| Product: |
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini |
| Date: |
29/12/06 (255 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Gripping novel that grabs you hard and refuses to let you free and lifts you up then brings you down
Disadvantages: Some very disturbing scenes and can be a very emotional read.
Something very diffrent to the usual novel I read, this was picked up by me after being chosen by my online book club, Babbling Books, as one of our two book choices to read that month.
Telling the story of the lives of two young men growing up in Afghanistan, the book focuses on friendship across the boundaries of Afghanistanic society, the trials and tribulations that can test those friendships and ultimately how redemption for past grievances can sometimes lead to possible hope for the future.
Amir comes from a fairly rich family; Hassan is his best friend and servant to his family. Because of his inferior race, Hassan and Amir's friendship takes a lot of stick and the pair are a ripe target for bullying yet Hassan is always there for his master,worships the ground upon which he walks and will do almost anything for him. Amir is jealous of the attention his father focuses on Hassan and, at times, is often spitefull towards his faithful companion without his knowledge. Nonetheless, the pair are the closest that two friends can be and it seems that they will remain so forever...
On the day of a kite flying competition that is a national pastime, everything changes. Hassan is chasing a downed kite for his master Amir who has become the winner and is full of anticipation of the praise and attention his father will heap upon him for this feat, when he stumbles across a bully he and Amir previously bested. This bully has a score to settle and takes his revenge in full watched by Amir who, scared, does nothing to stop what he sees. From then on the relationship between these two friends falls devastatingly apart and, pursued by guilt, Amir forces Hassan away.
In the midst of conflict, Amir and his father flee Afghanistan to start a new life in the West and slowly begin to make their way in a vastly diffrent culture but always Amir is haunted by his past. Then comes the chance for him to earn his redemption and Amir is forced to return to a very changed Afghanistan in order to make some kind of peace with himself.
At times highly disturbing, and always very emotional, this is one of those novels that grabs you by the throat and refuses to let go. I knew little of the troubles or history of Afghanistan before starting this novel but through this have gotten a little better understanding. The book is obviously very loosely based on a life the author has experienced himself and as a first novel leaves an indelible impression.
My only comment is that I would have preferred a little more depth into the troubled history of Afghanistan and more detail about the conflicts there but then this is not what the novel is about and these events take a back seat to the true story which is that of two friends trying to survive through adversity and prejudice.
The journey to its final message is a grim one and there are some quite distressing scenes along the way, but ultimately he book does seem to be about hope. Some of the twists are a little nasty but this only serves to make this novel appear more real. There are a couple of fairly unlikely coincidences thrown in as well but these are here mainly to help plot threads tie up and besides coincidences DO happen in real life every day so are not that unbelievable.
All in all, this is a hidden gem of a book and one I would reccommend to anyone looking for something a touch diffrent from their usual reading material.
I for one am very glad that I picked this book up and will be keeping my eyes peeled for more by this author.
AVAILABLE FROM ALL GOOD BOOKSTORES, ONLINE OR OFFLINE, FROM ABOUT £6.99 DOWNWARDS.
Summary: Two boys growing up in Afghanistan face trials and challenges that test their friendship
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