The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a very moving novel by Mark Haddon because it stirred many emotions for me. Whether I was laughing or in tears, I looked forward to reading the next chapter. This novel is story of a boy named Christopher who has a form of autism which makes him to see the world in ways different from most people. He loves math, schedules, and his rat Toby. He is afraid of unfamiliar places, strangers, and loneliness. He is a very intelligent boy, but his disorder disconnects him from others as well as the rest of the world. One day, his neighbor, Mrs.Shears, finds her dog murdered in the front lawn and Christopher thinks that he needs to solve this murder mystery even though his father discourages him. At times, he feels distant from his father, but that is the only family he has. He has no maternal figure in his life because his father told him that his mother died when he was younger. Christopher’s investigation leads him to a pile of letters written from his mom, who he finds out is actually still alive. His father confronts him and admits to lying to his son about his mom's death and the murder of the dog. His father said that Christopher’s mom ran away with Mr.Shears and that is why he killed the dog. Christopher's fear of being killed by his father leads him to his mother’s house in London. He overcomes his fear of traveling, but later decides that the best thing for him was to return to his father’s house because his rat was there and he needed to pass the A Math level, which he eventually did. It took Chrisopher’s father a while to regain his trust back, but he always had Christopher’s best interest at heart. This book ends with Christopher looking at the future with no worries, regrets, or fears. I feel like by the end of the novel, I really connected with Christopher. Yes, I felt sorry for him because there was so much going in his mind that he could not explain to anyone; therefore, no one understood him or the situation he was in. At the same time, we had a similar habit. I didn’t think anyone made schedules of what they were going to be doing every hour of everyday except me. During school days, I too plan out what I’m going to do so that I don’t waste any time. It seemed like a weird thing to do, but now I realize that is what makes me, well me. The best part about the book was when Christopher was doing a math problem, drawing a picture, or seeing something for the first time, there was an actual illustration for it in the book. It took back me back to my preschool days when every page of every book I read had a picture. This was a very sweet, light book, and there is definitely something special and unforgettable about it. I think it made me realize that everyone has fears just like Christopher but if we ever want to achieve something, we have to overcome them. Like Christopher said, “I can do anything” and that is something we should all say to ourselves.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a powerful novel written by Khaled Hosseini. It is a novel that shows the female perspective of life in Kabul, Afghanistan. The novel discusses the events that have occurred in Afganistan ranging from everyday life in Kabul to the Soviet Invasion to the Taliban takeover of Kabul. It is a story of two women, Mariam and Laila, who are born in different generations but experience the same pain, separation, and loss when trying to live a simple life. The novel switches between Mariam's and Laila's life story, and just like in their life, their stories become one in the middle of the novel. Mariam is a girl who never received the love of her mom and yearned for her father's attention while he was juggling another family he started with three other women. Her mom could not stand the lonlieness and she kills herself. Mariam was hoping to live with her father forever as well as being accepted by his other wives. Instead of welcoming Mariam, the three wives accept a marriage proposal for her to a bald, old man named Rasheed. Mariam accepts the proposal without knowing what she's getting herself into. He gives her all these rules to follow such as wearing a veil when they went out in public. I learned that women during this time were told to cover their faces when they went out in public by wearing a burqa, a veil because her faces were onnly for their husband to see. 20 years pass by and Mariam receives no love or happiness from her husband. Instead she receives harsh beatings because she could not give him a child, more importantly a son. On the other hand there is Laila, an educated girl (education was not something every girl of Kabul could receive) who lives the perfect life and even has someone special in it, a boy named Tariq. There fairytale story came to an end when the Soviet invasion was occurring. Tariq moved to Pakistan while Laila stayed with her family in Kabul. Her mother refused to go anywhere after losing her two sons to the war. She thought the invasion would end and her sons' mission would be complete. When Laila's father finally persuaded his wife to move, a shell hit their house and everything changed forever. Laila lost her parents and found unconcious by a man named Rasheed. He could not keep an unmarried girl in his house so he made her emotionally weak by telling her that Tariq had died. Laila ended up marrying Rasheed which did not make Mariam too happy. Laila had a daughter named Aziza, Tariq's daughter not Rasheeds, something he is not aware of. She then has a son named Zalmai with Rasheed. Years pass by and nothing has changed except Mariam and Laila's relationship. They have become friends because Laila sticks up for Mariam when Rasheed tries to beat her, a bold move that no one has taken before. The Taliban takeover has hurt the family economically and has forced them to put Aziza in a orphanage in order to save money. Laila's only happiness is taken away from her, but nothing stops her from visiting her daughter, not even the rules the Taliban has set for the women in Kabul. She does not care if she gets beaten up when she is caught without a man by her side on the streets. She does not want her family to fall apart during this hard time. I could not help to think, WHY ARE WOMEN BEING TREATED LIKE THIS? I thought about the fact that this novel was depicting everything in Kabul during that time, so does that mean women were actually beaten up for not following the Taliban's rules? Later on someone pays Laila an unexpected visit, Tariq. It turns out that Rasheed lied because Tariq never died. He lost his family as well and was put in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Rasheed is upset by his visit and forbids Laila from seeing him. One day Mariam got so fed up of Rasheed's rules and beatings that left them in pain for weeks that she killed Rasheed and to the Taliban, an unforgettable crime. The prize was Laila's freedom, but the price to achieve that was Mariam's life. My favorite thing about this book would have to be the way the author included Farsi in his novel. While describing a situation or someone Hosseini would always include a word that was written in Farsi. For example, whenever Rasheed felt like addressing his wives in a loving way, he would call them hamshira. Sometimes I was able to figure what the words meant and sometimes I wasn't able to but I think this writing style adds a different kind of flavor to the novel. I really enjoyed reading this book because it taught me so much about the history of Kabul, Afghanistan. Not only did I learn about the political scene but I also got to learn what the people went through, especially the women. The Soviet Invasion took away their families and the Taliban took their right to live freely. It was a very powerful book and I'm glad I read it because it exposed me to things I had never heard of.