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A Book Reader's Journey
Arman is a young orphan living in the middle of war-torn Kabul. He is ill-treated by the family he lives with but finds solace in his best friend Jamal and his love of reading. After a tragic occurrence, he is forced to leave Kabul and make an extraordinary journey over land and water in an attempt to reach the safety of London. With Jamal and his two brothers, Zain and Wali, he encounters pain, love and significant danger as he moves from country to country. Through his reading and his many encounters along the way, he learns to live with the past, the present and the future, as well as the biggest tragedy of all; the loss of a loved one. A book reader’s journey is a story of love, hate, friendship and, most of all, hope, that will take you through towns, cities, and countries by Arman’s side as he battles to overcome social, mental and physical
- GenresFiction
336 pages, Paperback
Published December 21, 2017
22 people are currently reading
852 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
January 17, 2018
First, I thank the author who offered a free copy of his book in exchange of an honest review.
I liked the book, for someone's first book, it was quite amazing, I liked the story of Arman and how brave he was facing all those obstacles with no one to have his back.
What I didn't like was the many grammatical mistakes that were present so often, but I think the writer did it on purpose to show that Arman was self taught and never got to go to school and hence did mistakes while writing. And then there are the many details that weren't always necessary and sometimes felt like unuseful repetition.
I also didn't like the many quotes, they were so frequent and felt sometimes out of place.
But all in all, it was a good book, and I wish the best of luck for the writer with his upcoming work.
I liked the book, for someone's first book, it was quite amazing, I liked the story of Arman and how brave he was facing all those obstacles with no one to have his back.
What I didn't like was the many grammatical mistakes that were present so often, but I think the writer did it on purpose to show that Arman was self taught and never got to go to school and hence did mistakes while writing. And then there are the many details that weren't always necessary and sometimes felt like unuseful repetition.
I also didn't like the many quotes, they were so frequent and felt sometimes out of place.
But all in all, it was a good book, and I wish the best of luck for the writer with his upcoming work.
January 14, 2018
Omaid Ahmadzai novel ‘ A Book Readers Journey’ centred around a small close knit family of Afghani children, forced to undergo an incredible journey, from their homeland of Afghanistan overland to Europe. Essentially, the story is narrated by Arman, the central character. The novel is divided into three parts, part one accounts for the events leading up to Arman and his family undertaking the journey. Part two, deals with the journey from Afghanistan to Europe, and part three with the situation they encounter in the refugee camp in France.
The novel is written, and to some extent narrated, with a invocation of simplicity. However, this is not inhibitive of distracting from the books overall theme. Indeed, Ahmadzai’s themes cover a multitude of human emotions, ranging from pathos, hatred, revenge, joy, despondency, mental and physical abuse, beatitude, kinship and friendship to name a few.
However, the prose is encumbered with pathos and repetition of character dialogue, interspersed with aphorisms, similar to the narrative style of Paulo Coelho’s ‘The Alchemist.’ Moreover, Arman (central character and 'the book reader') receives a number of books during the journey to Europe, a thinly disguised symbolic representation of his epic expedition. A book of Persian Poetry, representing the culture of the Middle East, Dickens’ ‘A Tale of Two Cities’—Kabul and London and Tolkien’s ‘ Lord of The Rings’—part one of Tolkien’s epic journey of the fellowship.
In summary, Ahmadzai missed an opportunity to highlight the horrendous plight of refugees that were crossing the various countries of Europe. The book, however, does address albeit a little inadequately, this major point--the narrative moving to quickly on without any depth of explanation. Conversely, Ahmadzai did succeed in accentuating the horrendous plight of people fleeing from tyranny due to despotic governments and domestic terrorism only to face the racism and apathy of anomalous regimes who turned their backs on humanity--their 'excuse' and general consensus being the overuse of the aphoristic...'not in our back yard.'
I applaud Omaid Ahmadzai book, there could of been so much more between these pages but, overall I highly recommend his book, not only for its contents and narrative themes but, for emphasing the negativity of some goverments, adhering and following the rise of popular politics and extreme isolationalism.
The novel is written, and to some extent narrated, with a invocation of simplicity. However, this is not inhibitive of distracting from the books overall theme. Indeed, Ahmadzai’s themes cover a multitude of human emotions, ranging from pathos, hatred, revenge, joy, despondency, mental and physical abuse, beatitude, kinship and friendship to name a few.
However, the prose is encumbered with pathos and repetition of character dialogue, interspersed with aphorisms, similar to the narrative style of Paulo Coelho’s ‘The Alchemist.’ Moreover, Arman (central character and 'the book reader') receives a number of books during the journey to Europe, a thinly disguised symbolic representation of his epic expedition. A book of Persian Poetry, representing the culture of the Middle East, Dickens’ ‘A Tale of Two Cities’—Kabul and London and Tolkien’s ‘ Lord of The Rings’—part one of Tolkien’s epic journey of the fellowship.
In summary, Ahmadzai missed an opportunity to highlight the horrendous plight of refugees that were crossing the various countries of Europe. The book, however, does address albeit a little inadequately, this major point--the narrative moving to quickly on without any depth of explanation. Conversely, Ahmadzai did succeed in accentuating the horrendous plight of people fleeing from tyranny due to despotic governments and domestic terrorism only to face the racism and apathy of anomalous regimes who turned their backs on humanity--their 'excuse' and general consensus being the overuse of the aphoristic...'not in our back yard.'
I applaud Omaid Ahmadzai book, there could of been so much more between these pages but, overall I highly recommend his book, not only for its contents and narrative themes but, for emphasing the negativity of some goverments, adhering and following the rise of popular politics and extreme isolationalism.
November 21, 2021
I read this book about life in Afghanistan just after reading a book by Khaled Hosseini. So the benchmark was set quite high. Comparing Ahmadzai's book to Hosseini's is like comparing a talented female singer from your small country somewhere in Eastern Europe to Beyoncé. The singing is very good, but the clothes, the makeup, the production...
At the beginning, I was only mildly frustrated by the shalowness of the caracters and constant repetition of some phrases and motifs. I was half-expecting that at some point, another narrator with better word skills would replace the boy. Unfortunately, that did not happen. The caracters had no real deep feelings, the plot was predictable. And still, I finished reading this book because I was curious about how the story would end.
I was thinking then that the writer maybe deserves more of my sympathy and stars if he really was the boy from the story. After an interesting discussion with my husband, I decided that books should by rated according to their quality, not our feelings towards the author. I´ve just reinvented the wheel, right?
At the beginning, I was only mildly frustrated by the shalowness of the caracters and constant repetition of some phrases and motifs. I was half-expecting that at some point, another narrator with better word skills would replace the boy. Unfortunately, that did not happen. The caracters had no real deep feelings, the plot was predictable. And still, I finished reading this book because I was curious about how the story would end.
I was thinking then that the writer maybe deserves more of my sympathy and stars if he really was the boy from the story. After an interesting discussion with my husband, I decided that books should by rated according to their quality, not our feelings towards the author. I´ve just reinvented the wheel, right?
January 3, 2020
I had very high expectations from this book and to be fair it started quite well. Somewhere in the narrative the characters became more of caricatures and the beautiful relationship between the two friends was left unexplored. There was no depth or connect to the other small but significant characters like the old book seller. A similar concept of two friends was so beautifully written about in The Kite Runner.
More towards the second half I found this to be a mere narrative than a gripping story exploring the vagaries of a war torn country and the struggles faced by the people. Narration was very simple and the author has taken several grammatical liberties.
Overall a good attempt that could have been much more if only there was more depth into the central characters.
More towards the second half I found this to be a mere narrative than a gripping story exploring the vagaries of a war torn country and the struggles faced by the people. Narration was very simple and the author has taken several grammatical liberties.
Overall a good attempt that could have been much more if only there was more depth into the central characters.
August 31, 2020
Book provides a perspective to the lives affected by the struggles in Afghanistan and the search for better lives elsewhere and the associated desperation. I found many grammatical errors which I found disconcerting.
January 21, 2018
I really loved this book. Its my first time I have read a book about Afghanistan and all that goes on there. It gave me a better idea of what its like there a bit. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the author's writing style. I would read more books by him for sure. This is just such a great read.
September 12, 2020
A Book Reader's Journey was recommended to me after reviewing A Thousand Splendid Suns. The only similarity is the hardship and cruelty suffered at the hands of tyrants.
I am a little confused because I first read ABRJ (A Book Reader's Journey) was Omaid's true story, but have since found out it is not. This puts a different slant on my review. He didn't live in kabul or take the treacherous journey, nor was he uneducated, according to Google Books. This is not a criticism; it just puts the writing style chosen by Omaid in a different light. The purpose, however, remains admirable.
It was like reading a child's diary; only for the eyes of the child.
Leaving my inner proof-reader aside for now, this 'novel' (or epistolary?) had some lovely pearls of wisdom and deep thoughts and views of the world. I feel passionately for the plight of people living in war torn and dangerous situations and for their perilous journey to safety. It is always a valuable undertaking to bring these causes to the fore.
However, I feel an important opportunity has been missed by Omaid because many people would not persevere through the childish and repetitive writing. More focus on the actual events than on copious amounts describing bodily functions would have shed more light. More time was spent discussing his sweat, page after page, than was spent on the drowning of Jamal, or the treacherous border crossings, for example. I wanted him to explore language further, not to just repeat the same words ad nauseam. I persisted because parts of it were interesting and it provided further understanding.
The grammatical errors cannot be overlooked because their were so many and if you want to publish, then please use a proof reader. The use of tedious words and bodily functions to describe how one is feeling strips away at the core of this novel. Every page had sweat dripping off it and pale faces and mouths wide open or eyes pinned to something; even worse one eye on one person and the other eye on something else. Please allow the reader to decide how they feel by showing us, not telling us.
The situations would have been improved by using descriptive language to express the emotion, so it begs the question, "where was the editor and proof-reader for this novel?" I know it was self-published, and kudos for that, but because of the lack of clarity, it missed the chance to explore deeply the underlying themes of love and friendship and forgiveness
I am a little confused because I first read ABRJ (A Book Reader's Journey) was Omaid's true story, but have since found out it is not. This puts a different slant on my review. He didn't live in kabul or take the treacherous journey, nor was he uneducated, according to Google Books. This is not a criticism; it just puts the writing style chosen by Omaid in a different light. The purpose, however, remains admirable.
It was like reading a child's diary; only for the eyes of the child.
Leaving my inner proof-reader aside for now, this 'novel' (or epistolary?) had some lovely pearls of wisdom and deep thoughts and views of the world. I feel passionately for the plight of people living in war torn and dangerous situations and for their perilous journey to safety. It is always a valuable undertaking to bring these causes to the fore.
However, I feel an important opportunity has been missed by Omaid because many people would not persevere through the childish and repetitive writing. More focus on the actual events than on copious amounts describing bodily functions would have shed more light. More time was spent discussing his sweat, page after page, than was spent on the drowning of Jamal, or the treacherous border crossings, for example. I wanted him to explore language further, not to just repeat the same words ad nauseam. I persisted because parts of it were interesting and it provided further understanding.
The grammatical errors cannot be overlooked because their were so many and if you want to publish, then please use a proof reader. The use of tedious words and bodily functions to describe how one is feeling strips away at the core of this novel. Every page had sweat dripping off it and pale faces and mouths wide open or eyes pinned to something; even worse one eye on one person and the other eye on something else. Please allow the reader to decide how they feel by showing us, not telling us.
The situations would have been improved by using descriptive language to express the emotion, so it begs the question, "where was the editor and proof-reader for this novel?" I know it was self-published, and kudos for that, but because of the lack of clarity, it missed the chance to explore deeply the underlying themes of love and friendship and forgiveness
February 17, 2018
“... one more family went from happy to sad in a blink of an eye.”
Arman was staying with Jamal, his parents and two brothers for quite some time now. Since his father left him with them. Jamal’s father was Arman’s best friend. Although, his wife was the most unpleasant woman he had ever met; making Arman’s life a living hell whenever she could, it was Jamal who was always by his side. Telling him to be patient for good to come.
During a bombing, Jamal and his brothers lost both parents. This left all four boys with no other choice but to leave the country. Their destination would be London. But the weeks turning to months of travel for Arman, Jamal, Zain and Wali would be torturous. Leaving the graveyard country, as Afghanistan was called, was not for the weak. If not for his books and writings, Jamal did not know how he would survive. The boys traveled through several countries with unbelievable obstacles. Would they finally make it to their destination? What would they sacrifice along the way? “Hope is the only thing which colors the ruined objects, ruined feelings and ruined places around us.”
Arman was staying with Jamal, his parents and two brothers for quite some time now. Since his father left him with them. Jamal’s father was Arman’s best friend. Although, his wife was the most unpleasant woman he had ever met; making Arman’s life a living hell whenever she could, it was Jamal who was always by his side. Telling him to be patient for good to come.
During a bombing, Jamal and his brothers lost both parents. This left all four boys with no other choice but to leave the country. Their destination would be London. But the weeks turning to months of travel for Arman, Jamal, Zain and Wali would be torturous. Leaving the graveyard country, as Afghanistan was called, was not for the weak. If not for his books and writings, Jamal did not know how he would survive. The boys traveled through several countries with unbelievable obstacles. Would they finally make it to their destination? What would they sacrifice along the way? “Hope is the only thing which colors the ruined objects, ruined feelings and ruined places around us.”
December 10, 2018
A Book Reader's Journey by Omaid Ahmadzai is filled with heart, but heart often doesn't make a great book. This book was recommended to me after reading The Kite Runner. These two books are not the same. The Kite Runner is a story about forgiveness, and is carefully woven from page one to the last page, and the protagonist forgives himself in the end. A Book Reader's Journey doesn't find that forgiveness, at least in the person that matters, the stepmother of the protagonist. If this fact had been resolved for me; I could have given in to most other flaws of the book such as the telling and not showing. As a reader, I don't like a writer to tell me how to feel, but let me decide how to feel about the characters, good or bad, because of this I ended up not liking the protagonist as much as I should.
In the end, the book had heart and I definitely think Omaid Ahmadzai should continue writing for that fact alone.
In the end, the book had heart and I definitely think Omaid Ahmadzai should continue writing for that fact alone.
January 24, 2018
Just as the overall blurb of the book goes, it is a beautiful story about friendship, family , lies ,death and the need to move on with life no matter our experiences. Be they good or bad .The overall story is heart wrenching. The feeling lingers around you for a while. Which is never good for me as it creates reader’s block. The Author’s focus is on Arman, a boy whom at first I could not understand why life was just too hard on him. Arman has the determination and the zeal for life despite all the wrong things going on around him. His attachment to Jamal is so familial and when the secret is finally out, all I could think about was that it was all worth it after all.
Check out my full review on:https://logophilesville.wordpress.com...
Check out my full review on:https://logophilesville.wordpress.com...
May 2, 2019
Really enjoyed this book, I was apprehensive about reading this considering the trauma that refugee children and families experience trying to escape lives that are so difficult they choose to make this risky journey. In this story it was orphans that were making this journey and it is scary what they went through to reach their destination. There is sadness as well, amazing how they were able to cope with the pain.
January 5, 2018
A very sweet story. Armand has learned from a very young age that he can't rely on lets to make him happy, life is a struggle with many twists and turns. In the end... Can't tell you that, I guess you will need to read the book.
January 9, 2018
An amazing story of friendship and hope. This book took me through so many different countries, it made me smile and cry. After so much pain and suffering their its a happy ending.
Love this book. ♥️
Love this book. ♥️
April 14, 2018
I was very excited when I got a free eBook copy of this, for an honest review.
Yes, I loved it. I loved it so much that I didn't stop reading it (apart from when I finally slept) till I finished it.
Now I have to visit Kabul.
Yes, I loved it. I loved it so much that I didn't stop reading it (apart from when I finally slept) till I finished it.
Now I have to visit Kabul.
January 14, 2018
Greatest book
Kept Me interested loved it. Made me happy and sad all at the same time. Wanted his brother to be alive
Kept Me interested loved it. Made me happy and sad all at the same time. Wanted his brother to be alive
May 29, 2018
This book was very good. There were grammatical errors which are probably due to the book being translated, but I thought the story was very good.
July 31, 2018
Interesting topic, badly needed editing, some sentences didn’t make sense. Style a little boring.
August 25, 2018
Good story!
August 23, 2020
A heartfelt story of despair and hope and danger and hatred and love and anger. Arman is both young and old for his age. Arman is a youngster who cannot remember ever knowing the love of a family. His only friend is the eldest child of his foster family, and even then, it's not unconditional, total friendship. Jamal does give Arman the greatest possible gifts he can, by teaching him to read, write, and speak English, and by insisting Arman accompany him on his escape from Kabul. As expected, there's a secret behind both the friendship and the later gift; the secret is an undercurrent, but is not what I expected. Arman's strength allows him to read - anyone who can read A Tale of Two Cities more than ten times is strong - and he takes the best of what he reads, one presumes, to shape his writing ability.
Arman's flight from Kabul to London is narrated in a somewhat flat voice. One imagines terror, exhaustion, pain, and uncertainty, but the narrative style treats these emotions as just another day.
This style is slightly reminiscent of Hosseini (A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Kite Runner), but less sophisticated, as befits a narration from a teenager. I don't know if it's the debut novel or the influence of his native language or a deliberate stylistic choice, though I suspect the first, given the author's biographical sketch. The book could benefit from the deft hand of a good proofreader.
A valuable read for those privileged westerners who have never known car bombs, sudden violent loss, or the almost-overnight devastation of one's native country.
Arman's flight from Kabul to London is narrated in a somewhat flat voice. One imagines terror, exhaustion, pain, and uncertainty, but the narrative style treats these emotions as just another day.
This style is slightly reminiscent of Hosseini (A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Kite Runner), but less sophisticated, as befits a narration from a teenager. I don't know if it's the debut novel or the influence of his native language or a deliberate stylistic choice, though I suspect the first, given the author's biographical sketch. The book could benefit from the deft hand of a good proofreader.
A valuable read for those privileged westerners who have never known car bombs, sudden violent loss, or the almost-overnight devastation of one's native country.
July 29, 2020
This was a book that I didn’t want to put down. I wanted to know what life had in store for Arman, the protagonist of the story who narrates his journey from his childhood to his present day.
Reading this book made me feel like Arman’s home life is very similar to Harry Potter’s home life. Both boys are mistreated at a young age by people who should be caring for them. Yet they are shunned away to a small room and told to be quiet and not be seen. Both young men share a kind heart and are just waiting to see the day when their life will turn for the better.
Life at home for Arman is tough. But life in Afghanistan isn’t any easier. Arman must find a way to change his destiny. He is such a sweet and intelligent young boy, but how will his strengths help him cross borders?
Reading this book made me feel like Arman’s home life is very similar to Harry Potter’s home life. Both boys are mistreated at a young age by people who should be caring for them. Yet they are shunned away to a small room and told to be quiet and not be seen. Both young men share a kind heart and are just waiting to see the day when their life will turn for the better.
Life at home for Arman is tough. But life in Afghanistan isn’t any easier. Arman must find a way to change his destiny. He is such a sweet and intelligent young boy, but how will his strengths help him cross borders?
February 11, 2021
I was excited to read this book, the premise sounded so interesting. I ended up really struggling to get through, though.
Honestly, the grammar and spelling issues were distracting. The repetition of phrases was annoying to me. I think the author wanted to write this story from a child's perspective, authentically, but I felt more pulled out of the experience than immersed in it through the writing.
I also felt my why questions went unanswered. Arman says he hates Zain and what he hates about him, but doesn't really say why until half-way through.
Some of the interactions between Arman and others aren't explained well, too. Interactions like Arman saying something that causes others to look at him angrily. I assume his reactions are not respectful, but my knowledge about the culture in Afghanistan is very limited.
The characters felt flat to me as well. Arman, and others, didn't draw me in. Even as they go through a terribly rough journey, I wasn't emotionally involved. I didn't cry when Arman cried and that bothers me. I wanted to empathize with him.
Finally, the last few pages of the book felt incredibly rushed - like notes were written down of what Arman experienced. The emotion was completely missing. The ending is one of the few action scenes Arman is engaged in and it feels like he's not engaged at all.
I wish I could say something more positive than the premise is the best part.
The execution of it really threw me off.
Honestly, the grammar and spelling issues were distracting. The repetition of phrases was annoying to me. I think the author wanted to write this story from a child's perspective, authentically, but I felt more pulled out of the experience than immersed in it through the writing.
I also felt my why questions went unanswered. Arman says he hates Zain and what he hates about him, but doesn't really say why until half-way through.
Some of the interactions between Arman and others aren't explained well, too. Interactions like Arman saying something that causes others to look at him angrily. I assume his reactions are not respectful, but my knowledge about the culture in Afghanistan is very limited.
The characters felt flat to me as well. Arman, and others, didn't draw me in. Even as they go through a terribly rough journey, I wasn't emotionally involved. I didn't cry when Arman cried and that bothers me. I wanted to empathize with him.
Finally, the last few pages of the book felt incredibly rushed - like notes were written down of what Arman experienced. The emotion was completely missing. The ending is one of the few action scenes Arman is engaged in and it feels like he's not engaged at all.
I wish I could say something more positive than the premise is the best part.
The execution of it really threw me off.
September 27, 2020
This book reads like an autobiographical journal. It certainly describes the hardships of life in Afghanistan and the migration journey across Europe. However, the focus is a bit too broad for my taste. The beginning of the book is a fascinating story of this young man's life in Kabul. HIs fascinating discovery of reading and his efforts to write short stories was an interesting tale. His relationship with the elderly bookseller and his friendship with Jamal could have formed the entire story
The book then moves onto a long description of travel through Europe and loses its focus on the main character. I found myself skimming through sections as new characters were introduced and then abandoned.
The ending was a bit too rushed.
The book then moves onto a long description of travel through Europe and loses its focus on the main character. I found myself skimming through sections as new characters were introduced and then abandoned.
The ending was a bit too rushed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 1, 2020
A delightful and fascinating story.
This was a delightful book although in parts full of sadness. It explained how refugees will risk anything including their lives. The narrator was a character of high moral stature, showing how easy it is to dispense forgiveness.
Highly recommended.
This was a delightful book although in parts full of sadness. It explained how refugees will risk anything including their lives. The narrator was a character of high moral stature, showing how easy it is to dispense forgiveness.
Highly recommended.
September 20, 2020
I found this book very hard to read. I admired Arman who perseveres no matter what through the adversities he faces. But, it was hard to follow his story at times because the story wandered. I could not even imagine how one would live in such fear.
October 20, 2020
I was very distracted by the spelling and other typographical errors. I don't know if it was just the edition I had but the proofreading was awful. I story itself wasn't bad but it lacked in the writing. For example, 'muttered' was used extensively but I am not sure that was the meaning the author was going for. Overall I am glad I read it but could have enjoyed it more.
June 29, 2021
Gut wrenching . . . . This book brought things to life for me about refugees and how desperate they are to escape violence and poverty in war torn countries. I wept.
October 17, 2020
This story definitely had the potential to be a very powerful and moving story however because of the way it had been written it seemed as if the words had been translated which made it very disjointed and a lot of the sentences didn’t make sense and because of this a number of times I thought about just not finishing it. Also throughout the book there are sooo many life quotes that they end up being cringey instead of impactful.
October 21, 2020
A Book Reader’s Journey
Arman’s Stories of his life and Journey from Afghanistan to London in search of his Dad and a better life.
Arman’s Stories of his life and Journey from Afghanistan to London in search of his Dad and a better life.
May 10, 2021
Very moving story
Very well told story and we'll paced through the book. Lots of grammar and spelling mistakes, particularly towards the end like the editor gave up?
Very well told story and we'll paced through the book. Lots of grammar and spelling mistakes, particularly towards the end like the editor gave up?
August 7, 2020
Everything happens very quickly at first and then gets lost in details and descriptions.
I didn’t got exactly the message sent by the author, and there are many mistakes left and many other sentences that, like a deja vu, I saw them somewhere else.
But my comment does not want to discourage the author but to annoy him and to come up with another book, but better this time.
I didn’t got exactly the message sent by the author, and there are many mistakes left and many other sentences that, like a deja vu, I saw them somewhere else.
But my comment does not want to discourage the author but to annoy him and to come up with another book, but better this time.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews