The Dressmaker of Khair Khana

Authored by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, this story is situated in Kabul, Afghanistan, and it tells the story of Kamila Sidiqi and her family when the Taliban seized control of Kabul in 1996. Aspiring to be a teacher, Kamila soon saw her dreams put on hold.

The Taliban ruled that women should not go to school or work; women should wear chadri (a tent-like cloak that completely envelopes a woman's body and face with only a small rectangular crocheted screen as an eye-piece) and be escorted by a mahram (male relative) whenever they go out from their home. The saddest part is when the Taliban ruled that women can not work, many widows whose husbands were killed in civil wars were now left without means of supporting their families. A woman caught outside her home without a mahram or lifting her chadri is punished, sometimes beaten, by the Taliban. Even elderly women were not spared.

When Kamila's father and brother had to flee Kabul, Kamila was left in charge of her younger sisters. Desperate to support her family, Kamila started mastering the art of dressmaking and together with her sisters started a dressmaking business. Whilst her sisters sew dresses at home, Kamila took charge of obtaining orders from shops. This required her to frequently make dangerous trips to markets. In order to support their business and help other women in their community, Kamila and her sisters also started tailoring school.

Afghanistan seemed far away. I never gave much thought to its civil wars or its citizen. Until this book. It is hard to believe that any regime in this century would ban women from school or work. As much as this book portrays the sad conditions of civil wars, it is much more a story of hope. Throughout these trying times, Kamila kept to her faith, believing her God will keep her and her family safe. Through courage and persistence, she became an entrepreneur. Her desire to help her community is inspiring. This world would be a better place if there were more like her.

Historical Romance, anyone?

All right, it's been a long while since I updated my blog site. After viewing a friend's blog, I got inspired to write again.

My office had been giving me Fridays off. The economy has negatively impact my company so one old proven method to cut cost is to have more frequent shutdowns. The good thing is that I'm freer to do my personal things but the bad side is that it cuts into my annual leaves. And frankly, I do not have that much personal things to complete.

So what do I do with my free time? I read. It's my favourite past time and not just any type of books. I'm a romantic fool. I just love romance but not any type of romance, it's gotta be historical romance and I'm extremely particular about the accuracy regarding these bygone eras. I once read a book that did not get the old English hierarchy correct; the author gave incorrect titles for the dowager duchess and several others, that I ended by being let down. Did not buy another book of that author.

Authors with flairs for bringing stories to life are worth my time and money. I'm a fan of Elizabeth Thornton and recently, had added Julia Quinn (mostly because of her humour). I was a fan of Amanda Quick but her recent novels left much to be desired. They were getting repetitive. Based on a recommendation from a book critic, I bought 'Mr Impossible' (of which the author has simply slipped my mind for the moment, but no matter I will surely remember later) which was an absolute delight because it was witty and hilarous.

I absolutely abhor those books where the boy and girl ends up in bed within minutes of meeting each other. Huh. Come on, I do not pay good money, and I surely do not want to spent time reading about them frolicking in bed or wherever other places they choose to do it (hmmm....that should be plural because books these days do set importance on this part. That's why I sometimes retire with Betty Neels. Her proper English heroine always always abstain until after the wedding. Oh so you know Betty Neels do not do historical romance. See, I'm quite open to other varieties). I will admit that those love scenes are sometimes crucial to a book but I really want to read about the interactions, the witty conversations, the beautiful scenes surrounding that era and the buildings. I want something that inspire my imaginations. I find Quinn's description of her characters' feelings attarctive and absorbing.

Ah, see! I was right. I remembered the author (the brain cells not so dead!). She's Loretta Chase, the accomplished author of 'Mr. Impossible'.

Before I end, I gotta admit I did not like all books of the authors I mentioned above but they did have some delightful ones which made it worht my while to mention them. Lisa Kleypas also did a magnificent job with a book, oops forgot the title, but it's about Derek Craven. One of my all time favourite.

Cheers.