This book is about a terrible relationship with lots of fighting, but it works out in the end. I mean it‘s well written and entertaining to read, but the relationships between all these characters are terrible. It was honestly off-putting to finish.

There‘s something I don‘t like about Eliza Griswold. In her interviews you can hear this too. Every so often, she‘ll speak something patronizing. One quote: “Like most Afghan women, she has no idea of her age: …” (64). The landays themselves are beautiful and the background context of collective and anonymous authorship is super cool and empowering. I loved learning about this form of Afghan poetry. The pictures are beautiful too.

The last short story “The Secret Sharer” was so intense it made me nervous. The intimacy was romantic. I didn‘t know what to expect from Joseph Conrad. If you really likes seafaring stories or stories on ships and about ships, Joseph Conrad is for you.

Sometimes I pick up books I think I might not like. I thought I would not like this one because the cover is ugly, just tacky, too blue, and the wrong font. This is actually a really good book. Julie Schumacher tells a story so succinctly. This book made me nostalgic and wish for a high school, coming of age experience I never had, at a community pool, with new friends, in book club, and in neighborhood that felt like home.

The funniest line in this translation is “‘Good evening, gentlemen. I‘m plastered,‘ … ‘May I join your party?‘” You can call any meeting you want a symposium, including coming uninvited to a friend of a friend‘s party to sip diluted wine and exposit about love.