Because I am a crazy dog lover, it is no surprise that the cover of this novel is what attracted me and enticed me to check out  this book (cute yellow lab on the cover).  I read this book in one sitting, which is something I haven't done in quite a while.  What captured me was the fact that the story is told from the point of view of Enzo, the family dog.  Enzo is approaching the end of his life and wants nothing more than to come back in his next life as a man.  As such, he is reflecting on his life with his owner, Denny and contemplating a life well lived.  Through Enzo's narrative, we follow his owner Denny as he falls in love, gets married and raises his family.  We also experience the death of Denny's wife, the ensuing fight for custody of his child and his ongoing efforts to become a professional race car driver.   As anyone who loves dogs knows, dogs are far more noble creatures than we are and it is with this innocence and humor that this story is told.  I hate use a cliche, but I truly laughed and I cried.  This is a heartwarming story that will stay with me for a long time.

From the addict's perspective, David's son, Nic honestly and heartbreakingly describes his addictions and struggles for recovery. I read this book immediately after Beautiful Boy. As a reader, I found it very enlightening to read about the exact same person's drug addiction, but this time from the addict himself. Nic describes how he turned to drugs as an escape as a teenager and quickly found himself neglecting all of the activities and people in his life. Just as I could empathize with a father's struggle with his son's addiction, I found myself caring deeply about Nic and rooting for him to overcome this addiction that has taken so much of his life.

 

Together, A Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction and Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines  tell the gripping and emotional tale of Nic Sheff's decent into drug addiction and the impact his addiction has on the entire Sheff family.  While both books artfully chronicle Nic's drug addiction and the ups and downs of addiction and recovery, each book is told from the author's own point of view and personal experience.

This is Thomas Mullen's debut novel and he received the James Fenimore Cooper Prize for Historical Fiction for it!  The novel is set in the small Pacific Northwest town of Commonwealth during the the 1918 flu epidemic.

 

As the book opens, the town of Commonwealth is threatened from all sides – World War I is raging, and with the fear of spies rampant, the loyalty of all Americans is coming under scrutiny. Meanwhile, the flu epidemic has fallen across the region striking down surrounding communities.

 

Commonwealth votes to quarantine itself against the flu and guards are posted at the single road leading in and out of town. But, a tired, and apparently ill, soldier presents himself at the town’s doorstep begging for sanctuary. The encounter that ensues, and the shots that are fired trigger a series of events and consequences throughout Commonwealth escalating until every human value – love, patriotism, community, family, friendship – not to mention the town’s very survival, is in question.

In my opinion, this second book by Khaled Hosseini more than lives up to its predecessor, The Kite Runner. In A Thousand Spendid Suns, Hosseini takes us through thirty years of war and upheaval in Afghanistan's city of Khabul. The book follows two generations of women brought together by war and personal tragedies. Together they struggle to survive, raise a family and find happiness. All these life events are set against the background of the Soviet invasion, the reign of the Taliban and finally the post-Taliban rebuilding. I highly recommend this book and hope that he writes a third!