The Shadow of the Crescent Moon by Fatima Bhutto - Book Review

Fatima Bhutto’s debut novel is a thought-provoking story, taking place in a troubled region of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan. The Shadow of the Crescent Moon is the tale of three brothers in the dangerous city of Mir Ali. It takes place over the course of a single day, with flashbacks to the past, filling in clues over time.

Bhutto is related to the well-known Bhutto family and has herself been victim to Pakistan’s tumultuous political and religious tragedies. She writes in present-tense about a very real nation in conflict, but with fictional characters. Using the time of day instead of chapters, she writes with emotions and details unfolding over the passing hours and minutes. Recently interviewed on NPR, Bhutto describes the region she writes of as divided from the rest of the country, suffering from military and militia attacks and where “violence is ordinary”. The people of Mir Ali identify strongly with their own region and feel at odds from the rest of Pakistan, distrustful of the central government and outsiders alike. 

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3 Great Reasons to Read Outpost: Life on the Frontlines of American Diplomacy - Book Review

Always interested in government, politics and current affairs, I typically stick with reading the news and do some online research versus reading biographies. However, the memoir Outpost: Life on the Frontlines of American Diplomacy caught my eye and after reading a few early reviews, I had to read it. It was a good choice.

Former Ambassador Christopher Hill first arrived on my radar screen when he led the Six Party Talks in an attempt to bring an end to North Korean nuclear weapon production. In addition to the U.S., the effort included Japan, China, Russia, South Korea and North Korea, and Hill was picking up where his predecessor left off.  Nothing is easy with the N. Koreans, and Hill’s work was cut out for him.  But not just with the Pyongyang - working with the other countries had its own challenges.  Oh, and there is our own government — no easy task there either.

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3 Publications to Expand Your Reading Repertoire

I’m an addict - addicted to reading that is.  Frankly, I had thought it was to books, but this blog has me a little more focused. I just love reading - almost anything.  So I move from book to book, genre to genre.  And from book to magazine, to newspapers, to blogs, and so on.  And really, that’s why we started this site - “thoughts on books and reading”; so why not talk about the things I’m reading other than books?

Yes, I’m in the middle of a book; a good one-Outpost by former Ambassador Christopher Hill. Really enjoying it so far, but took a break from that to catch up on some magazines in my mailbox from last month!  The Atlantic is a favorite publication, and last month’s cover story is about Islamic terrorist group ISIS written by Graeme Wood. It’s a shocking and informative piece, discussing the true goals of the terrorist group and their rationale behind their barbaric actions.  It’s a fascinating story that made me think that this is an important part of history to be learning about, and almost believing, because it is so unbelievable, that is is from another time. Strikingly, it’s here and now, across the world, but confronting our way of life. It’s truly scary, but important to understand to put context around what our policy makers, leaders, journalists, military and allies (oh, and some foes) are confronting.

I also finished Fast Company’s March issue with The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies. Fast Company is generally a great publication - energetic and chock full of inspiring stories about innovative companies and leaders - successes, failures and everything in between.  It’s consistently a quick and insightful  read. By the way, #1 on the Most Innovative Companies list is Warby Parker.  I’m a customer and a big fan.  Glad to see them in such a prominent spot - well-deserved.

A third magazine on my coffee table is a new discovery - Lucky Peach. It’s a quarterly publication with minimal advertising and some interesting illustrations and photos, 100% food writing and recipes.   I particularly enjoyed the article about celery, Overstalked with four recipes from Gabrielle Hamilton; and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sheep Diets (But Were Afraid to Ask), but Lucas Peterson.  Really. Check out their website - it’s a trove of interesting recipes and eating nooks around the world.

Lastly, I spend a lot of time on Flipboard, Zite and Prismatic.  Loaded on my phone, these apps are each customized with the subjects I designate (ranging from politics and news to celebrity gossip and literature of course!). I most certainly do not require all three, but they’re like toys, and each one brings something a little different. 

If you’re looking for a break between books, I highly recommend The Atlantic, Fast Company and Lucky Peach.  What publications are you reading? We’d love to hear from you! 

"The Possibilities" By Kaui Hart Hemmings

The author of The Descendants, which became an Oscar® winning film has written The Possibilities, set in Breckenridge, Colorado.  In it, we experience the tragedy of the death of a son expressed with a mix of honesty, grief and wit. As our protagonist looses her son in an accident, we see her navigate the crooked path of moving on with life. She deals with her return to work and her changed perspective on her role as a t.v. anchor for a tourist-focused channel in Breckenridge with caustic sarcasm, realizing the frivolity of it.  She finds both solace and frustration in her relationships with her live-in father, ex, and best friend, who is experiencing her own tragedy of divorce. As her struggles continue, a stranger enters their lives - a young woman who knew her son. This opens wounds and helps to heal, and takes all of them on an emotional journey.

Kaui Hart Hemmings' lead character, Sarah narrates with brutal honesty, and we are privy to her inner voice in a way we can all relate, but often afraid to admit. She talks of the guilt a little joy can bring following her son’s death. “Guilt came from feeling hungry, for having that sensation. It came from yawing, putting on makeup, dressing nicely.”  We hear her inner thoughts about her son, best friend, father and those around her and her self-judgement as a result, cutting, lonely and sometimes funny. Sarah struggles to understand her son better through his death and brace herself for life without him.  

What I enjoyed most is the book's honesty, intelligence and humor. It appears an authentic and incisive way in which people may manage bereavement, and is filled with messy raw emotions. It’s a heartbreaking tale with a twist, delivered with quick and easy dialogue, and at times unsettling. Overall, I really recommend this book. There is however, it's a little predictable and there is one scene that is a bit hard to buy into, but I’ll forgive it that because its sense of authenticity.  

Vickie’s rating: 4 stars

"All My Puny Sorrows" By Miriam Toews

I first selected this book because of the title.  With so many to choose from, it’s probably just as good a reason as any. then there is the fact that it’s published by McSweeney’s.  If you are unfamiliar with McSweeney’s, it’s run by Dave Eggers and publishes authors with a rather quirky, unique styles.  It’s a nice departure sometimes.

It was slow going at first for me with All My Puny Sorrows (AMPS), but once I made it through the first quarter of the book I was hooked.  It’s heartbreaking, quick-paced and intelligent. The style has a cadence that takes a little getting used to.  Author Miriam Toews doesn’t use quotation marks and has dialogue flow through paragraphs - unusual, but easy enough.  It seems to suit her characters and their emotional states.

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"I Capture the Castle" By Dodie Smith

If you haven’t played bookstore roulette, I highly recommend it! The rules are simple: walk around the bookstore until you find a book that catches your eye. Don’t read the back of the book, grab it off the shelf and see what you get. This is exactly how I found this gem of a book titled I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith. The plain green cover sat on the shelf right next to my favorite author, Betty Smith, of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

 

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"The Nightingale" By Kristin Hannah

The Nightingale is a beautifully written account of WWII France - a broken family, German occupation and survival.  This is my first time reading Kristin Hannah’s work, and I was more than pleased.  From the beginning, it was difficult to put this book down.

The epic opens with this wonderful line - “In love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are”.  Sisters Vianne and Isabelle have lived very different lives - one with love and comfort, the other alone and impetuous.  Each gets caught up in their own stories of survival when the Germans march in to occupy France. The book follows these sisters and their different paths in a tale that describes the women’s war, heartbreaking loss and the will to live.

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"Before We Met" By Lucie Whitehouse

This Lucie Whitehouse novel, “Before We Met” takes the reader to London and New York, through a mystery of a husband’s unknown past.  Protagonist Hannah is blissfully in love with Mark, but a missed flight home to London propels Hannah to look into the reasons behind it.  One clue uncovers another - each one more confusing than the last, until she is forced to piece together the truth.

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"City of Thieves" by David Benioff

What a surprising delight “City of Thieves” was to read. Not that I expected David Benioff’s novel to be bad, but I did not expect to enjoy it in so many ways.  This 258-page book is set in 1942 war-torn Leningrad, where the residents fear the German siege, their own forces and each other.  It’s a dangerous place for a 17-year-old boy who reluctantly finds himself with a new best friend on an impossible mission for a Soviet colonel.  

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