Or Rau by Kuan Guat Choo

This is another one of my BookCrossing finds.

This story was set in Penang. Or Rau, a girl who came from China with her family, worked for a Chinese family which consisted of only women. The Chinese family members treated her badly to the point of her wanting to commit suicide with her two young children. Lucky for her, she was saved by a teacher as she was walking into the sea with her children.  The portrayal of the first Chinese family is believable as there are still Chinese families today who abuse their maids.

I personally found this book depressing. Although I know that there are people out there who treat others badly, and that the writer's portrayal is accurate, I just feel that it's not right for any one of us to treat others so badly. What right have we got to treat others so badly that their only choice of finding freedom is in committing suicide? 

The Song of Silver Frond by Catherine Lim

This is yet another one of the books that I finished reading weeks ago but am a little behind in chronicling about it here. 

This is a rare and different sort of love story but it's a love story nonetheless. 

The story is set in Singapore and it is about a wealthy old man (who already has 3 wives, many children and grand children) who falls in love with a child-woman egg seller. He is old enough to be her grandfather and she was playing with homemade dolls when he met her.

This couple has hurdles to overcome, hurdles set by tradition, religion and society.   

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

...and this is my current read. I started reading it today.

It's by the same author as The Kite Runner. I bought both books in the same warehouse sale.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

I finally got around to reading this book. It's a sad story really. I wonder if I would want to watch the movie version of it now...