The Brothers K

I love this book. Still not finished with it yet. The reason is simple. I love it so much and I am so into and a part of these characters that I don't want them to end and vanish into the void.

Never have I felt so involved and a part of a book before. I understand most of it. Have experienced some of the wonderful things Duncan writes about and this is what brings me closer to the Brothers world.

The odd thing is, the few pages I read tonight were about India. Specifically the trains in India and even more specific Secunderabad. For those of you who don't know, Secunderabad is in Hyderabad. I rode the trains that the author is talking about in this book. I experienced some of the same things that Peter, one of the books main characters, goes through.

I felt like I was back in my beloved India for a few precious moments. I could see the dust. Feel the sweat rolling down my back. All the while the scorching sun overhead reminding me that I was not made for this kind of heat. I remembered my first trainride alone. Terrified of messing up or getting off in the wrong place or offending someone or just being wrong. I remember sticking my head outside of the bars on the windows. I remember the rain and how wonderful it felt to be wet, if just for a few moments before the son began to bake me again. I remember talking to the people in the seats across from me and wishing I knew how to speak Hindi so I could communicate with them in their language instead of broken English. I remember that ride like it was yesterday. The produce fields. The sky. And most of the constant reminder that God was in control.

Funny how a memory like this can be brought to mind so vividly by a few pages in an amazing book.

I like books that can do this to me.