Two books

from w
Two contrasting books I read this week were 'The Hours' and 'The Rugmaker of Mazar-e-sharif'. One was rather depressing and unsettling as it was about mental illness, suicide, the lives of women who want to escape their situation. Virginia Woolf was the inspiration for the first book. But the second book was optimistic and a delight to read even though the story-teller (it's true, not fiction) was an Afghan refugee who suffered greatly in his homeland and then paid a smuggler to get him to a safe country - Australia - though he did spend time in Woomera Detention Centre. I read 'The Hours' the day after watching the video - with excellent acting of course - so my reading was influenced by the actors and the film.

It has been so cold this week that it was good to sit in a heated room, rugged up, and just read books! It's about 6 degrees celsius at night and 12 in the daytime!