It's the final round of the 2014 Dubuque Tournament of Books, and the judges are weighing in on the final match-up. Will it be And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini or Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell?
Judge: Sue
Clarke University
Boy, I wrestled with my decision all weekend. I liked both books for different reasons. Eleanor & Park was not a struggle to read at all and I could identify with it. It was well written and interesting. And the Mountains Echoed was a good read but at times a struggle to follow all the different story lines. But, it was also a captivating story. I had never read either authors before so I cannot compare either book with previous works.
Clarke University
Boy, I wrestled with my decision all weekend. I liked both books for different reasons. Eleanor & Park was not a struggle to read at all and I could identify with it. It was well written and interesting. And the Mountains Echoed was a good read but at times a struggle to follow all the different story lines. But, it was also a captivating story. I had never read either authors before so I cannot compare either book with previous works.
That
said, I am picking And the Mountains Echoed not because it was
easy to read or follow but because I was able to experience a very
different
world through this book. I felt like I was “there” with them at
times. I did have trouble figuring out how all the characters were
connected which would be the main issue I had with this book.
At
the heart of this book is a story about loss, tragedy, healing, and
reconciliation. And, how good intentions sometimes have
catastrophic results. Afghanistan is a sad place and stories like this
where someone is so desperate for money he would sell a child, is not
uncommon. I am sure other children sold suffered far worse fates. The
desperation of the story is what touched me
about this book and why I chose this one as the winner.
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