I am sure I must be one of the last people on the planet who hadn’t read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Considering it has been made into a movie already! But now I can join the ranks and be one who has officially read it.
What an absolutely heartbreaking novel. I have to admit that I had to leave it halfway for a while, it was just a bit too much to deal with all in one sitting (in between I read The Angina Monologues and Sapho’s Leap – review to be up soon) but last night I finished it.
And if you are also one of the last to not have read it, or not even have an inkling as to what it is about, read on:
The story is about friendship. Courage. Guilt. War. Compassion. Lies. It has a heady mix of realism and if you are anything like me, it will be hard reading at times. Set in Afghanistan it relates the time both pre and post-soviet invasion and how the lives of individuals carry on. How the country has changed and the violence that pervades but still there is goodness hidden under the shadows. The story is about familial ties. Inhumanity. Love. Forgiveness. The characters in this novel are bound together in cultural identity, spanning from the 70’s to the 90’s and how the weaving of family and of blood is never truly gone.
Amir is an upper class Pashtun and his constant play mate is Hassan, the son of his fathers long time Hazara servant. The story tells us of how decisions made in a morally testing friendship can have repercussions a longer way down the line than one thinks. That personal character can always be challenged and that it is up to the individual to make a change.
It depicts with honesty the feelings of Amir as we follow him through his life, the pervading sense of guilt and internal struggle but then the justice which inevitably takes place.
It is a sad, breathtaking, heartbreaking yet heartwarming novel. That in amidst the violence and unease, there can exist kindness and joy.
A joy as simple as kite flying.
I really liked this book! It’s heartbreaking, fascinating, poignant, and more! And, of course, the book is better than the movie. I have yet to read A Thousand Splendid Suns…
I loved this book – simply could not put it down. It is heart-breaking too, but i really enjoyed it. However, A Thousand Splendid Suns is another story altogether. If you found this difficult to read, don’t even go near it. It will most certainly leave you in a soggy mess!
Truly one of the best books to be published in the last few years. Have you read “A thousand splendid suns?” I see Shayne did not like it, but I possibly like it even more than the Kite runner.
I haven’t yet read A Thousand Splendid Suns but it will have to go on my to be read list.
i really enjoyed this book as it had an interesting story line and the setting was very real. however the perception of the way muslims are portrayed is completely contrary to true believers. hassan and his father regard themselves as muslims but they do not read their salaah and they partake in the consumption of alcohol. this is completely prohibited in islam.also hasan is one of a jealous nature and muslims arent. we want for our brothers/friends that which we want for ourself and we would never harm one another. readers should not let this book influence their mindset of muslims as it completely incorrect