A review of Murder in Samarkand has been written by NMJ on Velo-Gubbed Legs. Here is an extract:
At this time, the invasion of Iraq was unfolding (somehow, Saddam was a bad guy yet Karimov was a good guy). It’s not just the ‘dissident’ torture in Uzbekistan that horrifies, day to day life is grim. Uzbek children are forced by the state to work seventy hour weeks in the cotton fields in appalling conditions. Women set fire to themselves with cooking oil to escape their terrible lives. Innocent people are routinely beaten and raped by the police. The double standards and myopia of the British government in all of this is nausea-inducing. Craig couldn’t turn a blind eye to this sickening abuse of human rights – as our government appeared to be able to do without conscience – and was sacked after he blew the whistle on Uzbek intelligence being gained through torture. It’s depressing reading, but his style is light, he is funny and self-deprecating – at one point he irons a crumpled speech.
See full review here:
http://velo-gubbed-legs.blogspot.com/
She had blogged that the library had made her take back MinS before she finished it, so I sent her a copy.
I enjoy NMJ’s blog very much. She is a good writer and draws you in to her world, and I find it relaxing to go there. The attitudes to life and interests are similar to mine. It is good to remember that blogging can be used for good writing, not solely on politics. On the other hand, I find it all a bit worrying. If I am finding feelings of companionableness and relaxation on the Web, am I becoming deeply sad?