Wednesday, June 25, 2008
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini .
This book, which was published in paperback in 2004, was a joy to read. This is the second book by Khaled Hosseini that I have read. I read his second novel called A Thousand Splendid Suns when I was on holiday in Tunisia last December. When I started reading The Kite Runner it was like putting on an old pair of slippers. I slipped into this story like talking to an old friend on the telephone. Khaled writes with such warmth and the quality of his writing is first class.
The Kite Runner is a very powerful story in two different ways. You can read this book from cover to cover with the same attitude of watching a movie. In fact a film has been made of this book. Equally you can work through all the moral dilemmas explored in this book. This novel is set in Afghanistan, Pakistan and America but the issues raised are global. You have all the character and colour of life in Afghanistan and this novel perfectly reflects the troubled history of modern Afghanistan.
The whole book is written from the viewpoint of Amir, from when he was 12 years old up to his mid 40's. It explores his relationships with his best friend Hassan and his father. His mother died during his child birth and ironically he and Hassan had the same nursing mother.
I will not spoil the book for people who have not read it or have not seen the film. At the end of this book I felt as though I had been beaten with a stick. Khaled writes with such passion and the emotions he invokes in the reader made me cry in places. He really knows what makes people tick and explores love, loyalty, class, pride, redemption and the keeping of secrets. The pace of this book is natural and you do not know where it is leading. You feel as though you are in Amir's shoes as he grows up and learns by his mistakes, whilst he begins to understand how life in Afghanistan actually works. You also learn a lot about life in Afghanistan, the hopes of Afghanis and the life of Afghan emigrants in their new neighbourhoods, wherever they may be.
All in all, a brilliant read for just £7.99
This book, which was published in paperback in 2004, was a joy to read. This is the second book by Khaled Hosseini that I have read. I read his second novel called A Thousand Splendid Suns when I was on holiday in Tunisia last December. When I started reading The Kite Runner it was like putting on an old pair of slippers. I slipped into this story like talking to an old friend on the telephone. Khaled writes with such warmth and the quality of his writing is first class.
The Kite Runner is a very powerful story in two different ways. You can read this book from cover to cover with the same attitude of watching a movie. In fact a film has been made of this book. Equally you can work through all the moral dilemmas explored in this book. This novel is set in Afghanistan, Pakistan and America but the issues raised are global. You have all the character and colour of life in Afghanistan and this novel perfectly reflects the troubled history of modern Afghanistan.
The whole book is written from the viewpoint of Amir, from when he was 12 years old up to his mid 40's. It explores his relationships with his best friend Hassan and his father. His mother died during his child birth and ironically he and Hassan had the same nursing mother.
I will not spoil the book for people who have not read it or have not seen the film. At the end of this book I felt as though I had been beaten with a stick. Khaled writes with such passion and the emotions he invokes in the reader made me cry in places. He really knows what makes people tick and explores love, loyalty, class, pride, redemption and the keeping of secrets. The pace of this book is natural and you do not know where it is leading. You feel as though you are in Amir's shoes as he grows up and learns by his mistakes, whilst he begins to understand how life in Afghanistan actually works. You also learn a lot about life in Afghanistan, the hopes of Afghanis and the life of Afghan emigrants in their new neighbourhoods, wherever they may be.
All in all, a brilliant read for just £7.99
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