“A Case of Exploding Mangoes” by Mohammed Hanif (Pakistan) Review Readers enjoyed this book describing it as well written and witty. It had many of them laughing aloud all the way through it! They all agreed that the author pokes fun at those in power in a very clever way. They liked the description of the military and the portrayal of how it runs the … Continue reading A Case of Exploding Mangoes
The theme of our Summer Reading Group 2011 was Adventure & Mystery and our summer readers loved it! They also picked up on two other unexpected themes running through the four novels, namely father-son relationships and deception. “The Rest is Silence” by Carla Guelfenbein (Chile) was not only voted the Best Summer Read 2011, but was also chosen by Nicola as her Coup de Cœur … Continue reading Best Summer Read 2011 – The Rest is Silence
“The God of Small Things” by Arundhati Roy (India) Review For those who were reading this book for the first time, they said it took them a while to get into the story as they found the timeline unnecessarily confusing at the beginning. Readers, for whom it was the second or third read, said they enjoyed it more each time describing it as an amazingly … Continue reading The God of Small Things
“Moses, Citizen & Me” by Delia Jarrett-Macauley (Sierra Leone) Review Readers were looking forward to this book and they all found the beginning very promising. However, although the topic of child soldiers was both a challenging and interesting one for a novel, they felt that the author did not quite succeed in making the story a good read. Most readers felt too distant from the … Continue reading Moses, Citizen and Me
“Brick Lane” by Monica Ali (U.K.) Review Readers enjoyed this multi-layered book a lot finding that it brought the immigrant experience deftly to life. They liked the parallel stories of the two sisters, Nazneen who went abroad and Hasina who remained behind, and the insights into their different personalities. They warmed immediately to the protagonist, who they described as most personable. Her inner growth from … Continue reading Brick Lane
“The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini (Afghanistan) Review For most of the group, it was their second time reading this book and all except one reader really enjoyed it. They were captured by the story of the two boys, Amir and Hassan, and loved the passages that develop the relationship between them. They found that the descriptions brought the scenes to life and they were … Continue reading The Kite Runner
The theme of our Summer Reading Group 2010 was humour in all its many forms: comedy, wit, satire, irony, farce. The interesting thing about humour is that it is very personal, and there were indeed members of the group who found some stories funny that others did not, and vice versa. “I Do Not Come to You by Chance” by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani was voted … Continue reading Best Summer Read 2010 – I Do Not Come to You by Chance
“The Vagrants” by Yiyun Li (China) Review Readers really enjoyed this book finding it very well written and revealing of an exceptional maturity of style. They were moved by the story, describing it as touching, distressing, sad and intense. They liked the setting, both time and place, and could strongly feel the political aspects pervading the everyday lives of the people. They found the different … Continue reading The Vagrants
Nicola's Book Club 