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OF MEMORIES AND MIRAGES

An inviting, if sometimes simplistic look at ties of love and war.

Rafique’s literary novel traces interconnected lives in Pakistan.

In Karachi in the year 2017, university student Aasiya is involved with a young man named Ashfaq. Ashfaq is soon to leave Pakistan to study at George Washington University in the United States, and the two discuss their future in the friendly atmosphere of Salim’s Teashop. Salim has his own heartbreaking past: His wife, Nilofar, died in the 1970s. Life in Karachi has not always been easy for Salim, yet he, like so many, finds ways to carry on. Later in the narrative, the reader is transported back to 1947, when the horrors accompanying the time of Partition are manifold. Despite the violence, Suraiya and Iqbal (who will become Aasiya’s grandparents) manage to fall in love. Returning to the 2000s in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the story follows a young man named Irfan as he journeys to Afghanistan to fight the Americans. Irfan is trained to kill, and though his enthusiasm for the fight will wane, he will never forget what he experiences. The novel runs the gamut from happy relationships to desert combat. The juxtapositions make for some compelling contradictions: If Irfan had been born at a different time, he probably would have not taken up the jihad—yet here we see him commit horrific violence. Not every development provides such food for thought, however. Salim, kind as he is, makes for dull copy. At one point he is nice to a young couple in need; the scene doesn’t convey much beyond the impression that Salim is kind (“He had no idea what compelled him to support it all, to help couples run away, to give them tea and food for free if they came in together”). Yet, taken altogether, the book illuminates the many circumstances that shape lives and relationships in this volatile region.

An inviting, if sometimes simplistic look at ties of love and war.

Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022

ISBN: 9781958754207

Page Count: 264

Publisher: Brandylane Publishers, Inc.

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2023

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THE WOMEN

A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.

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A young woman’s experience as a nurse in Vietnam casts a deep shadow over her life.

When we learn that the farewell party in the opening scene is for Frances “Frankie” McGrath’s older brother—“a golden boy, a wild child who could make the hardest heart soften”—who is leaving to serve in Vietnam in 1966, we feel pretty certain that poor Finley McGrath is marked for death. Still, it’s a surprise when the fateful doorbell rings less than 20 pages later. His death inspires his sister to enlist as an Army nurse, and this turn of events is just the beginning of a roller coaster of a plot that’s impressive and engrossing if at times a bit formulaic. Hannah renders the experiences of the young women who served in Vietnam in all-encompassing detail. The first half of the book, set in gore-drenched hospital wards, mildewed dorm rooms, and boozy officers’ clubs, is an exciting read, tracking the transformation of virginal, uptight Frankie into a crack surgical nurse and woman of the world. Her tensely platonic romance with a married surgeon ends when his broken, unbreathing body is airlifted out by helicopter; she throws her pent-up passion into a wild affair with a soldier who happens to be her dead brother’s best friend. In the second part of the book, after the war, Frankie seems to experience every possible bad break. A drawback of the story is that none of the secondary characters in her life are fully three-dimensional: Her dismissive, chauvinistic father and tight-lipped, pill-popping mother, her fellow nurses, and her various love interests are more plot devices than people. You’ll wish you could have gone to Vegas and placed a bet on the ending—while it’s against all the odds, you’ll see it coming from a mile away.

A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.

Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024

ISBN: 9781250178633

Page Count: 480

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023

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INTO THE UNCUT GRASS

A sweet bedtime story.

A boy and his stuffed bear head into the woods.

Having captured readers’ attention with Born a Crime (2016), his bestselling memoir of growing up in South Africa, comedian and television host Noah has written a parable about decision-making. As he puts it in a brief prologue, “It’s about disagreements and difference—but it’s also about how we bridge those gaps and find what matters most, whether we’re parents or kids, neighbors, gnomes, or political adversaries. It’s a picture book, but it’s not a children’s book. Rather, it is a book for kids to share with parents and for parents to share with kids.” With plentiful illustrations by Hahn and in language aimed at young listeners, it tells the story of a small boy so impatient to start his Saturday adventures that he rebels against the rules of his household and heads out without brushing his teeth or making his bed, despite the reminders of his stuffed bear, Walter. “We can’t just run away,” protests the bear. “Your mother will miss you. And where will we sleep? And who will make us waffles?” “We’ll build our own house,” the boy responds. “And we’ll grow our own waffles!” From there, the pair go on their walkabout, encountering a garden gnome, a pair of snails, and a gang of animated coins who have lessons to offer about making choices. Though the author suggests in the introduction that adult readers might enjoy the book on their own, those looking for a follow-up to the memoir or a foray into adult fiction should be warned that this is not that book.

A sweet bedtime story.

Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024

ISBN: 9780593729960

Page Count: 128

Publisher: One World/Random House

Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024

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