I picked up this book because after I finished A Thousand Splendid Suns I could not wait to get my hands on another one of Khaled Hosseini's writings. And once I began it, I fell in love again with Hosseini's modern story telling composed of his beautiful diction and simplistic syntax. This book often appears on the AP Literature free response exam. Now think about this, the Kite Runner was published in 2003. The majority of the books on this exam are from the 1800s or 1900s. No, not this one. 2003. That should tell you how literary acclaimed this book is. I simply can not praise it enough. When I go back and think about the events in the book I am at a loss for words. I cannot do this book justice.
    This book is set in Afghanistan during the time period the Taliban ruled. Ultimately, this novel tells the tale of two boyhood friends who grew up together. One was a servant, the other the servant's master. They shared a bond that could not be broken. The story is told from the view point of Amir, the master of the servant. Naturally, one would think that it would be hard for the boys to have such a special friendship due to the fact that their societal statuses are at complete different ends of the spectrum. It would also be easy to assume that Hassan, the servant to Amir would be jealous towards Amir's extravagant life. However, it is the other way around. Amir never says he is jealous, but it is inferred through his dynamic character.
    Anyway, Hassan always seems to be sticking up for Amir. He often says for you Amir, "a thousand times over." Until one day when Amir witnesses something being done to Hassan that is detestable, but Amir does not swoop in and try to save Hassan. Here, the guilt sets in. Amir becomes an insomniac. He has this huge surge of guilt for a friend that was so loyal to him and he could not even step in and stand up for Hassan who has always been there for Amir. This causes a life of guilt. Until Amir learns how to be good again. There is always a way to be good again. This story is not about being a "perfect" person because no one is perfect and no one is good 24 hours a day, seven says a week, 52 weeks out of the year. This story is about loyalty to true friends, how special bonds are never broken no matter the distance between them, and how no matter the circumstances, there is a way to be good again. You just have to find it.

Some of my favorite quotes from The Kite Runner :

“There is a way to be good again...”
― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner

"Not a word passes between us, not because we have nothing to say, but because we don't have to say anything”
― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner

“I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975. I remember the precise moment, crouching behind a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek. That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years.”
― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner

“And this is what I want you to understand, that good, real good, was born out of your father's remorse. Sometimes, I thing everything he did, feeding the poor on the streets, building the orphanage, giving money to friends in need, it was all his way of redeeming himself. And that, I believe, is what true redemption is, Amir jan, when guilt leads to good.”
― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner

“He knew I'd seen everything in that alley, that I'd stood there and done nothing. He knew that I'd betrayed him and yet he was rescuing me once again, maybe for the last time. ”
― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner

“She said, 'I'm so afraid.' And I said, 'why?,' and she said, 'Because I'm so profoundly happy, Dr. Rasul. Happiness like this is frightening.' I asked her why and she said, 'They only let you be this happy if they're preparing to take something from you.”
― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner

“For you, a thousand times over”
― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner

"One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs,
Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls."
--Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns

"Miriam wished for so much in those final moments. Yet as she closed her eyes, it was not regret any longer but a sensation of abundant peace that washed over her. She thought of her entry into this world, the harami child of a lowly villager, an unintended thing, a pitiable, regrettable accident. A weed. And yet she was leaving the world as a woman who had loved and been loved back. She was leaving it as a friend, a companion, a guardian. A mother. A person of consequence at last. No. It was not so bad, Miriam thought, that she should die this way. Not so bad. This was a legitimate end to a life of illegitimate belongings.”
--Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns

"Laila has moved on. Because in the end she knows that’s all she can do. That and hope.”
--Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns

“But the game involves only male names. Because, if it's a girl, Laila has already named her.”
--Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns


“Each snowflake was a sigh heard by an aggrieved woman somewhere in the world. All the sighs drifted up the sky, gathered into clouds, then broke into tiny pieces that fell silently on the people below. As a reminder of how women suffer.”
--Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns

        I choose to read A Thousand Splendid Suns because I have heard nothing but praise for Khaled Hosseini. I can not even put into words how captivating this novel is. It consumed my life for three days. Every night I could not wait to get home to pick up where I left off. It is a beautiful story of hardships, coping, destruction and through it all: hope.
        This is story set in Afghanistan from the 1970s to the early 2000s. Through that small time frame a lot happened in this country. Different rulers came and went, leaders were assassinated, towns destroyed, innocent civilians killed and hearts broken. The novel is centered around two women, Mariam and Laila. I do not want to go into too much detail without giving spoilers. But in a nutshell, Mariam and Laila share a husband. At first Mariam feels resentment towards Laila because she has no intentions of sharing Rasheed (husband). What comes next is unexpected, yet it will last forever, Laila and Mariam find an unbreakable bond. They rely on each other to make it through the day, the week, the year. Together they deal with Rasheed's outbursts and beatings. They deal with what it means to be a woman in Afghanistan. And they deal with hardships no mother would want to go through. Somehow, through it all, they find hope.
        Just when you think Hosseini is done toying with your emotions, he does it again. He will make you laugh, cry, have empathy, allow you to find hope and in the end makes you realize what it means to be human. He reminds how all humans want the same things, and no matter the circumstances all humans are beyond resilient. He forces you to realize that everything that happens in life, good or bad, still advances life forward and no matter the situation you are dealt, there is always hope for those who keep pushing forward.

        While looking for a next great read I came across Wide Sargasso Sea. I had never heard of this novel before, but I saw that it appeared quite a few times on the AP Literature exam. I looked up a description of the book and went to the library immediately. For those of you who had read Jane Eyre and fallen in love with it, have you often wondered Mr. Rochester's wife life story? Well, that is exactly what Wide Sargasso Sea does. From the beginning of her life, to her time at Thornfield Hall, Jean Rhys, from the point of view of Bertha (the crazy lady) and Mr. Rochester, tells their story.
        Initially reading Jane Eyre, I completely thought Bertha was insane. Until I read this prequel, I did not even think about understanding Mrs. Rochester's point of view. And oh, how things changed. Antoinette (Bertha) grew up in the Caribbean with her mother. Her father often left them because he did not like where they lived and his peers threw insults at him for marrying Antoinette's mother, a Martinique girl. So right from the get go Antoinette grew up in a not so ideal situation. It would be reasonable to say that perhaps a  psychologist could have diagnosed early on that someday Antoinette would follow in her mother's footsteps. And as you all can infer, she did. But that is not why I fell in love with this book or felt a great sense of sympathy for Antoinette.
        I loved her dynamic character because she saw the world in a way that no one else did. She saw the natural beauty of the Caribbean islands, the flowers, waterfalls, the sun rising and setting. While everyone else was complaining how hot it was or how England was much prettier. She lived in the moment. Money was never important to her. Early on it was evident that she figured out that money can do nothing but create destruction. Even though everyone believed her to be crazy, she believed them to be insane because they let their thoughts reside in silly, unimportant manners. At the end of the novel, at Thornfield Hall, Bertha snuck out of her room in the attic once again and wandered into the study, noticed all of the fancy decor and said, "Then I heard a clock ticking and it was made of gold. Gold is the idol they worship," (Wide Sargasso Sea, Rhys, 111). Telling the point of view from Bertha exploited the beliefs of everyone else and maybe, just maybe Mrs. Bertha Rochester was the sane one.

        Endeavoring even more on my cultural awareness path, I selected a novel by Anne Fadiman titled, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. The story deals with a Hmong family living in Merced, California in the 1800s. This Hmong family has a daugher diagnosed with epilepsey who very often is treated at the local hospital. However, the Hmong do not speak English and the English speaking doctors do not speak Hmong. Rarely, there is a Hmong translator around to assist in a common understnding among the two parties. Lia, the epileptic Hmong child's seizures begin to occur more often. Thus causing the communication barrier becoming more and more of an issue.
        The doctors do their best to teach Lia's parents how and when to give Lia her medications to prevent the seizing. However, the doctor's fail to realize that Hmong tend to use herbal medicines. Also, the Hmong do not know hot to tell time in America, thus, not allowing Lia's receival of medication times to be exactly correct. When Lia acts strange on a medication or does not seem to help, her parents will stop giving her that medication. If a certain medication seems to really work, they will double it.
        The doctors are frustrated with the Hmong family and the Hmong family is frustrated with the doctors. Both failing to recognize each other's cultures and beliefs, the solution to Lia's medical condition is no where near being solved.
        I can not wait to read further and discover the solution to Lia's illness through the collision of these cultures.

        I picked the novel, The Joy Luck Club, for the sole reason being that as I get older I become more and more interested in other world cultures. And I thoroughly enjoyed this book and gleaned much from it. Essentially, the book is about 4 immigrant women from China. The book is broke into short stories about their lives, and each is told in their point of view. Revealing the women's struggles, hopes, wishes and fear, Tan crafted a beautiful novel that goes far beyond a perspective of a different culture. The four women's American-born daughters tell parts of their lives and stories as well. Along the way, the reader realizes that a different culture is only a barrier because of language. These women deal with everyday issues just like American women. Nothing is that different except their beliefs; they still have the same issues that every person can relate to. This novel forces the reader to think, "Wow that could happen to me," or "What would I do in this situation?" Those questions become possible because the women and their daughters deal with marital affairs, death, fitting in, war, faith, fate, food, and loving family and friends. It's chalked full of drama. Sometimes the drama gets in the way of the truer meaning: understanding our own parents.
        For the most part, the four American-born women do not understand their mothers and think their Chinese reasoning is illogical and unnecessary. What these four women ended up realizing was that their parents are real people too. They possess wants, dreams and desires. They just act in a different way. That realization completes the focus of the novel.
        The main character, Jing-Mei, is American-born. Her mother, Suyuan Woo, has just passed away. Following her death, Jing-Mei finds out that she has half-sisters in China. Suyuan Woo had to leave them while she was fleeing to get away from the war. The sisters are now trying to contact their true biological mother. Unfortunately, she has already passed. Jung-Mei learns from her aunts that her mother never stopped looking for the twins. She would ask her friends in China to be on the lookout for her twins, hoping someone would discover them after all of these years. Suyuan's only wish was to find them once again. Sadly, she died right before they sent a letter to her. Jing-Mei and her father go to China to inform them of the death and to meet their family members for first time. The unique part about this is that Jing-Mei discovers more about her mother through meeting these twins. Suyuan Woo's wish has finally happened and Jing-Mei finally understands her mother, "And although we don't speak, I know we all see it: Together we look like our mother. Her same eyes, her same mouth, open in surprise to see, at last, her long-cherished wish" (288). I love this quote because even though it is not directly stated, it is inferred that Jing-Mei finally feels close to her mother. This was something she was striving for throughout the whole novel.
        I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. It's extremely short, but once started it is hard to put down. You will not be disappointed in taking extra time to follow these eight women on their life journeys.
   

  The Great Gatsby was centered around the ideals of the American Dream. And you might ask, what essentially is the American Dream? According to Suite 101, " The American Dream is all about finding a life less ordinary and reaching the top." It sounds pretty amazing, right? Wrong. This idea of life seems glamorous and liberating, but it reality it is centered around social status, materialistic desires and shameless wealth. "Daisy Buchanan is fickle and materialistic, but also attractive and desirable. She is the personified version of the American Dream," stated so elegantly by Suite 101. In this time era, everyone wanted to achieve the American Dream. And in reality, who wouldn't?
    Gatsby embodies all men striving for this "dream." Everyone on this novel seems to have their own idea of "The American Dream" they want to achieve. Daisy is Gatsby's. James Gatz did not grow up in the best living conditions and ultimately he is trying to create a better life for himself, not only so he can have wealth, but also so that he can have Daisy. Daisy also embodies everything that is wrong with the American Dream. Wealth and materialistic things can not create a lifetime of happiness. This is what Fitzgerald is trying to exploit about the American Dream. The American Dream should embody creating a better life for oneself, but not to the extent that it consumes your thinking every sleeping and waking minute. Gatsby does not see Daisy for who she really is because he is truly enamored by her charismatic character. He is blinded by love and therefore can not find any faults within her. Gatsby symbolizes the ignorance of the American people for not realizing the mindset the American Dream was causing on the entire country.
    Fitzgerald was really trying to expose the realities of what the American Dream truly was. America was founded on hard work and moral ethics and the American Dream is the exact opposite and exploits these views. It is trading these two qualities for wealth and the good life.

       Are you all ready for the secret we have been waiting for? The one for Nick from Gatsby?! Well here it is: "Gatsby bought that house so Daisy would be just across the bay. He wants to know," continued Jordan, "if you'll invite Daisy over to your house some afternoon and then let him come over" (80). Gatsby is on love with Daisy. It is plain and simple. Oh, the issues this is going to cause. It makes me wonder the kind of man that Gatsby is, considering he has waited to long for this encounter with Daisy. Granted, he had to time it just right considering that she is married and has a child. But come on, why wait so long?
    Then it dawned on me, well does Daisy love Gatsby? She very well could. She very well could not. Through all of this it is apparent that Daisy loves Gatsby just as much as he loves her and even on her own wedding day, Daisy could think of nothing but James Gatz, "Found her lying on her bed as lovely as the June night in her flowered dress--and as drunk as a monkey. She had a bottle of Sauterne in one hand a letter in the other." Daisy said, "Here, deares'." She groped around in a waste basket she had with her on the bed and pulled out the string of pearls. "Take 'em down-stairs and give 'em back to whoever they belong to. Tell 'em all Daisy's change' her mine. Say: 'Daisy's change' her mind!' "(77) The feelings are mutual here, obviously. We have already learned why Daisy picked Tom, because he had money and could supply her with a lifetime of fulfillment, but did she truly love him? Could she possess the same feelings for Tom as she did for Gatsby? The answer is yes and no, "I never loved him," she said, with perceptible reluctance. "Not at Kapiolani?" demanded Tom suddenly. "No." "Oh, you want too much!" She cried to Gatsby. "I love you now--isn't that enough? I can't help what's past." She began to sob helplessly. "I did love him once--but I loved you too" (133). Hence the title of the post, Semi Love Triangle, Tom and Gatsby both are in love with Daisy.

    This is the part we have all been waiting for, or at least I have. The first party at Gatsby's house. Who is this Great Gatsby? Everyone has presumptions, but in reality no one knows. Nick and Gatsby happen to be neighbors, but have not met yet. To encourage this to end, Gatsby sends a servant to Nick's with an invitation worth of a night's festivities. Now, this is not an ordinary party. This is a party in the Jazz Era, meaning that luxury is a must. However, Fitzgerald has a disdain for this. Through Nick's narration we can infer the author thinks all of this hullabaloo is slightly silly.
    And yet, I am still captivated by the glory of Gatsby and I think initially Nick is too, "Every Friday five crates of oranges and lemons arrive from a fruiterer in New York--every Monday these same oranges and lemons left his back door in a pyramid of pulpless halves. There was a machine in the kitchen which could extract the juice of two hundred oranges in half an hour if a little button was pressed two hundred times by a butler's thumb. At least once a fortnight a corps of caterers came down with several hundred feet of canvas and enough colored lights to make a Christmas tree of Gatsby's enormous garden. On buffet tables, garnished with glistening hors-d'oeuvre, spiced baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys bewitched to a dark gold. In the main hall a bar with a real brass rail was set up, and stocked with gins and liquors and with cordials so long forgotten that most of his female guests were too young to know one from another" (40). Obviously Nick is watching in complete shock and fascination, but I mean who wouldn't want to go to a party at Gatsby's after seeing this? It only sounds of elegance and luxury.
    Then I got to wondering why would Gatsby throw such lavish parties? I mean, there has to be an underlying reason, right? Then I got even more confused when Nick said, "I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby's house I was one of the few guests who had actually been invited there. People were not invited--they went there" (41). Oh, Mr. Gatsby what is the reason for these parties? Don't worry Fitzgerald does not make you wait too long to discover this necessary purpose.
    In fact, Jordan Baker is exposed to Gatsby's real reason for throwing gorgeous soirees, but is sworn to secrecy, "But I swore I wouldn't tell it and here I am tantalizing you" (53). Not only is Jordan tantalizing Nick, she is tantalizing us all! What could be this extremely important, but highly confidential secret?

    This my second time  reading the Great Gatsby and I am once again reminded how much I love this book. I was completely immersed from Chapter One. Since I began I have barely put it down since--except to eat, sleep and do other homework. Like calculus. Well, that is beside the point. The Great Gatsby is told from the point of view of Nick Carraway. When the point of view is told from another character, the reader is generally unsure of the credibility of the speaker. We are reading the story through his eyes and can only imagine in our own minds what he is portraying for us. However, at the end of Chapter Three Nick states, "Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known" (60). Thus validating his honesty, we can give Nick ethos, or in other words trust that he is a credible speaker.
    Now that we have that established, I can move on to other characters from the book. Opening up with Nick going to visit Daisy and Tom Buchanan, Daisy being his second cousin twice removed. Immediately, I find this ambiance about Daisy--and I don't really like it. She is ditzy in a sense. She seems to lie around all day and do nothing. I am not sure if I can stand much more of her. And her husband I don't like as well. Man, everyone is going to think book is horrible with all of my complaining of the characters, but don't worry it is not! Truthfully it is one of the best books I have ever read. Anyway, Tom is a pompous man, concerned with wealth, outer appearance, and social status. He is extremely judgmental, "Have you read The Rise of the Colored Empires by this man Goddard? Well, it's a fine book and everybody ought to read it. The idea is if we don't look out the white race will be--will be utterly submerged. It's all scientific stuff; it's been proved" (13). Now, can I say pompous again? Anyway, this statement early on in the novel allowed me to judge Tom and in not the best way.
    We also meet Jordan Baker. Apparently she is a phenomenal golfer, who frequently competes. She comes off as rude and snobby but once you keep reading I hope you find out that you enjoy her because I truly do. She does not gossip or judge, she keeps to herself and tells it like it is.