Sunday, May 3, 2009

The Kite Runner

Profound, thought provoking. I totally enjoyed this book! Its one I would not have read had it not been for my decision to read some bestsellers in 2009. I picked up the book on cd at the library for a 4 hour trip and got so wrapped up in the story.....the writer Khaled Hosseini, actually read it and since he is from Afghanistan, he is able to pronounce words which I may not have understood on my own. In the book, Khaled always put the english version of any word he writes in his native language .....for the benefit of the reader of course!

This story revolves around Amir, a Pushtan boy, who is the son of a wealthy merchant in Kabul, Afghanistan. Amir talks about his relationship with his dad whom he refers to as "Baba". Amir also reflects on his relationship with Hassan, A Hazara and the son of their servant Ali. Amir yearns for his father's love and respect and is jealous of Baba's seemingly love and respect of Hassan.



The book weaves a tale of relaxed childhood days spent in Kabul where Amir would go to school, return home to play with Hassan, who could not attend school as he is a servant boy. Hassan loves Amir and looks up to him and would do anything to protect him. The story is set against a backdrop of upheaval in Afghanistan and explores the fall of the monarchy in Afghanistan through invasion of the Soviet Regime, the mass exodus of refugees to Pakistan and and other countries and recounts the "chilling" rise of the Taliban.



This reads more like a "Memoir" and most of the time I think Khaled Hosseini gave an account of his own life ........rather than creating a fictional story........Its simply amazing and a must read!!

3 comments:

  1. This is a book that I have been meaning to read for ages, but after reading your post, I am going to put this in my TBR list!
    Hugs, scattie

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  2. I read this a couple of years ago. It really is a good book. Glad you enjoyed it!

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  3. Hi Evy. Thanks for dropping by my blog.

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