At first glance this seems to be a novel about the life of a displaced Bengali family in America.
And it is on the whole, Ashima and Ashoke marry and move to USA, where he is studying,she falls pregnant, the baby is born, and they wait for the letter from greatgrandmother for the baby's name, as is usual in Bengali families. However, they are not allowed to take the baby home without a name on the birth certificate. They call the baby Gogol, when he starts school his parents try to give him a "good" name, but he will not rerspond to it.
Years later he changes his name to the one his parents chose for him at age 4/5, but all his school friends etc still know him as Gogol.
The novel is as much about a general search for identity, and could be about any displaced national in an alien country.
There is an air of sadness about the closing chapter of the book as Gogol/Nikhail settles down to read the story his father was reading when he almost lost his life, and Gogol is on the verge of a new chapter of his own life.
I don't like spoiling books for people, and hope I ain't given away too much.
Sorry..I have shrunk the cover to very tiny.
Like millions of readers around the world, I am reading the final book in the saga about a boy wizard growing up and having to fight an enemy whose wanted him dead since birth.
Thus far it's an excellent read. I've already encountered one of the two deaths promised in the story, but I won't divulge the character's identity.
I went Friday night at midnight to pick it up like so many did.
The family gets spilt up, and the novel folows the life of the father, and three of the sons, through several years. The fourth son quits the country, and there is little of his history in the novel. Tiege, Tomas and Finbar Foley all feature equally, and there is a very touching end to the father's story. The son's travel to America, Canada and Europe.
The novel contrasts the plight of the ordinary Irish with the better off, but it doesn't labour this point, as it is secondary to the novel.
The potato famine is fetaured in the novel, but no actual years are named at any point.
With short chapters, and following the father and sons lives, it is a novel that keeps your interest throughout.
Yup!
Sidney Sheldon's last novel
Have you ever read a Sidney Sheldon novel? It has that certain...can put down quality. I started this last night, and am already on P177 0f 423. You just can't help turning over the next page.
Pick up a Sheldon novel..and it is as if you are reading the screenplay. After reading Creative Writing to degree level..it is obvious that Sheldon wrote all his novels with possible screenplay in mind.
Are you Afraid of the Dark? is so far a typical Sheldon mystery....people have died..their deaths seem at first glance to be unconnected, but Sheldon reveals the links in masterly fashion.
Are Diane Stevens and Kelly Harris going to be the next murder victims?
Sheldon has lost none of his mastery of the suspense novel..in his very last book.
I might just let you know when I've finished..but then I think you might all come looking for me ....
Enjoy the last..but certainly not least of Sidney Sheldon's novels
I recently learned this is the book which introduces at least two characters who have gone on to be featured in Patterson's teen series Maximum Ride. I am going to read those as well.
This is a book which I'm reading in spurts. Like tonight I'll be reading a bit because I finished 4th of July just a moment ago and have nothing new to start on. I will be going to the library tomorrow, but in the mean time, I need something to read, so this is it. It's actually a fascinating read and one I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys English history as it features loads of history about out of the way places in England.
This is the fourth book in Patterson's series featuring the Women's Murder Club. I highly recommend it. The books are set in San Francisco and surrounding areas and involve a police inspector, chief medical examiner, assistant district attorney and crime reporter - all of who are female and who solve crimes while getting together on their off-hours.
If you like books with a lot of female commraderie without being overly sentimental, I recommend this series. The first one is titled 1st to Die.
Welcome to my blog. I already have an account at LibraryThing to maintain a listing of books I own, but I don't always buy books. So this is my place where I can list and potentially discuss all of the books I read. The only difference between this and my LibraryThing account is this will contain books I read, whether I buy them or not.