Book Review: The Kite Runner
Five out of five stars for this one.
I admit that I never read bestselling, blockbuster novels. I wait a few years, and especially since I’m a little low on money these days it’s hard to afford the $15 shiny books in Barnes & Noble (that I never go to anyway because the one closest to me went out of business right around the time Borders did; go figure). Anyway, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini was my first borrowed library ebook, and the process was smooth and wonderful. Two weeks is more than enough time for me to absorb books like this.
Anyway, on to the actual review! Because I stink at summaries, I’ll simply give you the book’s blurb:
The first Afghan novel to be written in English, The Kite Runner tells a sweeping story of family, love, and friendship against a backdrop of history that has not been told in fiction before, bringing to mind the large canvases of the Russian writers of the nineteenth century. But just as it is old-fashioned in its narration, it is contemporary in its subject-the devastating history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years. As emotionally gripping as it is tender, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful debut.
Amir grows up in a pre-war Afghanistan with his servant and best friend, Hassan. The two are inseparable. But when Amir, desperate to become worthy in his father’s eyes, and Hassan fall victim to abuse and retribution, things fall apart. From there, it’s a tale of finding what it means to be honorable and loyal as well as truly “good.” On top of that, you get a lot of Afghan culture and tradition woven into the plot, which is something I personally enjoyed, as I never knew about Afghan lifestyles and idiosyncrasies. It also tells of an Afghanistan history I never knew about — all I knew of the place was that we’re currently fighting there, and this was an interesting eye-opener to their culture as well as what the people there struggle with.
The story itself is not happy, but it’s truly brilliant in that solemn way. You walk away pondering things. Also, the ending is very satisfying (because to me that’s something important to know about a book). I recommend this and give it a five out of five stars.
Sounds neat. I’ve only read one book that was rife with another culture, and that was The Good Earth, set in China. Again, this book wasn’t a happy one, but it too was very eye opening, just to see how another culture could live and think so differently from ours. And yet, there are many ways that we are all the same…
Sadly, I didn’t think that The Good Earth ended well, but I’m glad to have read it anyway.
Well The Kite Runner has a satisfying ending. Not a happy one, but it leaves you with a sense of wholeness anyway. It was definitely a great story, culture-wise. And very emotional.
This book stole my breath and made me tear up a little. I agree with Amy, human emotions stay human emotions no matter where one is…
Are you planning on reading “A Thousand Splendid Suns”? I really enjoyed it too.
I haven’t looked into A Thousand Splendid Suns yet, but I’m going to see if my library has an ebook version of it. I’ve becoming addicted, haha. But yeah, human emotion is definitely the same no matter where you’re from, and stories like these, that add that personal cultural aspect, are very endearing to me. I’m learning more about other people in the world, you know? And knowing I’m not the only one that struggles — and my struggles are nothing compared to the characters in that story, that’s for sure.
Book sounds great :-) I have a question about the process. My book is available from the Amazon library and has been taken out 40+ times. Are you able to do an Amazon review once you have borrowed? Sorry, it’s a bit off track from your post :-) I’ve done research but I can’t find the answer.
Are you talking about the KDP Select program or the Lending Library? Both of these are for Prime members and are not related to the Overdrive program.
I read this book such a long time ago and I still remember the main points of it. That has to be a sign of how good it is. If you can remember the plot 200 books later it must have been good.