As the story goes on life for Fadi and his family gets even more complicated. Fortunately, some issues are resolved- or at least getting better in America. Fadi's mother gets treated for her illness, and although the treatment is long and difficult, it seems as if it is helping her.
Also, Fadi's sister Noor has found employment at McDonalds, and it seems as if that is helping her to acclimate to her new culture a bit. Maybe too much, maybe she shouldn't have to acclimate, but nevertheless, it probably does help her feel a bit less isolated having some sort of connections at her work.
Another important thing is that Fadi has found out that there is a photography contest, and that the prize for winning the contest is a trip to a foreign country- one of the options being India. He figures that India is right next to Pakistan and that if he wins, he might be able to go back and find his lost sister.
Fadi struggles a lot with guilt over what happened to his sister. He believes it to be his fault that she got lost. Interesting thing about this is that it seems a lot of his family members share his guilty feelings. He is not alone, but unfortunately his shame causes him to isolate himself a bit. He holds it in so much that it starts coming out in little spurts. He destroys a shelf of Barbie dolls because they remind him both of his sister and his specific guilt with an aspect of her loss. He also sneaks in the back of his fathers taxi, hoping that he might sneak back to Pakistan from a plane at the airport. He is really desperate to find his sister, and its sad that he suffers so much with his own guilty feelings.
As the story continues, Fadi faces more and more struggles. 9/11 happens and after that real fear starts showing itself all around Fadi and his family. People are being targeted, people are being attacked, just for being Muslim.
I wonder how things are going to continue for Fadi after all of this and if things will end up getting better for him by the end of it, or worse.
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Shooting Kabul Beginning
The book Shooting Kabul opens with the family of Fadi desperately trying to flee Afghanistan and the harsh and threatening rule imposed upon them by the Taliban.
The family is struggling to get by in Afghanistan. The subsist on very little, bread, simple stews, the occasional hunk of cheese- the quality of life that Fadis family lives with is very poor and it does not look like it will be getting better any time soon.
Another problem that the family faces is that Fadis mother Zafoona is very sick. She has a disease that cannot even be diagnosed in Kabul. It is really bad, she coughing blood and it is clear that if she does not get help soon it is very likely she will die.
All of these things set the background for the family's desperate travels to America.
Something that is interesting to me is that once they finally get to America, although a lot of things do seem better for them- food, medicine, ect- at the same time a lot of things end up getting worse for them. Fadi's, father Habib, is a very educated man. He has a PHD, and just by having that a person might expect that in America he would be able to find a job that matches his capabilities, but unfortunately once he gets to America he finds that he cannot find a job and is forced to make a living doing something that is very much below his capabilities- taxi driving. He has to work extremely hard to provide the bare minimum for his family in America, This just goes to show how unfair and challenging things can be for immigrants and anyone hoping to find the American Dream.
The saddest part of this book is that, while the family was fleeing, they accidently lost the youngest member, Mariam.
The book makes a point of all the extra stress and sadness this brings the family. Hopefully by the end of the book things get better for Fadi and his family, and Mariam is found. That is really one of the main hopes of this book.
The family is struggling to get by in Afghanistan. The subsist on very little, bread, simple stews, the occasional hunk of cheese- the quality of life that Fadis family lives with is very poor and it does not look like it will be getting better any time soon.
Another problem that the family faces is that Fadis mother Zafoona is very sick. She has a disease that cannot even be diagnosed in Kabul. It is really bad, she coughing blood and it is clear that if she does not get help soon it is very likely she will die.
All of these things set the background for the family's desperate travels to America.
Something that is interesting to me is that once they finally get to America, although a lot of things do seem better for them- food, medicine, ect- at the same time a lot of things end up getting worse for them. Fadi's, father Habib, is a very educated man. He has a PHD, and just by having that a person might expect that in America he would be able to find a job that matches his capabilities, but unfortunately once he gets to America he finds that he cannot find a job and is forced to make a living doing something that is very much below his capabilities- taxi driving. He has to work extremely hard to provide the bare minimum for his family in America, This just goes to show how unfair and challenging things can be for immigrants and anyone hoping to find the American Dream.
The saddest part of this book is that, while the family was fleeing, they accidently lost the youngest member, Mariam.
The book makes a point of all the extra stress and sadness this brings the family. Hopefully by the end of the book things get better for Fadi and his family, and Mariam is found. That is really one of the main hopes of this book.
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
The end of the book for me was really satisfying. At the beginning, for whatever reason, I was expecting something to go horribly wrong. I think this is in part, because this book for whatever reason, reminded me of "A Separate Peace". Its very internal, very character development oriented, and the voices I think just sounded kind of similar at times with both books. Anyways, because of that I had this idea in my head that Dante would probably die- that he would have to die to push Aristotle over the edge into finally accepting their relationship- what it was- and who Aristotle was
.
Glad that didn't happen and that things ended up turning out well for both of the main characters. They are finally able to be what they are- to accept themselves and to accept their love for each other. It took quite a bit of internal conflict for that to happen, but the end result was wonderful. The story in some ways probably reflects adolescence well- it is all about personal development- understanding who you are- and that was just a big theme in this book.
I also really liked that Aristotles brother finally got to be recognized. That Aristotle got answers. I do think that it was in many ways really hard for Aristotle to deal with the fact that it was like his own brother had just been deleted from the family- he must be confused, feel awful for his brother in some ways, and in others... I bet he felt terrified. Maybe- this idea came to me- this happening to his brother- this complete rejection- scares Aristotle because it represents a possibility of it happening to him. That he wont be able to be accepted- accept himself- if he really allows him to be who he is. I am glad that by the end of the book Aristotle got some answers- both to what happened with his brother- that his parents still do care about him, that it is BECAUSE they care that they find it hard to talk about him- and that Aristotle does not have to worry, does not have to hate himself, because of ANYTHING that he is.
Glad that didn't happen and that things ended up turning out well for both of the main characters. They are finally able to be what they are- to accept themselves and to accept their love for each other. It took quite a bit of internal conflict for that to happen, but the end result was wonderful. The story in some ways probably reflects adolescence well- it is all about personal development- understanding who you are- and that was just a big theme in this book.
I also really liked that Aristotles brother finally got to be recognized. That Aristotle got answers. I do think that it was in many ways really hard for Aristotle to deal with the fact that it was like his own brother had just been deleted from the family- he must be confused, feel awful for his brother in some ways, and in others... I bet he felt terrified. Maybe- this idea came to me- this happening to his brother- this complete rejection- scares Aristotle because it represents a possibility of it happening to him. That he wont be able to be accepted- accept himself- if he really allows him to be who he is. I am glad that by the end of the book Aristotle got some answers- both to what happened with his brother- that his parents still do care about him, that it is BECAUSE they care that they find it hard to talk about him- and that Aristotle does not have to worry, does not have to hate himself, because of ANYTHING that he is.
Aristotle and Dante 2
The middle of the book I think helped me really to understand both of the characters better. Aristotle jumps in front of a car coming straight at Dante, pushes him out of the way, possibly saving Dantes life. He gets seriously injured in the process- but even after he wakes up, his first concern is Dante.
I think this shows just how strongly the relationship between Aristotle and Dante is turning out to be. Both boys seem to greatly care about the other, in some ways need the other, but in other ways- I think they do appreciate the other for who they are. They care about each other. They are attempting to figure out each other, and understand their feelings for one another on the whole. I think that it must be really confusing and difficult for both boys. They are still 'developing as people' but now they have to deal with emerging feelings- identifications- that might be unsettling just because of their own, and societies perceptions. This is a theme throughout the whole book I think- finding yourself and at the same time, accepting what you find.
One interesting thing is Aristotles insistence that he is NOT a hero, and his complete distaste when people talk about it or treat it as such. At one point one character, I think Dantes mother, tells Aristotle that he is too hard on himself, and I think that this is very true- and that Aristotle not wanting to recognize his action as heroic really speaks to that. He is, like I said before, trying to acclimate to a bunch of new ideas about himself... and it is hard for him.
In my opinion, I think that Aristotle is having a really difficult time coming to terms with his feelings, his identity- and the middle of this novel helped to make that struggle a bit clearer-emphasized it quite a bit.
I think this shows just how strongly the relationship between Aristotle and Dante is turning out to be. Both boys seem to greatly care about the other, in some ways need the other, but in other ways- I think they do appreciate the other for who they are. They care about each other. They are attempting to figure out each other, and understand their feelings for one another on the whole. I think that it must be really confusing and difficult for both boys. They are still 'developing as people' but now they have to deal with emerging feelings- identifications- that might be unsettling just because of their own, and societies perceptions. This is a theme throughout the whole book I think- finding yourself and at the same time, accepting what you find.
One interesting thing is Aristotles insistence that he is NOT a hero, and his complete distaste when people talk about it or treat it as such. At one point one character, I think Dantes mother, tells Aristotle that he is too hard on himself, and I think that this is very true- and that Aristotle not wanting to recognize his action as heroic really speaks to that. He is, like I said before, trying to acclimate to a bunch of new ideas about himself... and it is hard for him.
In my opinion, I think that Aristotle is having a really difficult time coming to terms with his feelings, his identity- and the middle of this novel helped to make that struggle a bit clearer-emphasized it quite a bit.
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Aristotle and Dante Beginning
"Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe", by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, is a story about the friendship between two boys.
Aristotle is a loner who at the beginning of the book admits to having trouble understanding and relating to people sometimes and feeling like an outsider in a lot of ways because of that. He has a problematic relationship with his father, a man that because of past trauma seems to have trouble letting anyone in, even his son. This effects Aristotle in a lot of ways, it is part of why I think, and I think that he even mentions this himself, why he has such difficulty with people- until he meets his new friend Dante.
Dante is different. Aristotle is able to relate to Dante. They are not extremely similar to each other, but they do share enough that they are able to sort of balance relating to the other and exploring, learning, through each other. Dante has a great relationship with his father. To Aristotle this is very significant because of his difficulty in understanding his own. He tries to figure out his dad, and maybe even understand his underlying issues with relating to people, and I think that in some ways he uses Dantes relationship with his dad as a sort of model on what he would like for himself.
This book does a decent job of developing the characters as separate individuals in my opinion. At times to me, the characters feel a little bit flat. Their relationship seems... kind of plastic. Like they are looking at each other like the other person is some precious new interesting artifact... laughing at each other- everything the other person says just about- almost worshiping the other person... but because they are more observing the other person... to me it just does not feel like they are really connecting. Their relationship just feels kind of impersonal in a way- it is too positive, at least so far, it almost feels like two desperate individuals drowning together- holding onto the other person for survival, but then once they are safely back on land- leaving each other because the need is gone. They just feel as if... they are using each other for some sort of surface connection to help them cope with their eccentricities or something. For some reason, their connection just doesnt feel... very deep, very whole.
But even so, I am enjoying the book. The characters are certainly learning a lot from each other and are developing and growing because of it- thats cool to read. Excited to see where things go.
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