New Classics Challenge - November/December Reviews

Post your November/December reviews here - and make sure that the link you provide is to the specific review and not to your blog's main page!

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

The first thing I did after I finished reading this was get into an argument with Joe about what the ending meant. That's definitely a sign of a good book! :-)

If you haven't read this yet, I suggest that you take the couple of hours it would take you to do so and get to it. Seriously. In today's world, this is one to read and think about. The book is narrated by a mysterious stranger in a Lahore cafe. I don't think I could describe the rest better than the book's back cover:

Invited to join him for tea, you learn his name and what led this speaker of immaculate English to seek you out. For he is more worldly that you might expect; better travelled and better educated. He knows the West better than you do.

The narrative tells of what can only be described as a love affair with America - a short and passionate love affair ending in pain and betrayal.

I looked up an interview with author Mohsin Hamid in which he stated that how you interpret the ending depends on what your world view is. What you'll get from the book will depend on how you look at what's happening around you today. Isn't that an amazing goal for an author to have? And isn't it incredible when it is accomplished?

Challenges: Man Booker Challenge, Bang Bang Challenge

Forever

I was on my own for Halloween so didn't want to watch or read anything scary... I ended up watching Bell, Book and Candle, a 1950s film about a witch who puts a love spell on her neighbour. It wasn't life-altering, but I did enjoy it and at least it had a witch or two in it!

Afterwards, I read Judy Blume's Forever. I had read it when I was 11 or 12 and I remember it being really racy. It was the only YA book I found that dealt with sexuality and sex. There are many more nowadays but my school library was definitely lacking in this regard.

I liked it this time I read it too, though obviously for different reasons. I thought that the characters were portrayed as both intelligent and too young to know everything, which is a tough balance to get right. Judy Blume is a genius in my eyes though. :-)

Challenges: YA Romance Challenge