Partitions, by Amit Majmudar (lives in Columbus)

This is a very powerful book, contained in only 208 pages. Much of it reads like poetry, with words and phrases that can melt your heart. It is a story both horrible and beautiful about the days in 1947 when Pakistan broke away from India, against the fervent wishes of Gandhi, who very much wanted India to be a union of a variety of religions, living together in peace. Instead, partition occurs and the Muslims living in the east try to move to Pakistan in the west, while the Hindus and Sikhs who live in the west try to move to India in the east. This countercurrent of long-time enemies leads to numerous bloody clashes and unbelievable cruelty.

The story is told by the spirit of a physician, a Hindu who has died recently from a serious illness but who can still observe what is going on in the physical world. It is his telling of the story that makes it possible for the reader to feel that he/she is actually witnessing the events being described. He follows the fate of several different individuals and groups, including his own wife and twin sons who, early in the book, are separated as they try to board a train in the west heading for Delhi. Although the narrator's family are Hindus and are potential victims of Muslim vengeance, he details numerous instances in which it is the Hindus who are committing heinous crimes.

The hero of the book is an elderly Muslim pediatrician who provides medical assistance to whomever he meets, from whichever faith, as he limps toward Pakistan. As I was approaching the end of the book, my emotions were so powerful that I could barely continue reading ... love and compassion trumping cruelty and hatred.

This is just a wonderful piece of writing which I can recommend without any caveats.

Reviewed by Cal

A Thousand Splended Suns by Khaled Hosseini

I have a bit of a backlog of books that I've read recently. I keep track of what I read here which is a pretty decent website in my opinion to help you remember what you've read.

Anyway, content ahoy!

A Thousand Splendid Suns follows the lives of two Afghan women through the 70s to the recent past. It gives a great feeling for the difficulties women go through on a daily basis and the discrimination they face under the rules of the Taliban. There are happy parts and heartbreaking events but overall it talks about the importance of love even in the face of tremendous loss and oppression. If nothing else, it made me glad that I live in a country where people are guaranteed certain human rights and are allowed to choose how they live their lives. It is a good insight into the lives of those much less fortunate than us and helped give me a tiny glimpse of what life is like in war-torn Afghanistan.

I've never read The Kite Runner, but I've heard many people compare it to that (same author). It was a moderately easy read but not for the light-hearted.