I'm going to do my first ever blog book review. While I don't read as much as I did during my college years, judging from discussions with friends, I'd say I probably read more than the average adult does. In my younger years, I read a LOT of novels, mostly romances and some adventure-type books. Now I read a lot of personal development and travel books, but not as much fiction, other than the Harry Potter books, which I can read over, and over, and over...
At the urging of someone who reads a lot of fiction, I read The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. I had heard of it before because there is a movie by the same name, which I have in my Netflix que. Many of the comments from the reviews on the cover and inside of the book use the word "powerful" to describe the book, and powerful it is.
It is the tale of two boys and their trials and tribulations in modern Afghanistan. The story begins in the mid '70s and spans about 3 decades. The writing style is interesting. At times I had to pause and think and go back a few pages partly because the time periods skipped a few times throughout, and a couple of times the narration changed. For the most part, the story is told from the point of few of the main character, Amir, one of the two boys whose lives are intertwined in so many ways.
This probably isn't the book to read if you're looking for something uplifting. While there are points that are uplifting, it's usually part of the aftermath of a particularly disturbing occurrence. I couldn't help but wonder if the author wrote this based on some of his personal experiences in Afghanistan, as there are some similarities between his life and that of Amir.
The other boy is Hassan, who is the son of the servant to Amir's family. However, while Hassan and his father are servants and there is a distinct line between their family and Amir and his father, who is very wealthy, they are strangely connected and have chosen to disregard their ethnic differences, which would normally be unacceptable in their society. The story begins by weaving the lives of Hassan and Amir together, how they enjoy their time together and are portrayed almost like best friends, yet there is still a barrier between them that allows Amir to be superior to Hassan. But Hassan's loyalty to Amir never fades. It is Hassan's loyalty to Amir that seemingly results in a tragic incident that changes their lives forever, and that is where the bulk of the story lies. And let me tell you, it is haunting, especially because what happens in this book is probably based on things that have actually occurred in Afghanistan. The possibility that this is real is what makes it haunting.
However, despite the haunting and powerful nature of this book, it is also fascinating. Despite the fact that I am a history major, I really suck and remembering the details of history. Most of my studies focused on Asia and the Pacific, and a little bit of European history. But I probably know the least about the Middle East, and particularly the modern history of that region, which we should probably all make ourselves more aware of given the state of our nation and our current interaction with that region (don't worry, I'm not going to get into a discussion about the war!).
I also found this book interesting because it kind of ties in to a movie I recently watched, Charlie Wilson's War. I won't review that movie here, but perhaps I'll get to that one day. Suffice it to say that I enjoyed that movie a lot, partly because it stars Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, two of my favorite actors, but also because it's an interesting and little known story based on factual occurrences and the real Charlie Wilson, a Senator from Texas who makes it his mission to do something about the Russian occupation of Afghanistan in the '80s. This is a topic I knew absolutely nothing about. Charlie Wilson's War and the Kite Runner both discussed it from different perspectives, yet not so different.
I don't want to give away too much about The Kite Runner in the event you decide you want to read it, but it is a very interesting, well-told, haunting story. You will learn about Afghanistan while reading about the experiences of Amir and Hassan. I'm a sap and shed some tears reading this story, but I won't be giving away much by saying that there are a lot of sad and tragic things that happen. While it's not the most uplifting story, it is worth reading.
At the urging of someone who reads a lot of fiction, I read The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. I had heard of it before because there is a movie by the same name, which I have in my Netflix que. Many of the comments from the reviews on the cover and inside of the book use the word "powerful" to describe the book, and powerful it is.
It is the tale of two boys and their trials and tribulations in modern Afghanistan. The story begins in the mid '70s and spans about 3 decades. The writing style is interesting. At times I had to pause and think and go back a few pages partly because the time periods skipped a few times throughout, and a couple of times the narration changed. For the most part, the story is told from the point of few of the main character, Amir, one of the two boys whose lives are intertwined in so many ways.
This probably isn't the book to read if you're looking for something uplifting. While there are points that are uplifting, it's usually part of the aftermath of a particularly disturbing occurrence. I couldn't help but wonder if the author wrote this based on some of his personal experiences in Afghanistan, as there are some similarities between his life and that of Amir.
The other boy is Hassan, who is the son of the servant to Amir's family. However, while Hassan and his father are servants and there is a distinct line between their family and Amir and his father, who is very wealthy, they are strangely connected and have chosen to disregard their ethnic differences, which would normally be unacceptable in their society. The story begins by weaving the lives of Hassan and Amir together, how they enjoy their time together and are portrayed almost like best friends, yet there is still a barrier between them that allows Amir to be superior to Hassan. But Hassan's loyalty to Amir never fades. It is Hassan's loyalty to Amir that seemingly results in a tragic incident that changes their lives forever, and that is where the bulk of the story lies. And let me tell you, it is haunting, especially because what happens in this book is probably based on things that have actually occurred in Afghanistan. The possibility that this is real is what makes it haunting.
However, despite the haunting and powerful nature of this book, it is also fascinating. Despite the fact that I am a history major, I really suck and remembering the details of history. Most of my studies focused on Asia and the Pacific, and a little bit of European history. But I probably know the least about the Middle East, and particularly the modern history of that region, which we should probably all make ourselves more aware of given the state of our nation and our current interaction with that region (don't worry, I'm not going to get into a discussion about the war!).
I also found this book interesting because it kind of ties in to a movie I recently watched, Charlie Wilson's War. I won't review that movie here, but perhaps I'll get to that one day. Suffice it to say that I enjoyed that movie a lot, partly because it stars Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, two of my favorite actors, but also because it's an interesting and little known story based on factual occurrences and the real Charlie Wilson, a Senator from Texas who makes it his mission to do something about the Russian occupation of Afghanistan in the '80s. This is a topic I knew absolutely nothing about. Charlie Wilson's War and the Kite Runner both discussed it from different perspectives, yet not so different.
I don't want to give away too much about The Kite Runner in the event you decide you want to read it, but it is a very interesting, well-told, haunting story. You will learn about Afghanistan while reading about the experiences of Amir and Hassan. I'm a sap and shed some tears reading this story, but I won't be giving away much by saying that there are a lot of sad and tragic things that happen. While it's not the most uplifting story, it is worth reading.
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