The Night Rainbow by Claire King

"This all began when Maman came back from hospital last summer, but she didn't bring back a baby like she promised, she left it at the hospital, along with her happiness"

This is the beginning of the story of The Night Rainbow, narrated by five-year-old Pea who is accompanied by her little sister Margot.   The girls live in an old, shabby farmhouse in rural France with their mother.  Maman is doubly grief-stricken, mourning both her lost baby and Pea's Papa who died in an accident.  Heavily pregnant again, Maman spends her days sleeping.   Pea remembers the time before the lost baby, times when they all lived happily, with games and laughter, family meals and fruit picking.

Those days are quickly slipping from her memory, these days Pea and Margot fend for themselves.  Preparing their food, trying to keep the house clean and creating their own world in the meadows, hills, fields and down by the river.  

When Pea meets Claude and his dog Merlin, she finds an adult who does not ask difficult questions. Claude loves the countryside as much as she does and creates a secret 'girl-nest' - a den in a tree, with a constant supply of cool drinks and biscuits.

Claire King has created a wonderfully authentic voice in little Pea, her innocence and optimism shine through in the language and the actions.   This is a very special story, that narrated in an adult voice would have a very different feel to it.  Pea welcomes Claude with no suspicion, unlike the villagers who regard him as something as a mis-fit, despite the tragedy that he has endured.   Pea maintains her belief in magic and fairy worlds throughout the story, she has to deal with some difficult and often painful episodes, yet that little-girl enthusiasm and positivity shines through.    For an adult reading the story, the underlying issues are clear and often potentially dangerous, however, the use of Pea's voice enables the reader to see events from another aspect - that of purity and hope.

This is a slow-moving story, with no fast-paced action, it gently unfolds to reveal characters who are troubled, realistic and who the reader really begins to care for.    The descriptions of the small town in France are incredibly authentic, drawing a vibrant picture of the somewhat insular community.

The Night Rainbow is Claire King's debut novel, and has proved that she is a very talented author.  I will look forward to more books from her in the future.

The Night Rainbow was published by Bloomsbury in February 2013.  You can view the wonderful trailer for the book here 

Claire King grew up in Mexborough, South Yorkshire but has lived in France for the last ten years with her husband and two young daughters. Her short fiction has been recognised by fancy places such as BBC Radio 4 Opening Lines, New Scientist and The Bristol Short Story Prize.

Her website is www.claire-king.com and details of The Night Rainbow along with a sample chapter and links to where to buy can be found here: http://www.claire-king.com/books/the-night-rainbow/

And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

This has probably been my most anticipated new release for a very long time.  Like many people, I was totally awestruck by Hosseini's first novel The Kite Runner.  His second; A Thousand Splendid Suns is up there in my Top Five Books, I was astounded by the story.   Bearing this in mind, and despite my delight at acquiring a pre-publication copy of And The Mountains Echoed, I was a little nervous that I may be a little disappointed.

Khaled Hosseini's fans do have to wait a long time between books, its been five years since A Thousand Splendid Suns.  I can truthfully say that this is certainly worth that very very long wait.

This is a story that spans generations, yet starts and finishes with the same characters.  In 1952 a father and his two young children are travelling across Afghanistan, father has been promised some much needed work.  The children; Abdullah and his little sister Pari are happy to be together, they adore each other and Abdullah has become more of a parent than a brother to Pari.   When their mother died just after giving birth to Pari and then their father re-married and new half-siblings joined the family, Abdullah took on the protection and care of Pari.  Neither of them can know that this journey will be the beginning of heartbreak that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

With heart-breaking realism, Hosseini tells the tale of a family split apart by poverty and desperation.  From the small rural villages to the large bustling cities of Afghanistan, the writing transports the reader into the heart of the story, experiencing the sounds, the smells and the changing political landscapes.  From immense poverty, to the greatest riches.  From the modest and humble, to the arrogant and the proud, the cast of characters are a triumph.

That one event in Kabul in 1952 leads on to many others, including characters and settings from Paris, to the Greek Islands and back to Afghanistan.   Characters who appear, on the face of it, to be so different and so diverse are all connected in one way or another to the day that a loving father told his two small children the story of farmer Baba Ayub - it is this story, and its meaning that is threaded through the whole novel and which eventually turns from a fable to the truth.

Whilst And The Mountains Echoed does not have the shock-factor of Hosseini's two previous novels, it is still a very important epic story that will leave a mark on anyone who reads it.  The cast of characters is huge and the narrative often slips back and forward, which can at times, appear a little disjointed.  However, this really does not detract from the story, or from the wonderfully evocative writing.

Once again, Khaled Hosseini has produced a story that will break hearts and leave his fans, new and old, gasping for more.

My very grateful thanks go to Bloomsbury who sent a pre-publication copy for review.  And The Mountains Echoed will be published here in the UK on 21 May 2013

Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, and moved to the United States in 1980.  His novels The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns were international bestsellers, and have sold over thirty-eight million copies.  The graphic novel of The Kite Runner was published in 2011.  In 2006 he was named a U.S. Goodwill Envoy to the United Nations Refugee Agency.  He lives in Northern California.

To find out more about Khaled Hosseini, visit the website here. The Official Khaled Hosseini Facebook page is here