The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, 2011

Afghanistan - a beautiful country wrecked by years of war and Taliban rule.

Afghan women are forced to wear chandri, burqua-like coverings that include covering the face with only narrow slits for women to see through, and only allowed to go out with a male member of the family escorting them.

They are beaten if they are not properly covered or found interacting with a man who is not a relative.

Kamila, the second oldest sister, is responsible for her sisters and younger brother when her parents flee the city & decide it would be too dangerous to travel with so many young children.

Her older sister Malika soon moves back home with two young children as Malika's husband is also forced to flee Kabul. Even after the Taliban is driven out of Afghanistan in 2001, one of the sister wears a chandri for years after, afraid of the return of Taliban recrimination.

Kamila ventures to the market with her younger brother as her chaperone and boldly approaches shop keepers with her dress and clothing samples to sell.  An expert salesperson who is intent on producing quality products & meeting deadlines, Kamila grows her clothing business to over thirty girls and women.

When the supply of workers become too great, Kamila decides to start a school to teach girls how to sew.   Girls would not be paid (nor need to pay) for the training, and would start getting paid once their skills improved so that they could produce garments.

This training program not only allowed Kamila to help so many more of her countrywomen survive and feed their families, but also ensured that she would be able to meet any orders with her increased work force.

They create jobs for other women who find themselves the sole breadwinner as men flee to Iran, Pakistan to escape the Taliban, who hang, punish and murder.

It is heartening to read about the years of invasion and war ravaging Afghanistan, a beautiful country with such kind, generous people.  And, inspiring to read about such a strong woman like Kamila who unselfishly works to make the world better for others risking her own personal safety and comfort.

If only I could have even an ounce of the compassion, unselfishness & drive Kamila haves to give back to the community.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, 2016

A Gentleman in Moscow captivated me.  This is literature.  This is good writing.  The observations ring true and the witty, engaging dialog make this as engaging as any thriller.

All the action over a span of decades happen within the Metropol Hotel, where Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov is under house arrest for writing the inflammatory poem Where Is It Now?

At the Metropol, Count Rostov maintains the company of his possessions, visits from university friend Mikhail (Mishka) Fyodorovich and screen actress Anna Urbanova, and various hotel denizens, including hotel seamstress Marina, maitre d' of the Boyarsky Andrey and fellow hotel guest & precocious nine-year old Nina Kulikova.

Rounding out the days spent in the Metropol are lively conversations and friendships struck up late at night at the hotel bar Shalyapin.

I rarely re-read books, but plan to re-read A Gentleman in Moscow as I'm sure I will pick up so many more things the second time around.  As a movie, I imagine Wes Anderson directing a masterpiece for this story.

Some passages, out of many, that resonated with me:

If one did not master one's circumstances, one was bound to be mastered by them.

...just remember that unlike adults, child want to be happy.  So they still have the ability to take the greatest pleasure in the simplest things.

I'll tell you want is convenient.  To sleep until noon and have someone bring you your breakfast on a tray.  To cancel an appointment at the very last minute.  To keep a carriage waiting at the door of one party, so that on a moment's notice it can whisk you away to another.  To sidestep marriage in your youth and put off having children altogether.  Theses are the greats of conveniences, Anushka - and at one time, I had them all.  But in the end, it has been the inconveniences that have matter to me the most.

Rich and Pretty by Rumaan Alam, 2016

A story of childhood best friends who are in their early 30s now.  Sarah and Lauren don't have much in common, but have known each other for so long, they are like sisters.

Sarah is engaged and appalled by some of Lauren's actions, while Lauren believes Sarah to be a bit conservative and typical.  They know each other so well, that they only can only share certain things with each other to get honest feedback.

Written by a male, it captures the nuances of a female best friendship, including women vacationing together but does have the male voice carry over with frank descriptions of sex.

Very readable, but having started a A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, I realize the difference between a good book (this one) and a very good (i.e. literary) book.