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N ow and again you read a book that you realise will change the way you think and In the Light of What We Know by Zia Haider Rahmen is one of those books. I've just taken a copy back to the library after spending at least three weeks reading it and I was even tempted to keep it for a bit longer to go over a few sections again.   Take note of the title as events in the final chapters throw a different light on all the thousands of words that have gone before, much like the ending in The Life of Pi by Yann Martel.  The part of the story that you didn't know is never spelled out, but glimpsed as shadows flickering in a crowded room. Much of the book is set out in narrative memories and each chapter is preceded by excerpts from other books.  Ignore these at you peril as they indicate the direction of travel and are not simply window dressing.  One of them taken from John Donne (Meditation 17) provides the guiding light for 'what we know' at the end and Rah...

This is a beautiful edition of the first Harry Potter story illustrated by Jim Kay. My eyes landed on it in a second hand bookshop straight away as it was in such good clean condition and I don't think it has ever been read. This is one of those books that I consider to be a real treasure as the quality of the artwork is fantastic and even if you never read a word of the book you would want to look at the pictures. The illustrations are scattered through the book with some covering two pages for maximum effect. I read on the fly-leaf that Jim Kay has been commissioned to do other books from the series and after a quick look on Amazon I can see that he has already done three. If this volume goes down well I think I know something that will be included in Little Grandgirlie's birthday presents later in the year!  She can have this one when they pop over tomorrow - I've just finished reading it myself.