Lipstick and Loopholes in Tehran by Nahal Tajadod

Blurb from Amazon: A wry and humorous account of the author’s quest to get her Iranian passport renewed. She embarks on a bizarre and circuitous journey, meeting a colourful cast of characters along the way: two photographers who specialise in Islamic portraits, a forensic surgeon who trades in human organs, a madam who wants to send prostitutes to Dubai and a grandmother who offers a live chicken to an implacable official. LIPSTICK AND LOOPHOLES IN TEHRAN is a fascinating look at the constraints and contradictions of contemporary life in Tehran from the author’s unique standpoint of being both a native of Iran and a foreigner.

The view this book gives us of Iran certainly isn’t the one we typically get in the news, but it does remind me of some of the more ludicrous parts of Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis series. It introduces us to the behind the scenes’ face of Iran so to speak; the story behind the islamically correct photo on the narrator’s passport for example: how the perfectly covering headscarf was adjusted by the male photographer she had met 5 minutes before, how that same photographer graciously offers makeup remover to his clients prior to the photo, and emergency mascara and lipstick afterwards… and how the final product goes through photoshop before being delivered. As we tag along on the author’s quest for a new passport we witness the absurdity of daily life under Iran’s Islamic regime. We also get a sense of the narrator’s difficult position, hiding her French passport and nationality from the authorities, leveraging her French connections to impress her interlocutors, and attempting to explain the Iranian system to her French husband, and ultimately feeling like a complete stranger in her native country, where her best friend acts as her guide.

So there is a lot to be learnt from this novel, but despite the above I found it very disappointing. For one thing, the passport quest is long winded and gets rather repetitive, as do the numerous descriptions of the tarof, the tradition by which Iranians will always refuse payment/ gifts/ invitations at first. But mostly I just couldn’t sympathise with the main character. She seemed to always be whining, fainting, acting against her better judgement and neglecting her daughter. Not that I expect or want book characters to be all nice and moral, but in this case she just got on my nerves.

I never thought that not ‘clicking’ with the main characters of a book could spoil it, but unfortunately it seems it does.

EDIT: This novel isn’t available in english yet (I read the original, french version) but according to Amazon it will be soon.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Waterstones Synopsis:

Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry Rasheed. Nearly two decades later, a friendship grows between Mariam and a local teenager, Laila, as strong as the ties between mother and daughter. When the Taliban take over, life becomes a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear. Yet love can move a person to act in unexpected ways, and lead them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with a startling heroism.

I did not enjoy The Kite Runner so was apprehensive when I started this book. I didn’t need to be – I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is harrowing and disturbing and completely readable. Hosseini writes a good, moving story. With terrorism such a real issue in the 21st century I felt he is brave writing this book as it features not only the Soviets, but the Taliban and 9/11. This could be seen as acontroversial thing to do, but I felt Hosseini dealt with these horrors in a commendable way.

Hosseini writes some great characters. I felt something towards all of them. I felt for Mariam and what she faced in Herat before moving to Kabul, and my heart broke with Laila’s many times. And I did not like Rasheed – what a horrid man. I wanted him to be punished; he really sparked some anger in me – which I think is a sign of a good character and a well written book.

This book does contain a whole host of horrors, but not really ones I was expecting. War is prominent throughout the majority of the book, but it is not all Taliban based. The first half of the book sees the Soviets in Afghanistan. The horrors faced by the women mainly occurred at home at the hands of Rasheed as well. I felt that the blurb was a bit misleading in this respect. It is a bit of a disturbing read, but I found myself wanting to know what happened, and actually it didn’t take me long to read. I don’t think this book is for the weak hearted, but it is definitely up there with my other high-rated books. I think this story will stay with me for a long time.

9/10

It’s the Little Things by Erica James

Waterstones Synopsis:

Dan and Sally Oliver and their friend Chloe Hennessey are lucky to be alive. Three years on, after surviving one of the world’s biggest natural disasters – the Boxing Day tsunami – their lives have changed dramatically. Dan and Sally are now parents. Dan is enjoying being a stay-at-home father taking care of their young son, and Sally is the bread winner and loves her job as a partner in a Manchester law firm. The arrangement has so far worked well, but when Dan starts to question whether Sally has got her priorities right, the cracks in their marriage begin to appear. Dan and Sally have everything Chloe wishes for in life – a happy marriage and a beautiful child. Dumped by her long term boyfriend just weeks after the tsunami, she’s been on a mission ever since to find the perfect father for the child she craves. When she meets Seth Hawthorne, she thinks she may have hit the jackpot. But is Seth the man she thinks he is? IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS is a moving, compelling story of how a life can change in a heartbeat.

I am a big fan of Erica James, and this book was not a let down. We follow the lives of Chloe – a woman torturing herself over a decision she made years ago and Dan and Sally as their marriage starts on the slope to destruction. James writes some wonderful characters, and this book is no exception. It was easy to feel emotions towards to the characters – I really felt for Dan as he tried to work out Sally; I had empathy for Chloe as she struggled to fight her feelings for Seth; I gradually began to dislike Sally more and more and I fell in love with Seth!

The storyline is not particularly original, but it made for good reading. I found it interesting that a female writer wrote such a nasty female character – Sally was the bad person in this book nit Dan, and I found that a refreshing read. My only complaint with the story is that it implies in the blurb that the Tsunami would feature a lot in the book, and it doesn’t. There is the occasional mention of the nightmares they were having and the horrors of the event, but by and large it did not feature as much as I thought it would.

Like all other James novels I found this readable and enjoyable. It is a book of 430 pages, and I enjoyed each one. I liked how I had reactions to all the characters and I wanted to find out was happening. This book has left me satisfied. This is decent chick-lit, with twists I wasn’t expected. This is well worth reading.

9/10

16 Lighthouse Road by Debbie Macomber

Waterstones Synopsis:

Family court judge Olivia Lockhart has a failed marriage, a difficult relationship with her daughter, Justine, and a mother who has plenty of opinions and is always willing to share them. When Olivia denies a divorce in court, there is a frenzied reaction and, thanks to an article by Jack Griffin in the local paper,everyone’s talking about it. Cedar Cove – people love it and sometimes they leave it, but they never forget it!

This is the first book in the Cedar Cove series, and like the rest of Macomber’s work, I really enjoyed it. This is different to her other series: Blossom Street because Cedar Cove is a navy town and the story revolves around the whole community not just a street. I found this book a fun, quick read and I have already reserved the next two books in this series.

There are a whole host of new characters that I liked. Charlotte was probably my favourite – it made me laugh that she went to wakes with the hope of coming away with a new recipe! She seemed like a wise older woman and I liked how she managed to have a whole conversion with a stroke patient who had lost the ability to speech. The rest of the characters were likable too -Macomber writes strong female characters who are a pleasure to read about. The characters seem real – I can easily believe that these people could exist in real life.

Macomber writes a good story. She is amusing, gripping and exciting. I found myself reading huge chunks of the books in one go – I wanted to know what was going to happen. I liked howMacomber didn’t tie up all the story lines in this book, allowing for continuation in the series.

The issues in the book that Macomber focuses on are hard: being a navy wife, divorce and cot death. I think that Macomber was sensitive to these issues and dealt with them well. Maybe not everything was realistic in this book but I liked how she worked things out.

Overall, this was another great read by Macomber and I’m looking forward to reading the next installment.

9/10

The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice

Waterstones Synopsis

Set in the 1950s, in an England still recovering from the Second World War, THE LOST ART OF KEEPING SECRETS is the enchanting story of Penelope Wallace and her eccentric family at the start of therock’n'roll era. Penelope longs to be grown-up and to fall in love; but various rather inconvenient things keep getting in her way. Like her mother, a stunning but petulant beauty widowed at a tragically early age, her younger brother Inigo, currently incapable of concentrating on anything that isn’t Elvis Presley, a vast butcrumbling ancestral home, a severe shortage of cash, and her best friend Charlotte’s sardonic cousin Harry…

This is chick-literature set in the 1950s; and for me that worked. We get a look at life in England in the 1950s, just as rationing is coming to an end through the eyes of an eighteen-year old girl. I found this fascinating – looking at how people lived after the war, and how rationing and America influenced lives. I loved the history in this book – how Rice explores the generation born into the War; how they were worried about what life would be like without War, and how they reacted once rationing was ended. It made me chuckle that the thing Penelope missed most was Cadbury’s chocolate! The other issue I found interesting was how the adults didn’t seem taken with America. The parents in the book all seemed suspicious of the country, whereas the children didn’t have any problems with the nation. I also liked how this book taught me things – such as who Johnnie Ray was – the guy who was popular before Elvis took his crown.

This was not a quick read but enjoyable. This is chick-lit, but more complex as it has the historical element. It was a bit predictable, but Penelope’s mother took me by surprise. I liked the characters and how we see Penelope slowly grow up. I wasn’t a fan of Harry, but Rice wrote so well I enjoyed not liking him! Charlotte and Penelope’s friendship was a joy to read about as well – I love the idea of going round to your friend’s aunt’s home for scones and tea! I wanted to live in Penelope’s house as well, and it broke my heart to read of its decay; although I liked how Rice was realistic about how women were struggling to keep houses and to liveabove the borderline after they lost their husbands in the War.

This was an easy read and I enjoyed it. It was touching as well, looking at how different people, different generations and different nationalities coped after World War Two.

8/10

Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom

Waterstones Synopsis:

Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher or a colleague. Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, and gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it. For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly 20 years ago. Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded. Wouldn’t you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you? Mitch Albom had that second chance. He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man’s life. Knowing he was dying of ALS – or motor neurone disease – Morrie visited Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final “class”: lessons in how to live. This is a chronicle of their time together, through which Mitch shares Morrie’s lasting gift with the world.

This is an extraordinary book. Albom actually refers to it as a thesis. In this book he records conversations he has with an old university tutor who is dying. These conversations consist of Morrie sharing his wisdom about life with Mitch. He has a wonderful insight into life, especially in regards to happiness and death. It is an enlightening book and an enjoyable book.

Albom is a wonderful writer. Even though this is a recollection of conversations Morrie and Mitch had, this is written as a story, and you forget that it is Albom’s memories, and a piece of work that Morrie wanted written – he even gave Albom the title.

I really enjoyed this book. It was very descriptive, and I found it heartbreaking to read about how Morrie was deteriorating and his death. This was such a good read. It was easy to read insightful. I felt I got a lot out of this book.

8/10

Summer on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber

Waterstone’s Synopsis:

This is Lydia’s newest knitting class is called “Knit to Quit”. It has four members: Abbie, a woman who’s dealing with a broken engagement; Alix who wants to quit smoking before she gets pregnant; Margaret and – for the first time – a man, Brain Hutchinson, who joins the class to help deal with stress. There’s also the chance to find out what’s been happening with other Blossom Street regulars including Lydia and her husband, Brad, who want to adopt; Anne Marie from Twenty Wishes; and Ellen, whose biological father has tracked her down. With romance and friendship on the horizon, Lydia’s “Knit to Quit” class is going to have a busy summer!

This is the next book in the Blossom Street series, and as good as the others. Macomber has become my favourite author and I love reading her work. This novel involves the majority of the old favourites: Lydia, who is hosting a new knitting class; Alix, who is attempting to give up smoking; Margaret, who is working in the shop, as cynical as ever and Anne-Marie, who has just met the man who might be Ellen’s biological father…

Having read many Macomber books I find that she often tackles serious issues, and Summer on Blossom Street is no exception. This novel sees the arrival of Casey, a girl who has been in many foster homes. I loved how Macomber explored how she would react being moved into a new home, and looked for ways for her to experience real joy and open up. I am not acquainted with social services and foster care myself but I felt that Macomber was very honest with Casey’s character and showed how she would seem difficult and non-responsive at first because she has been moved around so many times that she no longer wants to grow attached to where she is placed.

I loved that even though Anne-Marie didn’t participate in the knitting group Macomber included her in the story. Having met her in the last book – Twenty Wishes – it was lovely that we saw how her life was going – I liked that she wasn’t forgotten.

This is classic Macomber – there are serious issues explored, friendships formed and developed and love winning out. This is excellent chick-lit and I loved it. Macomber did not let me down, well worth reading.

8/10

Fine Just the Way It Is by Annie Proulx

Fine Just the Way It Is is Annie Proulx’s third collection of Wyoming stories.  There are nine stories in this collection, and as usual, most of them concentrate on depicting the hard life of ranchers, politicians and cowboys, and the arguably even harder life of their wives.

As always, Proulx gives a subtle build up in each story, and then hits the reader with a punch right where it hurts.  Drama and a large dose of irony collide, sometimes peppered with a little humour.  Occasionally she depicts real flashes of happiness in her characters’ lives – such as when Archie and his young wife set up home in ‘Them Old Cowboy Songs’ or when young Dakotah feels a rush of love which she never could have imagined when she has a baby in ‘Tits Up in a Ditch’.  But although these moments of happiness are not generally expected to last long (at least not to any reader familiar with Proulx’s writing), events still manage to surprise with the way that they seemingly come out of the blue, although on reflection they were probably always inevitable.

Two of the stories are comedic, and are actually set in hell, where we meet the devil – a mischievous but charismatic character, who travels around in a golf buggy and devises a plan to make life more interesting in certain areas on earth.  In another story, a woman wants her grandfather to tell his life story for posterity, but he fails to convey what he actually feels.

Annie Proulx’s writing is always very ‘clean’ – she never uses spare words, and indeed they are not necessary, because she has the ability to transport her reader to the landscape in which the story is set, in just a few words.

I preferred this book to the first collection of Wyoming Stories (Close Range, which featured the love story Brokeback Mountain), but didn’t enjoy it quite as much as the second collection (Bad Dirt).  Overall though, I would certainly recommend this book to other readers, and would actively seek out more of Annie Proulx’s writing.

Rumour Has It by Jill Mansell

Amazon Description:

When newly single Tilly Cole impulsively quits her London job for a fresh start in the small town of Roxborough she finds she’s arrived in a hotbed of gossip, intrigue and rampant rivalry for the most desirable men. Tilly has no intention of joining in – she’s just happy with her new Girl Friday job. Then she meets Jack Lucas. Jack is irresistible… and he’s got his eye on Tilly. But there are shocking rumours about his wicked reputation. Tilly doesn’t want to be just another notch on anyone’s bedpost. But is she being mature and sensible – or is she running away from the love of her life?

This is the second Jill Mansell book I’ve read and I really enjoyed it. I found it an easy, girly read. The main character, Tilly, has moved to Roxborough where her best friend lives to get away from her ex-boyfriend. She is always running from relationships when she feels that they have turned sour. In this story she is running again, this time away from a man who has seemingly slept with all the other women in the village.

I liked this book. I found the story engaging and amusing. I wanted to know what happened in the end – although of course I could guess. There were storylines in the book which surprised me and kept me on my toes, which added to the enjoyment of the book. Although Tilly is the main character, Mansell has written in some excellent co-stars; such as Max, who Tilly lives with. I loved his dry sense of humour and just his presence in the book.

This is unashamedly chick-literature. This is a romance novel with all the right trimmings. It has a lovable cast, a great location and a fun storyline. There are some parts which arepredictable, some bits I didn’t believe, but that didn’t spoil the book for me. Mansell seems to be a good women’s author, and if you like this genre, you will like this book. Not the best I’ve read, but highly entertaining and worth reading.

8/10

Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett

Amazon description:

There’s a werewolf with the pre-lunar tension in Ankh-Morpork. And a dwarf with attitude and a golem who’s begun to think for itself. But for Commander Vimes, Head of Ankh-Morpork City Watch, that’s only the start…There’s treason in the air. A crime has happened. He’s not only got to find out whodunit, buthowdunit too. He’s not even sure what they dun. But soon as he knows what the questions are, he’s going to want some answers.

To be honest, this has been my least favourite Discworld novel. I actually found myself mildly disappointed with it. This is book number 19 in the Discworld series, and although enjoyable, not as humorous or engaging as the rest of the series.

This is is Watch novel and we follow Vimes as he leads the team, which includes a dwarf and a werewolf as they investigate a crime that has not been authorised by any of the city’s Guilds. We meetgolums that have created their own king, but the said creation has gone wild and is killing people. It is thinking for itself, which agolum should not do.

I usually enjoy Watch novels, but there was something lacking in this book. We are transported to the Discworld in Pratchett’s usual way; and this book contains some characters we are fond of, such as Corporal Carrot, but I felt it lacked the usual adventure and endless humour that theDiscworld books usually entail. There is so much potential for this book, I just didn’t feel it delivered the goods. I wasn’t really a fan of thegolum’s – they didn’t interest me much. And being such a key part of the story, I think this was the problem.

Although not a bad book, this is the worst one of the series so far.

6/10