The Sweetness of Tears: A Novel and millions of other books are available for Amazon Kindle. The Sweetness of Tears: A Novel Paperback – Deckle Edge, May 17, Read the first chapter from The Sweetness of Tears, or download a note from the author, Nafisa Haji.
Table of contents
- REVIEW - The Sweetness of Tears by Nafisa Haji - That's What She Read
- The Sweetness of Tears
- Paperback Editions
Just like the well-known saying "there is always two sides to every story", The Sweetness of Tears captures all of the sides objectively. It is a book that deals with the war on Iraq without taking away the humanity of those who fought nor those who they were fighting against.
What I loved most about the novel is how it reminds us to be human. Many times we forget that we are all the same, no matter what culture or language or religion, we are the same species, living in the same world, and our lives our worth exactly the same. We are not so different as some would have us believe. Today, belief and religion can often be mistaken and lived with a certain fanatism that makes you think your truth is the only truth there is. If you hold on to such certainty it inevitably comes with the notion that others are wrong. As one character humbly puts it faith isn't about having all the answers: Belief is about closing yourself off- a lie you tell yourself to make the world fit in with how you've decided it should be.
You have to let yourself be vulnerable to let that happen. You can't run away from it. You can't drown it out, covering your ears while you shout out declarations of belief. That's cowardice - a fear of truth, which is only scary when you're fighting to keep yourself from knowing it" I love this idea that faith can't be something that we take and model to fit into what we would want the truth to be, what would be convenient for us to believe in, what would apease our conscience and validate the things we do when we forget the humanity of others. When we think that we hold such truths we are taking away the humanity of others, which is what is done in war.
In order to fight a war we have to believe that the others are evil, that we are fighting for the good side to eliminate the bad. However, this is not the case. In war we kill. We kill humans who are just as important as we are. That other line - the one between us and them getting more distinct. It had to be, for us to be able to do what had to be done. However, we are also human, and as human we have the power to fight against it.
We have the power to shed tears, to regret the pain we cause and to try to make it right. I and my brothers against my cousins. I and my brothers and my cousins against the world. It is the way of the world when the world is thrown into chaos. It is our job to avert that chaos, to fight against it, to resist the urge to become savage.
Because the problem with such law is that if you follow it, you are always fighting against someone The only way to rise above is to rise above. The only way to respond to wrong is with right. The only way to deal with injustice is to be just" In the end, this novel is about eliminating the lines that prevent us from seeing the humanity in others, from understanding each and everyone of us as part of the same species, as human beings with the ability to destroy and hate, but with the possibility of creating even more love, living in peace, accepting and respecting, being happy.
We have the ability to cry for all the pain we've caused and turn it around, and that is where the sweetness of tears resides. It is a good thing, when we cry those sweet tears, she said.
REVIEW - The Sweetness of Tears by Nafisa Haji - That's What She Read
It is a good thing" Jun 07, Vivian rated it it was amazing. This isn't a sad story. It isn't filled with tragedy and sorrow nor is it filled with happiness and joy. It is, quite simply, filled with the ups and downs, the mistakes and corrections, as well as the joys that make up life. The life and experiences of Jo March are at the core of this story. She realizes as a teenager that something is wrong because she and her brother have brown eyes but both of her parents have blue eyes.
After confronting her mother she learns that her mother became pregnant as a teenager by another teenager, a Pakistani named Sadiq. Sadiq was a privileged and spoiled young man in Pakistan. He was separated from his mother as a young child, and had a brief reunion with his mother in the United States as a teenager. The story also introduces his mother's story, Deena. She is an idealistic young woman that is blessed with a common sense family. After her father's death she is engaged and then marries the son of her father's best friend. Regrettably her husband is bipolar and off his medicines and it isn't until after the marriage when she learns of his "problem.
After Sadiq is taken by his father's family, Deena remarries and moves to the United States where she finds happiness with her new family. The lives of the characters intersect, gently influence, and overlap throughout the story. Deena befriends the teenage Angela on her visit to Los Angeles. Angela befriends Sadiq and they comfort one another resulting in the birth of Jo and her twin brother, Chris.
Jo's exposure to different cultures through her maternal grandmother and mission work sparks an interest in language. Jo looks up Deena, her paternal grandmother, after she quits translating as a part of the war effort and visits Pakistan as a true civilian. As I read this tale of a fictional family, I was often moved to tears. The emotions felt by the characters seemed to come alive and jump off the page. Remember, I said this wasn't a tale of sadness or sorrow although there is sadness and sorrow in the tale. It isn't a tale of tragedy although there are tragedies throughout, but there is also happiness and joy.
Religion is often in the background of this story, but it isn't a tale of Islam vs. Sunni, or Us vs. Them, but more about humanity and our similarities as opposed to our differences. This, for me, was a story about self-discovery, acceptance and, ultimately, family. The following lines seem to sum up all that is felt and depicted in this wonderful tale: It is a good thing, when we cry these sweet tears, she said. It is a good thing. Sep 06, Kamalia rated it it was amazing. This book has layers of stories from three generations and touches many emotional topics about family, religion, war, even mental illness.
I think fans of Khaled Hosseini's books would enjoy this book just as much. I really enjoyed the writing and dog eared quite a few pages with remarkable quotes. Aug 03, Jennifer rated it liked it. This book started out being quite good, but by the end I'd just had it. It definitely could have used some editing and been shorter. The story is very good and the writing is wonderful. Why do authors have to ruin a perfectly good novel by getting too political? By the end, I felt like I was reading a Muslim textbook and trying to be convinced, that all religions are so similar and can't we just all get along?
When the Iraqi translater said "they [the Americans] came for oil, they came for their This book started out being quite good, but by the end I'd just had it. When the Iraqi translater said "they [the Americans] came for oil, they came for their own purposes," I threw the book across the room.
The end was so annoying, Jo going to Iraq to find redemption for her brother? It was just ridiculous. Aug 09, Beth rated it it was amazing Shelves: I loved this book! It has an interesting story line, great multi-dimensional characteros and a lot of cultural information about Pakistan and Pakistani-Americans. Each chapter is told from a different characters perspective which allows the reader to see each one from both inside and out.
There is an intersting dichotomy going on between Evangelical Christians of the missionary and televangelist ilk and the Muslims - both Sunni and Shia. All of it comes together in a fascinating story. Highly reco I loved this book! This novel covers so much so beautifully, I cannot put it into words. What does family mean? Peace, war, forgiveness, truth, finding your path Read this one and pass it on to your friends, your family, anyone who will read!
Mar 12, NancyL Luckey rated it it was amazing. This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. An evangelical Christian family in California connects with Muslims in Pakistan and Iraq through Jo, a twin within the Christian family. The Christian Matriarch, Faith, is a dedicated missionary with compassion for the world but not so much for her family. We meet the Muslim woman in a heartbreaking situation caused by Muslim man's law.
The "Sweetness of Tears" refers to tears cried for others. Dec 28, Tessa rated it liked it. I really enjoyed and appreciated what the author was saying but somehow I didn't fully appreciate her style. Something felt "forced" about this book. I'd be curious what other friends have thought Mar 20, Kristine rated it really liked it Shelves: This book has all the makings of a blockbuster for me. I loved the allegory of the Monkey and the Crocodile.
The Sweetness of Tears
They CAN be friends. Slight problem, in high school science she her faith crumbles as she realizes this brown-eyed set of twins couldn't have come from two blue-eyed parents. She leaves for This book has all the makings of a blockbuster for me. She leaves for college and her mother confides who her biological father is view spoiler [a one night stand with a Pakistani Muslim teenager before she converted to Christianity and settled down with loving blue-eyed father. In college she switches her lingual studies from African to Arabic and the rest is history. We learn of Sadiq, Deena, and Umar's story from back in Karachi.
It is heart wrenching. I also read one of the most beautiful stories of true love. When they got old enough to be teenagers they met face to face and Umar cut off contact.
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A year later Umar he showed up to say goodbye, he was going to the US for school, and to say he had no right to ask Deena to wait for him, but he wanted to. There wasn't an iota of physical lust, but true spirit-to-spirit love: Every woman should be looked at in such a way, at least once her life.
With a longing that cannot be contained--with love that goes beyond mere feeling because it transforms and-like the verse of the poem he had read--it dissolves, as an offering, a gift. I felt my face flush and waves of knowing suffused every pore, every cell of my being. And in that love, I felt beauty--my own, unrealized until that moment, suddenly rising to consciousness in a way that made everything in me come alive to the beauty all around me. Nothing more needed to be said.
Pretty much a bookworm's dream come true. She ended up raising Jo's mother Angela by herself after her Vietnam Vet husband just took off. Grandma Faith is a nurse and goes on mission trips all around the world helping those less fortunate. She believes in loving through serving. I love this quote from her: Jo went and sought redemption for her returned home Marine brother off in Iraq. That part just felt really flat for me. I think it would have been a better book left out and just focusing the effects on the family. I'd classify it a bit as biased when it comes to the war on terror.
It shows all the bad, none of the good. All the vignettes and stories from Marines are about senseless and accidental killings of civilians. We see inside of Gitmo and interrogation techniques. The author says straight up, "They only came for the oil". I loved watching these two families merge to become one.
Paperback Editions
It was fascinating and delicious at the same time. View all 4 comments.
It is not until she finally discusses her employment requiring security clearances and background checks where the reader understands that she was still in college during the attacks and that her role as an interpreter would be put to use in the War on Terror. Similarly, Partition, the Vietnam War and other culturally significant events are mentioned after the fact. It is a lesson everyone can and should learn, if only to help prevent more conflict in this conflict-laden world of ours.
All affiliate income is used to support the blog. I will have to give this one a try. Is there a Little Women tie to the story? I will have to try this one. My recent post Review: I definitely think there should be more books like this that help us understand things from another person's point of view. This sounds like it touches on a lot of subject too many people are afraid to discuss properly. I like that Haji isn't. Her brother is named Christian. Yes, it definitely fills a huge gap in books that are not so anti-Muslim or pro-American.
There needs to be a balance in points of view, and Haji tackles this perfectly. Thanks for signing up! We've emailed you instructions for claiming your free e-book. Tell us more about what you like to read so we can send you the best offers and opportunities. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bookperk and other HarperCollins services.
You may unsubscribe from these email communications at any time. Specialty Booksellers Interest-specific online venues will often provide a book buying opportunity. International Customers If you are located outside the U. About Product Details Praise From Nafisa Haji, author of the critically acclaimed novel, The Writing on My Forehead, comes The Sweetness of Tears , an emotional, deeply layered story that explores the far reaching effects of cultural prejudice, forbidden love, and hidden histories on a young woman and her family.
A paperback original from a superb writer whose first novel was enthusiastically praised by Khaled Hosseini, bestselling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns , Haji, an American of Indo-Pakistani descent, writes with grace, heart, and wisdom about the collisions of culture and religion, tradition and modernity played out through individual lives.
William Morrow Paperbacks On Sale: A family story, and the many threads eventually cleave to illustrate how a complicated blend of race, religion, culture, and tradition can create peace rather than conflict. Promising for discussion, as the reading group guide suggests. Nafisa Haji on Twitter Tweets By!