What I'm reading ...

I have started Enough by Dawn French. Although the author is best known as a TV personality, I have always thought that she sounded interesting and was curious about her writing. She was interviewed on the radio and this intrigued me enough to buy the book. Here’s the blurb:

Etta is sixty-eight years old. Happy, healthy and an active participant in her world, she’s gathered her family together for an unforgettable weekend.

Tick.

At 5am that Saturday morning, Etta wakes her daughter, her granddaughter, her son and her daughter-in-law up to lead everyone down to the beach. To ‘Etta’s Hollow’, where a roaring fire has already been lit. Drowsy but delighted – the sun is just starting to rise for a glorious dawn – Etta’s family bask in the beauty of the moment. A memory to be cherished forever.

Tick.

Until twenty minutes later, when Etta announces to her assembled beloveds something as shocking as it is alarming. ‘I have brought you all down to the beach this morning to tell you something important. You see, the thing is, today is my last day alive.’

Boom.

Over the next twenty-four hours, Etta and her family are about to have the most surprising, affecting and life-affirming day of all their lives.

The Finest Hotel in Kabul - by Lyse Doucet

As expected, this was a very interesting read. It is, essentially, a history of Afghanistan over the last three decades told through the experiences of various members of staff at Hotel Inter-Continental Kabul. This makes it very personal and, IMHO, very powerful. It took me a while to read, but it was time well spent.

The author often refers to herself in the third person, using the contracted form of her name that the locals used: LyseDoucet; initially I thought that this was odd, but realised that it made sense, as she was just another reporter, not one of the main protagonists of the story.