BOY TRAPPED

Where the inside of my mind leaks onto the screen.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Book Review - Butterfingers

The best part of eating a Butterfinger, my personal favorite candy bar, is that even an hour later, you still have a bit of a taste of it in your mouth.  These are the books that impacted me beyond the back cover:

There were very few moments of this story that weren't absolutely heart-wrenching. Maybe it was because I related too easily to the self-centered main character. Maybe it was because the expertly crafted plot was so believable that it felt like a true story (I did some research, and it is not). Although this book also served as a means of sharing the Afghan culture, the themes of loyalty, friendship, and redemption are poignant and universal.

I remember reading the whole "The Work and the Glory" series as it was coming out, and I know I read the books like they were going out of style. What I'd forgotten was why. Lund writes with an amazing amount of detail, but unlike many other authors, his details are actually relevant. I hung on every word, even fully reading the footnotes. If the story were less true, I'd have found all the happy endings a bit contrived and cheesy, but as they are true, it was just amazing!

So many of the books I read are pure entertainment, but I really love to read a book that matters. This book is a platform from which I could evaluate my relationships with women, my personal tendencies toward discrimination (based on age, religion, social class, etc.), and my level of courage to stand up for what is right.

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