The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
My mom brought this book up for me. I probably wouldn't have picked this one up on my own from the description. A boy, living in Afghanistan, is forced to flee with his father after the Soviets invade. They establish a new life in America until the son is called back to Kabul on a mission to right old wrongs.
What a beautiful, beautiful book. I cried. I ranted. I was totally engulfed by this story.
Don't be turned off by this subject matter. Read this book. It will haunt you.
The Rabbit Factory by Marshall Karp
This novel reminded me of an early Elvis Cole mystery. Great plot, great characters and lots of humor mixed with harsh reality. I loved it!
The story focuses on FamilyLand which is basically a fictional Disney Land with cartoon characters and theme park. In the opening chapter, the main FamilyLand character, Rambuctious Rabbit, is killed on a cigarrette break. In enters the LAPD and Mike Lomax. A dectective who's personal life is a bit of a mess. He just lost his wife to cancer, his younger brother has a hit out against him for a gambling debt, and his father keeps trying to set him up on blind dates. Things get worse when the killing continues and it appears the target is FamilyLand itself.
What I enjoyed the most in this novel was the banter and cop humor. It really lightened up an otherwise dark mystery novel. This is one I'd recommend for sure!
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
What a beautiful and sad book. Set in China during the 13th century, we follow the lives of two girls from childhood to motherhood during a time when daughters where nothing but extra mouths to feed. The two girls are paired together as "old sames" which is a type of soul mate. They learn and grow from eachother until they leave to marry into a new family. Snow Flower ends up the wife of a butcher while Lily marries into the powerful Lu family. Misunderstandings and circumstances come between the two women and Lily is left with nothing but the rules and regulations governing women as her sole comfort.
This is a beautiful but sad story. The description of a woman's place and foot binding is torrific. At the end of the book, the author does a little postscript which I wish I had before starting the story. In it, See explains that although American women have much more freedom and liberty, we are still trying to be heard. Something Lily and Snow Flower struggle a lifetime for.