TRAGIC!

TRAGIC! The Swallows of Kabul - Yasmina Khadra


I really enjoyed this book, though the ending was so tragic. Books that stir up human compassion and understanding are wonderful. We are so quick to judge, to be so sure 'I would never do that! or How could they?'. This book shows how terrible events and situations can lead to unspeakable, unthinkable, and horrendous outcomes.

A couple of passages that made me think:

Chapter 6 - Page seventy two:

Zunaira is no Taliban, and her husband's not mad; if he lost his way in a moment of collective hysteria, that's because the horrors of everyday life are sufficiently powerful to overwhelm all defenses, and human degeneracy is deeper than any abyss. Mohsen is behaving like other people, recognizing his distress in theirs, identifying with their degradation. His deed provides proof that everything can change, without warning and beyond recognition.

Chapter 9 - Page one hundred and eighteen:

Even if you find an answer to every question today, you still won't be safe from whatever unknowable event may take place tomorrow. The learned man knew many things, but he was ignorant about the essential thing. Basically, being alive means keeping yourself ready for the sky to fall in on you at any time. If you start from the assumption that existence is only an ordeal, a test we have to pass, then you're equipped to deal with its sorrows and its surprises. If you persist in expecting it to give you something it can't give, that just proves that you haven't understood anything. Take things as they come; don't turn them into a drama. You're not piloting a ship, you're following the course of your destiny. Yesterday, I lost my mother. Today, I went to spend a few moments in silence at her grave. Now I'm at Khorsan's getting a bite to eat.

If you managed read this book during the busy month of December, please leave a comment! If you are unable to comment, please email me at littlemrsw@yahoo.ca.

Soon to come, January's Book!

Happy Reading!