A thousand splendid suns

It is my first read of Khaled Hosseini's work. Overall, yes, I would read the other books by him. This particular one is sadly interesting. I actually learned a few new things about the fights of the Afghans; those who are not warlords, politicians , foreign powers puppets and or extremists. To think that the main characters Mariam and Laila were married off before their 17th birthday....isn't that child rape? I am so glad that Mariam finally pushed herself to kill her rotten husband Rasheed after the physical abuses he has inflicted on both Mariam and Laila. I would have done it much earlier if I were there. I think Khaled wrote this very well and I especially like his comments in the postscript very much. I think it is very revealing of his good intentions, just to appreciate or explore the minds of the oppressed women of Afghans. I recently saw several new books apparently written to smear the Talibans or whoever in Afghanistan; books written by this girl Nujood Ali. I have not read her books, will do real soon. But from the titles of the books, I can only see her through my negative "complaining-much-and-probably trying-to-grab people's sympathy" lens. Kudos Khaled Hosseini, your work clearly indicates your professionalism. I shall read your first book The Kite Runner to enable me to know more about you and your thoughts.

Madeline Sheehan's Undeniable & Unbeautifully

These two works I finished reading in 2 days. Three words; awesome then awful. I actually startedwith Unbeautifully, almost half way, then I decided that I need to read the first work. I think the first book is really classy, the author is truly in her elements. It is totally page turner. I love the main characters Deuce and Eva. And I also find the bad guy Frankie an amazing guy. But the second book is so disappointing. It is deeply engaging the first half, but for some reason, maybe in comparison with the heavy story of Deuce & Eva, the story of Ripper and Deuce's daughter Danny lacks strength. Too weak, too much mushy lovey BS that does not fit into the setting. If that guy Ripper is really a true biker, it doesnt make sense for him to drop his ego like an idiot for a girl, no matter how hot she is. And he slept with the boss' daughter, then ran away like a pussy, then came back like a bloody selfish moron and broke the brotherhood code by sleeping with a brother's girl, Deuce should have made him suffer like hell if not just blow his brains.