Two good books - Authors Bohjalian and Rodriguez

I just finished two books, both of which I would recommend to others.

Before You Know Kindness, by Chris Bohjalian, doesn't disappoint.

Bohjalian, a writer from New England, has a wonderful way of telling a story. The story in Before You Know Kindness is about a New England family which includes a matriarch (the grandmother), her two adult children (brother and sister), their spouses, and their children. Bohjalian writes in such a way you feel like you know each of the characters and he makes you care about their lives. The story is very believable. I have read two other Bohjalian stories - Midwives and Water Witches, and they were both very good reading.

If I were to pick a topic that is the foundation for this book, I would describe it as a story about what happens when some members of a family become focused on a single thing (animal rights, in this case) while others remain in the main stream of society. It makes a good plot.

I marvel that a man can write about families so well. He includes all the details that I, a woman, appreciate in families; and he manages never to let his words become loose or sappy. I am always immediately caught up in his story, and he doesn't let me go until I finish the book.

I also read Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguiz, and in page after page, I felt I could see inside the lives of the Afghani women I meet in the story.

This book is a true account of Rodriguiz's experiences in Afghanistan while she was there on volunteer missions.

Rodriguiz is a cosmetologist by profession, and she takes her art and her skills to the women in Kabul to help give them a profession that's acceptable in their society (most of the time) and a way of life that's fulfilling to them. This books is a very good read. My edition of the book has a reader's guide that would be very helpful to provoke discussion in reading groups.