The Disappeared

The Disappeared
by Kim Echlin

Hardcover, 224 pages

Published March 3rd 2009 

by HAMISH HAMILTON CA (AHC)

ISBN

0670069086

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Finished Book: August 24, 2011


About the Book ~
(Good Reads)

This story of passionate love between a Canadian and her Cambodian lover evokes their tumultuous relationship in a world of colliding values. Set against the backdrop of horrific loss, these two self-exiled lovers struggle to recreate themselves in a world that rejects their hopes. Spare, unrelenting, and moving, The Disappeared is an unforgettable consideration of love, language, justice, and memory set against the backdrop of the killing fields of Pol Pot .


My Thoughts on The Book~



I really WANTED to like this book.  My friend T, who is living in Cambodia, lent it to me.  The book was written as if the main character was retelling a story.  It was weird for me. No quotations (I hate that!).  I had a hard time following what was going on in the beginning.  It is set in Canada and Cambodia in a time I don't know a lot about.  That part was interesting.  I thought the love story was weak.  I needed more substance.  I had a hard time buying into the fact that a young teenage girl would devote her life to a boy/man that she really barely knew.  On top of that, she would be willing to leave the only life she knew to chase after her lover 10 years later in a country that was experiencing such turmoil.  And how sad was it that she fights for justice her entire life and never gets her wish. 

Olive Kitteridge: A Novel in Stories

Olive Kitteridge: A Novel in Stories by Elizabeth Strout

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Ugh! I'll be honest, this book was simply frustrating. The book is made up of short stories revolving around the life of Olive Kitteridge, who isn't the most pleasant woman to begin with. The stories don't seem to tie together, except for the fact that they are all depressing in some way.  Someone is either dying or having something tragic happening to them throughout each story.  It was really hard for me to continue reading it.  Perhaps I am just more accustomed to reading novels, rather than a bunch of stories. 

Unfortunately, it was a gift I gave my friend for her birthday.  How sad is that?  Sorry Becky!!