Book Talk
with Smiffs book & card store, Nerja
The Afghan-American
author Khaled Hosseini
burst upon the literary
world in 2003 with The
Kite Runner, a lyrical,
bittersweet novel set largely
in Afghanistan. It
subsequently became a
major movie. He followed
up with two more
acclaimed works, again
featuring Afghanistan: One
Thousand Splendid Suns;
and, And The Mountains
Echoed.
Future Popes Of Ireland (l),
by Darragh Martin, is a
hilarious and sad novel about
the messiness of belief,
family, and love, and the
futility of thinking things will
go according to plan. In 1979,
Bridget Doyle has one
burning ambition. She wants
her family to produce the
very first Irish pope. Inspired
by Pope John Paul II’s
appearance in Phoenix Park,
Dublin, she sprinkles Papal-
blessed holy water on the
marriage bed of her son and
daughter-in-law and leaves
the rest to nature. But when
her daughter-in-law dies in
childbirth, Granny Doyle must raise four grandchildren. Thirty
years later, it is unlikely that any of them will fulfil her dreams;
or is it?
His latest, Sea Prayer (l), is
another moving fiction, but
based in a different conflict
zone. A father holds his
sleeping son as they await dawn and the arrival of a boat. He
tells the boy of long summers in the father’s own childhood,
remembering the tranquillity of his own father's home in
Syria. Then he recalls life in the Syrian city of Homs before
the bombs dropped and the family fled. At sunrise, the father,
boy, and their fellow refugees will gather up their few
possessions and embark on a potentially fatal voyage in search
of a new home.
The Accidental Further
Adventures Of The Hundred
Year Old Man (p), is the
darkly comedic sequel to
Jonas Jonasson’s international
bestseller, The Hundred Year
Old Man Who Climbed Out
Of The Window And
Disappeared. This time, it all
begins with a hot air balloon
trip and three bottles of
champagne. Allan and Julius
are ready for some
spectacular views but are not
expecting to land in the sea
and be rescued by a North
Korean ship. Neither could
they have ever imagined that
the captain of the ship would
be transporting a suitcase full of contraband uranium on a
nuclear weapons mission for Kim Jong-un.
Sea Prayer is aimed at all ages and is beautifully illustrated. As
with his previous books, this one is straight from the heart.
Hosseini is a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR (the UN
Refugee Agency) and founder of The Khaled Hosseini
Foundation not-for-profit organisation providing
humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan.
Sea Prayer leads off this month’s Soltalk Hotlist of titles, some
entirely new, others moving into small paperback format for
the first time or being reissued, sometimes after years out of
print. All are due for publication on dates in August, with
availability in print this month or in early September. The
Hotlist helps readers to plan and budget for book ordering.
Hippie (l) is Paulo Coelho’s
most autobiographical
book. The international
bestselling author embarks
on a journey encouraging
readers to revive the
dreams of the hippie