I am that book review on a laminated index card, clipped to the edge of a book shelf.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Fiction: Well who hasn't heard of it, really? I read A Thousand Splendid Suns, which honestly was a tad depressing of reading material for my Santorini spring break, but I still loved it. I saw the movie when it first came out and finally read the book three years later. So, I cheated on the plot. But anyway, wonderful story and now I feel a little cheated by the movie. Mr. Hosseini, please write more books.
The Translator by Daoud Hari
Nonfiction: The issue with memoirs, especially memoirs on overcoming violence and conflict, is that the reader is never in the position to critique them. Who would dare to say person who survived genocide/state persecution is in fact a horrible writer, who really needs a better grasp of the English language before writing a book about his/her tragic life? Not saying that Hari suffers from any such flaws within his book. An incredible story about the Darfur before and during the genocide, especially his last chapters of his book.
When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up in the Khmer Rouge by Chanrithy Him
Nonfiction: Honestly, knew close to nothing about the Khmer Rouge beyond the typical phrases: killing fields and Pol Pot. It is a terribly heartbreaking tale. Him does not just give you a episode of her experience of the Khmer Rouge. It is from the beginning to end with every fine detail included, which is almost superhuman to a reader that Him can recall so much detail of such a tragic time.
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Fiction: First book I disliked this summer. Dai Sijiw is a Chinese ex-pat who currently resides in France and, I believe, even wrote this book in French. It seemed that somehow in the translation to English (or perhaps, it was always there), it picked up the tone of speaking about China from a very outsider's, Occident on the Orient, perspective, even though the book is centered of two Chinese males in the re-education program during Cultural Revolution.
Freedom Song by Amit Chaudhuri
Fiction: I tried and got through nearly a fourth of it. But Chaundhuri loses me on the flowery and the over-metaphored details.
Global Women: Nannies, Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy by Barbara Ehrenreich and Arlie Russel Hochschild
Nonfiction: Picked it up because of the chapter on Filipino nannies in Hong Kong. I skipped over the prostitution and sex workers chapters cause I just can't, but the chapters on domestic workers in D.C., Hong Kong, and Taiwan were all interesting.
Factory Girls, From Village to City in a Changing China by Leslie T. Chang
Nonfiction: Leslie Chang is the new Lisa Ling. And, I would like her job. A journalist for the Wall Street Journal, Chang lived nearly a decade in China, interviewing young female migrant workers and even learning about her family history. At times, I lost track of who's who in the world of female migrants she was following, but in the end, you seem to walk away with a pretty complete picture of the world of migrant workers in mainland China.
The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad
Nonfiction: Asne Seierstad met a bookseller in Kabul, realized the circles he traveled in, and asked to write a book about his family. What balls! Great book for Hosseini lovers, but she jumps to different family members at the start of a every new chapter, so you must hang in there to figure out how this relates back (in what complicated familiar relationship as well) to Sultan Khan, the bookseller.
In Progress:
They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky by Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, and Benjamin Ajak
Nonfiction: Excited to finally get a chance to read this book. I learned about it when I picked up What is the What by Dave Eggers while in Peru.
Song Playing: Freelance Whales