Cramlington Book Club

Well I finished the book which at one point seemed unlikely. I was surprised when I was informed we were reviewing this book. We have already reviewed A Thousand Splendid Suns and from memory I believed most of the group had also read The Kite Runner which meant a full house for Hosseinis novels. Let me start by saying I absolutely loved Kite Runner (I cried) and I very much liked Splendid Suns so I approached with this with slight intrepidation as surely the high standards of Runner and Splendid could not be equalled a third time. (They will be called Kite and Sun next so keep up) Initially it appeared as though it was going to be identical to the other two books – a poverty stricken family in Afghanistan, with two children as the main characters where something heart breaking happens to them early on. Sound familiar? I must admit I was a little disappointed at this stage. I had read and loved two versions of Afghanistan heart break, I didn’t want to read another. How wrong

I missed this meeting as I was moving house. Looking back, this blog is also a really good way to record my momentous moments (second child, turning 30, moving house. Wonder what's next?) I give the book a 7. I found it really easy to read and liked the fact the author left Fania open to interpretation as to whether she was real or made from snow. Whilst I liked the idea of the possibility that Fania was magical, I think coming down on this side for definite would have lost a few fans. I know when I was initially describing the book to people at the last meeting there were a few raised eyebrows when I explained that a childless couple make a snow child that comes to life but I'm pleased we stuck with it as trust me, its not that far fetched. I also liked the way the book intertwined with the fairy tale that Mabel kept reading. I had a very vivid image of the book and really wanted to read it. I think with this book that there was a main message to decide on - did the coup