A gift from DMA7. She always finds the best books at her pool! I've read this one before, and loved it, but gave it away. Now it's on my bookclub's list, so I needed to get my hands on another copy :)

Click here for my comments on the copy I read originally.

I finished this last night (and wanted to note it here).

I folded down several pages this time to make notes. Also, here are the blog entries on this book from "Barely a Book Club".

I hate when this happens. I have TOO MUCH to say about a book, plus it's already all been said at book club! But I have a ton of pages folded down, so I'll try to post some of the stuff here.

And I'll also say that I highly recommend reading this book more than once. Having read it a second time with book club (first time on an airplane to Zurich) opened my eyes a bit more. Also made me think more.

One of the comments that came up in book club was the recurring theme of infertility. We talked about all the obvious instances of infertility, as well as the more subtle ones. For example, when Amir comes back to his homeland as a grownup. The land has been ravaged, it's dry and barren. Interesting.

So much of this book is about Baba's views on what boys/men should and shouldn't do. Some of what he says is profound and honorable, and some of it deplorable. Here's one I'm still pondering: "A boy who won't stand up for himself becomes a man who can't stand up to anything."

There is also Baba's opinion of all things "religious for the sake of being religous" (I agree with him on those!) In describing one of the ceremonies, it says

Baba mocks the story behind this Eid, like he mocks everything religious. But he respects the tradition of Eid-e-Qorban. The custom is to divide the meat in thirds, one for the family, one for friends, and one for the poor. Every year, Baba gives it all to the poor. The rich are fat enough already, he says.

There are parts of this author's writing that are so beautiful and so exactly accurate that I couldn't believe it. This is such a poetic way to describe exactly what happens in the world when someone you love isn't in it any more: "...knotted his tie for him, noting the two inches of empty space between the collar button and Baba's neck. I thought of all the empty spaces Baba would leave hehind when he was gone. . ."

There's more, but I've already read this twice and discussed it multiple times at book club. I'll end by saying that I was afraid the ending would be very very cliched, and althoug it is a bit, it isn't in the way I thought it would be. I really like this book, and am sending it on to my sister now!

(pictured: my dad, with grandson #1, many years ago)