Qui filii sunt victimas

When The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini came out it received wide attention and I read it, along with my Book Group companions.  It became a bestseller after being printed in paperback and was popularized in book clubs. It was a number one New York Times bestseller for over two years,^[4] with over 7,000,000 copies being sold in the US.   Reviews were generally positive, though parts of the plot drew, understandably, significant controversy in Afghanistan. A number of adaptations were created following publication, including a 2007 feature film, several stage performances, and a graphic novel. It tells the story of Amir, a young boy from Kabul whose closest friend is Hassan, his father's young servant.

The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of Afghanistan's monarchy through Soviet military intervention, the exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the rise of the Taliban regime.  Apart from tackling a thoroughly engrossing human story, here was an opportunity to learn much about recent Afghan history

Hosseini has commented that he considers The Kite Runner to be a father–son story, emphasizing the familial aspects of the narrative, an element that he continued to use in his later works.  Themes of guilt and redemption feature prominently in the novel, with a pivotal scene depicting an act of violence against Hassan that Amir fails to prevent. The latter half of the book centres on Amir's attempts to atone for this transgression by rescuing Hassan's son over two decades later.

And the Mountains Echoed is the third novel by Khaled Hosseini.  It deviates from Hosseini's style in his first two works through his choice to avoid focusing on any one character. Rather, the book is written similarly to a collection of short stories, with each of the nine chapters being told from the perspective of a different character.

The book's foundation is built on the relationship between ten-year-old Abdullah and his three-year-old sister Pari and their father's decision to sell her to a childless couple in Kabul, an event that ties the various narratives together.

I found And the Mountains Echoed less engaging than its predecessors.  I am a fan of the short story although many people have never really taken to them.  However a classic book of short stories is often an eclectic mix of narratives and is all the more enjoyable for that.  Nevertheless Hosseini writes well and gets to the heart of human issues.   It deals with its characters movingly and is testament to the unbreakable bonds of love.

The North Water by Ian Macquire was Longlisted for the Man Booker 2016.

  In 1859 a man joins a whaling ship bound for the Arctic Circle. Having left the services, his reputation in tatters, Patrick Sumner has little option but to accept the position of ship's surgeon on this ill-fated voyage.
But when, deep into the journey, a boy is discovered brutally killed, Sumner finds himself becoming a reluctant detective. Soon he will face an evil even greater than that he had encountered at the siege of Delhi, in the shape of Henry Drax: harpooner, murderer, monster.   As the true purpose of the ship’s expedition becomes clear and despair descends upon the crew, the confrontation between Sumner and Drax will play out in the terrible darkness of the Arctic winter . . .

A theme that links The North Water and the writings of Khaled Hosseini is the way children are vulnerable and can so easily become victims to the predations of malign adults.