Bali reads

Between long flights and several beach days, I read 2 1/2 books on my Bali/Singapore trip (not counting large portions of both the Lonely Planet Bali guidebook and the Lonely Planet Singapore guidebook). The first book I read, I devoured: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. I had been looking forward to this text since it came out and have been eagerly eyeing it on my shelf for months. I read Hosseini's first book, The Kite Runner, several years ago and LOVED it. So I had high hopes for A Thousand Splendid Suns and was not disappointed. I got into the story fairly quickly and was interested to see how Hosseini would weave together some seemingly disconnected plot lines. As I continued reading and as links became clearer I couldn't put the book down. The story was moving and I found myself sympathizing on some level with most of the characters. It was fascinating to learn more about the recent history of Afghanistan. I realized while reading the book how little I really knew about what was going on in that country. It just goes to show what a limited perspective the media really gives on certain situations. It also made me feel a pang of guilt for my comfortable life, oblivious to monstrosities around the world. I have been so blessed to be raised in a peaceful community with freedoms, prosperity, and most importantly, a loving stable family.

The second book I tried to read was The Sea by John Banville. This book is the next book in our our teacher book club so I had extra motivation to get through it. I began reading it for the first time on the plane to Bali. I had a very difficult time getting into it. I put it away and tried again later. Second time, same deal-- a few pages of misery and I put it down. I went through this routine 7 times before I got past the first 10 pages. This time I got to page 100 before I decided that book club book or not, this book was not worth my valuable Bali time. I was on vacation. No need to be bored or frustrated reading a book in which I felt little connection to the protagonist or the plot line. Some people must have loved this book-- it won the Man Booker Prize. However, I stopped reading The Sea and it has regained its position on the bottom of my bookshelf.

The third book I read on vacation was For One More Day by Mitch Albom. I enjoyed both of Albom's other stories: Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven. I was a bit let down by his third book. For One More Day was a nice easy beach read. It was straightforward and flowed well. Characters were likeable (even when they were not acting in typically likeable ways). There was something compelling about the protagonist's collection of memories of his family. It reminds me of a documentary I tried to make on my family when I was in grad school. I found myself thinking about the symbolism of minute details-- the way my brother gave my prom date an overprotective-brother note, the way my mom sat waiting for us to get home every night propped on a recliner with a book in hand, the way my grandfather's eyes wrinkle when he tells a story he loves. I think everyone holds on to a repetoire of memories, some positive and some negative, that collectively paint a picture of relationships. In that sense, I really connected to the ideas behind this montage of memories. However I think the execution was cheesy, predictable, and overdone. The whole ghost-story feel seemed contrived. I struggled to tell how seriously Albom wanted us to take the narrator. Overall, I felt like the book was a 3 out of 5. Not so good, but not a complete waste of time. Albom has written much better pieces in my opinion.