Nguyen Nguyen Nguyen itibaren Texas
Wow! I read this book was devoured in one delicious, melancoly sitting while driving to Wisconsin from Pennsylvania! I simply couldn't put it down! The book is set outside Istanbul and is about a Kurdish family and their American neighbors who live above them before the devastating earthquake occurs. The earthquake changes all their lives forever. I felt deep sympathy for the daughter, Irem, because her life seemed so limited by her culture to me and I could see that she yearned to break free. She seemed to have few choices granted to her and she just disappeared into the background of her family throughout the book. The earthquake granted her more freedom but she paid dearly for the choices she made. My heart ached for her throughout the book. At first, I thought Ismail, the 9 year old son, was spoiled but once I understood how horribly he was affected by the earthquake and the change in his family's circumstances, I felt sympathetic towards him too. This book definitely showed a clash of cultural and religious beliefs. I do believe that people all over the world need to be understanding of each other's uniqueness and learn to appreciate them. The Kurdish family in the book was Muslim and as the father talked about his view of Heaven, I could see some similarities to my religious beliefs. The father tells his son about Heaven and his words create such a beautiful picture of what happens to our souls after we die. I love how the title of the book "Gardens of Water" ties into the father's vision of Heaven - beautiful!