked out of many senior's residences in England, a woman whose son is on the run from the law and a retired BBC producer.
The book is quite funny in places and also bittersweet. The hotel and the medical staff aren't quite as promised in the promotional material. The "Doctor" is actually a specialist in veneral diseases and the nurse (wife of the hotel owner is actually a foot care technician). The country seems to have a powerful impact on all the people. As the story progesses many of the characters, including family members and the owner of the hotel, start to evaluate their life decisions and make changes or think about making changes.
I enjoyed the book. It was poignant and funny.
We saw the movie yesterday, it stars Judy Dench and Maggie Smith. The movie is quite different from the book however it also was very enjoyable.
I picked up a copy of this book because a movie version has just come out. The book is the story of several British seniors who find it hard to survive financially in Britain and who are enticed by promotional material about a senior's hotel in India.
The characters include a woman who doesn't trust coloured people, a couple who have done a lot of world travel, the skirt-chasing father of one of the partners in the project who has been kicked out of many senior's residences in England, a woman whose son is on the run from the law and a retired BBC producer.
The book is quite funny in places and also bittersweet. The hotel and the medical staff aren't quite as promised in the promotional material. The "Doctor" is actually a specialist in veneral diseases and the nurse (wife of the hotel owner is actually a foot care technician). The country seems to have a powerful impact on all the people. As the story progesses many of the characters, including family members and the owner of the hotel, start to evaluate their life decisions and make changes or think about making changes.
I enjoyed the book. It was poignant and funny.
We saw the movie yesterday, it stars Judy Dench and Maggie Smith. The movie is quite different from the book however it also was very enjoyable.
Wednesday, 16 May 2012
Villa Triste
by Lucretia Grindle
This is a mystery story set in Florence, the setting for the story shifts between WWII and the present.
Two aged partisans are murdered and both have salt in their mouths. As the police officer investigating the crimes tries to solve the murders he is drawn back into activities in WWII and the lives of the two men and a women whose diary is in the safe of one of the murdered men.
The police officer becomes obsessed with learning more about the life of the women who wrote the diary and he is being shadowed by an American woman who is trying to find out the true identity of her Italian grandfather. In the end it turns out that her genealogy is intertwined with the lives of the people the police officer is tracking.
The story is well told and provides good historical details. The obession of the police officer and the American, in the present, add to the intrigue in the story. It was a book that I didn't want to put down, you wanted to know what would happen next, or what new detail would be uncovered. The ending was a bit of a surprise but the story neatly tied things together.
I would certainly recommend this book as an engaging read.
This is a mystery story set in Florence, the setting for the story shifts between WWII and the present.
Two aged partisans are murdered and both have salt in their mouths. As the police officer investigating the crimes tries to solve the murders he is drawn back into activities in WWII and the lives of the two men and a women whose diary is in the safe of one of the murdered men.
The police officer becomes obsessed with learning more about the life of the women who wrote the diary and he is being shadowed by an American woman who is trying to find out the true identity of her Italian grandfather. In the end it turns out that her genealogy is intertwined with the lives of the people the police officer is tracking.
The story is well told and provides good historical details. The obession of the police officer and the American, in the present, add to the intrigue in the story. It was a book that I didn't want to put down, you wanted to know what would happen next, or what new detail would be uncovered. The ending was a bit of a surprise but the story neatly tied things together.
I would certainly recommend this book as an engaging read.
Friday, 4 May 2012
The Midwife of Venice
by Roberta Rich
This is the story of a young Jewish midwife who risks prosecution or worse trouble for the Jewish Ghetto in Venice by agreeing to help with a difficult birth of a Christian woman. The woman agrees to do so, despite the warnings of her Rabbi, because the man offers to pay her enough money to free her husband.
Her husband is in Malta and will not be released by the Knights until a large ransom is paid for him.
The book alternates between the lives of the young woman and her husband who is ekking out an existence trying to survive until his ransom is paid or he can escape.
The young midwife uses birthing spoons (forceps) to deliver the baby and both the baby and mother survive. However, the midwife loses or misplaces her birthing tool and fears that the tools will be used to get her imprisoned or worse. However, she later finds that the brother-in-law of the woman who gave birth wants to hold the spoons for ransom to get the money the midwife made from the delivery -- he wants to settle gambling debts. Things get worse when the baby's parents leave the child and the uncles of the child plot to kill him so that they can inherit the estate. The young midwife saves the baby's life but kills one of the uncles to do so. She is on the run and doesn't know where to turn, she goes to see her estranged sister who offers her shelter, but this results in the sister being murdered by the other brother.
When the midwife tries to return the baby to his home she learns that his parents have died of the plague.
What is she to do with the child, she heads off with him for Malta to rescue her husband. While enroute to find her husband she meets a woman who is so appreciative of her contraceptive assistance that she offers to help her find a job in Constantinople. With her skill at midwifery and the silk worms her husband have, and the baby they have decided to raise as their own, it would seem that a good future would lie ahead for them.
The book was an interesting read, it kept you engaged in what would happen. I have to say that it seemed strange to me that a mother who worried about her newborn son would abandon him so soon after his birth, but perhaps that would be customary with the artistocrats fo the time. And, as it was historical fiction I think there could have been a bit more descripiton of life and the settings of the story.
This is the story of a young Jewish midwife who risks prosecution or worse trouble for the Jewish Ghetto in Venice by agreeing to help with a difficult birth of a Christian woman. The woman agrees to do so, despite the warnings of her Rabbi, because the man offers to pay her enough money to free her husband.
Her husband is in Malta and will not be released by the Knights until a large ransom is paid for him.
The book alternates between the lives of the young woman and her husband who is ekking out an existence trying to survive until his ransom is paid or he can escape.
The young midwife uses birthing spoons (forceps) to deliver the baby and both the baby and mother survive. However, the midwife loses or misplaces her birthing tool and fears that the tools will be used to get her imprisoned or worse. However, she later finds that the brother-in-law of the woman who gave birth wants to hold the spoons for ransom to get the money the midwife made from the delivery -- he wants to settle gambling debts. Things get worse when the baby's parents leave the child and the uncles of the child plot to kill him so that they can inherit the estate. The young midwife saves the baby's life but kills one of the uncles to do so. She is on the run and doesn't know where to turn, she goes to see her estranged sister who offers her shelter, but this results in the sister being murdered by the other brother.
When the midwife tries to return the baby to his home she learns that his parents have died of the plague.
What is she to do with the child, she heads off with him for Malta to rescue her husband. While enroute to find her husband she meets a woman who is so appreciative of her contraceptive assistance that she offers to help her find a job in Constantinople. With her skill at midwifery and the silk worms her husband have, and the baby they have decided to raise as their own, it would seem that a good future would lie ahead for them.
The book was an interesting read, it kept you engaged in what would happen. I have to say that it seemed strange to me that a mother who worried about her newborn son would abandon him so soon after his birth, but perhaps that would be customary with the artistocrats fo the time. And, as it was historical fiction I think there could have been a bit more descripiton of life and the settings of the story.
Monday, 16 April 2012
The House of Silk
by Anthony Horowitz
For the first time in its125 year history the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate has authorized a new Sherlock Holmes novel. This is the book, published in 2011. It claims to be written by Dr. Watson who had left instructions that the book should not be published until 100 years after his death because of the nature of the story contained within.
The book starts off with Sherlock Holmes being engaged by a young man who claims he is being threatened by a thug he had involvement with while in America. Sherlock engages the services of the Baker Street Irregulars, young orphans living off London streets, to keep an eye on the thug. The young boy who is set to watch the hotel where the man is staying is found murdered, after being viciously tortured. Holmes feels terrible that his actions have resulted in the boy's death. He learns that the boy was staying at an orphanage for a time but ran away from it. He contacts the boy's sister but she is uncooperative. Holmes' brother Mycroft who has influence and connections in government warns him to drop the case as he risks angering very powerful, dangerous people but of course Holmes does not listen.
As they are pursuing the boy's killer Holmes is tricked into visiting an opium den where he is drugged and then setup for the murder of the boy's sister. He is put on trial and it appears that he will be convicted. Watson tries to help him escape from prision but Holmes manages to get out on his own to avoid being murdered in prison.
They learn that the organization/source they are seeking is something called the House of Silk, eventually they make their way back to the boys school where they learn that wealthy influential people are pedofiles preying on the boys at the school including the young man who originally contacted Holmes. The man's wife is actually the twin of a criminal he played a part in bringing to justice in America. She was the person who killed the man that was intimidating her husband because he was going to tell her husband the truth about her. She had already killed her mother-in-law and was in the process of poisoning her sister-in-law and ultimately would have killed her husband.
I have not read any original Sherlock Holmes books, but I think the book certainly honoured the spirit of the Sherlock Holmes stories and did a great job of portraying life in Victorian England and the life of the poor and orphans in London. It was an interesting read and kept my attention all the way through.
For the first time in its125 year history the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate has authorized a new Sherlock Holmes novel. This is the book, published in 2011. It claims to be written by Dr. Watson who had left instructions that the book should not be published until 100 years after his death because of the nature of the story contained within.
The book starts off with Sherlock Holmes being engaged by a young man who claims he is being threatened by a thug he had involvement with while in America. Sherlock engages the services of the Baker Street Irregulars, young orphans living off London streets, to keep an eye on the thug. The young boy who is set to watch the hotel where the man is staying is found murdered, after being viciously tortured. Holmes feels terrible that his actions have resulted in the boy's death. He learns that the boy was staying at an orphanage for a time but ran away from it. He contacts the boy's sister but she is uncooperative. Holmes' brother Mycroft who has influence and connections in government warns him to drop the case as he risks angering very powerful, dangerous people but of course Holmes does not listen.
As they are pursuing the boy's killer Holmes is tricked into visiting an opium den where he is drugged and then setup for the murder of the boy's sister. He is put on trial and it appears that he will be convicted. Watson tries to help him escape from prision but Holmes manages to get out on his own to avoid being murdered in prison.
They learn that the organization/source they are seeking is something called the House of Silk, eventually they make their way back to the boys school where they learn that wealthy influential people are pedofiles preying on the boys at the school including the young man who originally contacted Holmes. The man's wife is actually the twin of a criminal he played a part in bringing to justice in America. She was the person who killed the man that was intimidating her husband because he was going to tell her husband the truth about her. She had already killed her mother-in-law and was in the process of poisoning her sister-in-law and ultimately would have killed her husband.
I have not read any original Sherlock Holmes books, but I think the book certainly honoured the spirit of the Sherlock Holmes stories and did a great job of portraying life in Victorian England and the life of the poor and orphans in London. It was an interesting read and kept my attention all the way through.
Wednesday, 11 April 2012
Never Sleep With A Suspect on Gabriola Island
by Sandy Frances Duncan and George Szanto
This is the first book in the series about the Islands Investigations International (III) detective agency. It is about two acquaintances, one American one Canadian who decide get hired to investigate a murder on Gabriola Island. The groundskeeper is found dead on the lawn of a Gallery on the island and the two, a woman who does fraud investigations for an insurance company and her gay friend, a former investigative reporter who is still grieving from the recent death of his partner, seek to clear the Gallery of involvement with the murder.
They do a very prelimnary investigation and supply a report to the Gallery owner. They do not solve the crime.
The gay man is being tormented by an unknown assailant, the person phone's in the night and just breathes into the phone or the answering machine, the man's tires are slashed and then he receives a death threat. He is very frightened. Then the two are asked by some other art dealers to try to find out how this gallery manages to find so many good art pieces "in the style of...."
As they investigate they bumble along and get themselves into very serious trouble and are almost killed.
They find out that there is more to the gallery (forgeries) and more to the greenhouse at the gallery (opium) than it first appears. They also figure out who murdered the groundskeeper and why and who was threatening the gay partner of the team.
I read the second book in the series previously. I enjoyed it, but think I liked this one better.
This is the first book in the series about the Islands Investigations International (III) detective agency. It is about two acquaintances, one American one Canadian who decide get hired to investigate a murder on Gabriola Island. The groundskeeper is found dead on the lawn of a Gallery on the island and the two, a woman who does fraud investigations for an insurance company and her gay friend, a former investigative reporter who is still grieving from the recent death of his partner, seek to clear the Gallery of involvement with the murder.
They do a very prelimnary investigation and supply a report to the Gallery owner. They do not solve the crime.
The gay man is being tormented by an unknown assailant, the person phone's in the night and just breathes into the phone or the answering machine, the man's tires are slashed and then he receives a death threat. He is very frightened. Then the two are asked by some other art dealers to try to find out how this gallery manages to find so many good art pieces "in the style of...."
As they investigate they bumble along and get themselves into very serious trouble and are almost killed.
They find out that there is more to the gallery (forgeries) and more to the greenhouse at the gallery (opium) than it first appears. They also figure out who murdered the groundskeeper and why and who was threatening the gay partner of the team.
I read the second book in the series previously. I enjoyed it, but think I liked this one better.
Friday, 6 April 2012
A Duty to the Dead
by Charles Todd
This is the first book in the new series by Charles Todd about Bess Crawford, a young nurse during the first world war. In this book Bess is asked by a dying soldier to deliver a message, in person, to his brother. It is a strange message about the young man having lied and about having his brother set things right.
Bess is recovering from injuries she sustained when the medical ship she was on was sunk. She goes to visit the man's family and is surprised that the family doesn't seem interested in acting on the message. She nurses a man who is suffering from shell shock and who later kills himself, or is he murdered. She is shocked to find out that one of the brothers in the family is in an asylum as a result of a brutal murder he committed. When he too is brought to her for nursing care, when he has pneumonia and the asylum can't cope with nursing him, she starts to suspect that things may not be as she has been informed.
She starts to try to find out what really happened many years ago and to clear the name of the oldest brother.
She does indeed solve the crime but the result is that three of the four brothers are dead by the end of the book. I think I enjoyed this book better than the second one in the series, which I read first, a few months ago.
This is the first book in the new series by Charles Todd about Bess Crawford, a young nurse during the first world war. In this book Bess is asked by a dying soldier to deliver a message, in person, to his brother. It is a strange message about the young man having lied and about having his brother set things right.
Bess is recovering from injuries she sustained when the medical ship she was on was sunk. She goes to visit the man's family and is surprised that the family doesn't seem interested in acting on the message. She nurses a man who is suffering from shell shock and who later kills himself, or is he murdered. She is shocked to find out that one of the brothers in the family is in an asylum as a result of a brutal murder he committed. When he too is brought to her for nursing care, when he has pneumonia and the asylum can't cope with nursing him, she starts to suspect that things may not be as she has been informed.
She starts to try to find out what really happened many years ago and to clear the name of the oldest brother.
She does indeed solve the crime but the result is that three of the four brothers are dead by the end of the book. I think I enjoyed this book better than the second one in the series, which I read first, a few months ago.
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