Most recently, my book club read The Kite Runner. It wasn't my turn to pick and I was a little skeptical at first. I was interested because of the hype surrounding the book, but I was actually more interested in reading the author's other book, A Thousand Splendid Suns. I wasn't sure if The Kite Runner was going to be a book I enjoyed reading. Boy was I surprised.
It is one of the best books I have read. The story is gripping, disturbing, haunting, and suspenseful. There were times when the book made me sick or so emotional that I would sob. There were several times that I had to put it down and walk away. But five minutes later I was right back to it because I had to see what was going to happen and how this latest turn was going to play out. I enjoy any book that makes me feel emotion. If a book can make me smile, laugh, cry or get angry, then I think the author has done his or her job.
I ended up disliking the narrator. He was a selfish coward. But at the same time I could feel sympathy for him because of his family situation and relationships. Without giving anything away in the story, it is hands down one of the best tales of friendship, loyalty, betrayal, forgiveness and heartbreak. And of how one man tries to redeem himself after a lifetime of guilt.
My girlfriends and I got together earlier this week to discuss the book. We had mixed opinions as to whether or not we liked it, but all of us agreed that the book was gripping and that made it easy to finish. We all read it quickly. It is not a "happy" book, which is what led us to our mixed reviews. There were not many moments in this book where you had the opportunity to smile.
We all saw the book as a valuable piece of literature. We watched the movie after discussing the book. It was not as good as the book, but movies rarely are. We felt that it left out or altered too many important elements. If you haven't read the book, we doubt you will gain much from the movie.
I would highly recommend this book. For those who wouldn't be interested because of the location of the story or fear of it being slightly political in nature, I can tell you that the story is about so much more than where it takes place, and the political side of the story is very benign. It is a tale that won't soon be forgotten. I know it will stay with me for a long time.
1 comment:
I didn't really want to read this book and didn't purchase it until everyone else had practically finished it. Thankfully, I was stuck at the track on a rainy weekend, confined to sitting in the jeep for 2 days straight, and had the opportunity to sink my teeth into this amazing story. While not a fun, feel-good story, it was compelling & I had to keep reading to see if Amir redeemed himself.
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