Kylie

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

This much awaited new fictional novel by Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner) went straight to number one in the US and is not a story easily forgotten.

Set in Afghanistan, the first part introduces tragic five-year-old Mariam, an illegitimate child living with her cold mother in a small, secluded hut on the outskirts of town. Lonely Mariam yearns for the affection from her wealthy father, Jalil, who lives with his three legitimate wives and nine children in a big house in town.

The first part of the novel traces Mariam’s plight from a child to her arranged marriage to a vulgar, much older man. The second and fourth parts focus on Laila, a pretty young woman who is thrown into Mariam’s life by tragedy. The third part alternates between Mariam and Laila, weaving around the men that torment and save them.

The characters live through desperate hunger, war, abuse and the oppressive Taliban. Made to cover up with a traditional dress covering the whole body but for a screen near the eyes, women weren’t allowed to walk the streets without a male under Taliban rule. Their employment was restricted to the medical sector, their medical care and schooling was limited and they were forbidden to wear nail polish. Books, television, music and movies and banned and certain cultural artifacts were destroyed under the Taliban. This anti-modern ideology was enforced by the religious police and involved gross public beatings. It made me fortunate to live in a country like Australia!

The ending of the novel still left me feeling emotional and frustrated but it was a great read that moved me. I struggled to put the book down.

Sean

Parky by Michael Parkinson
Read by Sean

Michael Parkinson is the well known and well loved Yorkshire lad, with the craggy face and gravelly voice that suits his roots as a miner’s son, but belies his expansive career interviewing the most famous people on the planet.

Parky, Parkinson’s autobiography, is written in prose that draws you effortlessly across the decades and superstars. Michael provides often beautiful and profound insights into the personalities he interviewed, allowing you to appreciate them as the legends as well as the simple human beings that they are.

Although he’s too humble to admit it, Michael must be of superlative character himself, as he manages to form lifelong friendships with many of his famous guests. Part of that character was forged during his lesser known exploits as a war correspondent, both in and out of uniform, where he was witness to unspeakable acts as well as unparalleled courage and fortitude.

To me, each chapter was a slippery dip – I’d start at the top, edge my way over, and before I knew it I was racing to the end.