The Secret Son by Laila Lalami

Synopsis from www.goodreads.com

Raised by his mother in a one-room house in the slums of Casablanca, Youssef El Mekki has always had big dreams of living another life in another world. Suddenly his dreams are within reach when he discovers that his father—whom he’d been led to believe was dead—is very much alive. A wealthy businessman, he seems eager to give his son a new start. Youssef leaves his mother behind to live a life of luxury, until a reversal of fortune sends him back to the streets and his childhood friends. Trapped once again by his class and painfully aware of the limitations of his prospects, he becomes easy prey for a fringe Islamic group.


In the spirit of The Inheritance of Loss and The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Laila Lalami’s debut novel looks at the struggle for identity, the need for love and family, and the desperation that grips ordinary lives in a world divided by class, politics, and religion.



My Comments :

I feel very frustrated when I read this book. The character Youssef is such a shallow young man who would ditch his mother and friend just for an unknown father. A father who is even too ashamed and scared to acknowledge him.

The plot about the mother and son relationship and father and son relationship was pretty much predictable. Halfway through the book I could foreseen what would happen between them

I was rather put off by the terrorist theme. Feels that the author tries to create suspense in the novel but it's not successful for me. I feel like there are something missing. Like part of the novel have been chopped off. One day Youssef was very close to his friend then suddenly the thread broke off. There is no mention what happen to his friend which convert him into a terrorist. 

Am rating this book 2 stars as I love the way the author use her words. It's beautiful and easy to read.

The Calligrapher's Daughter by Eugenia Kim

Najin Han was born in Korea. She comes from a Christian family and her father is a famous Calligrapher in his time. His work was so famous that it's being commissioned by the emperor. It's the beginning of the twentieth century in Korea. A lot of changes going on and her father is determined to follow the old ways.

She was a head strong girl who is full of curiosity. Her mother wants her to have an education and her father was against it. But with a bit of cleverness, the mother managed to have her ways and Najin went to school.

At the age of 14, her father wanted to marry her off to a twelve year old son of his friend. Her mother defying the father managed to get her sent to the imperial court to serve the King. There, under the tutelage of her aunt, she was presented to the Princess and soon become the Princess playmate. Najin also was given the opportunity to further her study.

Unfortunately, the King was assassinated and the Dynasty ended. She was sent home. Najin was shocked to see that her family have become quite poor. Money were tight but her father held on to his believe that woman should not work. Her younger brother was pampered and had become quite self centred young man.

Nevertheless, with the help of some Missionary friends, Najin managed to find some work and earn some money to help out the family and also save some money to further her studies.

She did managed to further her studies. When she came home, her parents found a young man for her. Surprisingly the young man have a modern view. She fell in love. They got married and planned to further study to America. But unfortunately, Najin's passport was denied. Married for one day and she had to stay back in Korea while her husband journeyed on alone. Unknown to them, this separation is longer that the 2-3 years which they had thought to be.

The War came and the bombing of Pearl Harbour made communication impossible. Najin had to carry on alone and faced a lot pressure from  her in-laws. Later on she went back to her own family and there were hardship too. She was being accused as a spy by the Japanese and was brought to prison.

Over the years, she still feel for her husband. Wondering if they will meet each other again and wondering if he had taken another woman as wife. But during these years, she learn to blend two ways of living together. The old ways and the modern way.

This is the first book that I have read regarding Korea and their way of life. From the book, the old way of life seems to be very strict on women. Not far off from the ancient China.

What I like about this book is its rich in cultural value.When reading the part where her father forbids her from venturing to his part of the house and how Najin did not understand the purpose of it, I was really impressed on how the author presented the view of the father from the voice of the mother. It makes me thing Korean woman have a lot of patient.

Overall it's well written. I only wish that it's more expressive emotionally. This book give me the feeling that emotion are being restrained when writing it. Emotions of the characters were being "described" instead of felt/acted upon.