a tale of two novels...

the birth of our new girl brought moments where watching her lent themselves to reading simultaneously. the books shown below are books two and three of a personal trilogy i read that started with a book about which i have previously spoken.

'kite runner' is a heartwrenching, riveting, fascinating and redemptive story. at its core it is a touching coming of age tale replete with mistakes, triumphs and sadness. the story of this boy becoming a man is powerful. perhaps equally as powerful is the portrayal of modern afghanistan. i appreciated this tale spun by an afghani that reminded me of the truly important battle still raging in afghanistan. many of the scenes in the book take place in peshawar, pakistan that made front page headlines today. these tales of fiction dovetail nicely with a certain audacious candidate traversing the european continent with tales of hope. while the book was too pat at times, i laughed, cried and was at peace with myself while reading this book.



'into thin air' is equally as riveting as 'kite runner', but for different reasons. i have taught wilderness medicine courses about HAPE and HACE for years. last year i hiked mount whitney, and my first year in medical school i helped host conrad anker as a speaker for a wilderness medicine convention. mountaineering never stirred my soul before whitney, but my past experiences have given me glimpses into this stark world. however, nothing i'd seen or heard (despite my familiarity with david breashears IMAX film and conrad anker) prepared me for this tale spun by jon krakauer. it is a harrowing, exhilarating tale of the origins of mount everest mountaineering and krakauer's personal experience in climbing mount everest with a group who met with tragedy on the mountain. he gives breathtaking descriptions of the beauty and death that is a way of life at the highest point on earth.

both are must-reads. and maybe i'm years behind in getting to these particular novels, but better late than never...