Well this sure wasn't a Harry Potter book, that's for sure. But it was still just as hard to put down once I got going. This book was much better than some of the classics I have read so far like The Great Gatsby and The Lord of the Flies and I could see this being a book that lasts. Now this book was a bit depressing and dark at some points but the writing style kept you wanting more. You were just waiting for things to get better and it seemed every part of the book had a purpose, a purpose that wrapped up the final few chapters for you.
I said the writing style was great. When I first thought of reading the book, I was apprehensive because I was being lazy and didn't want to deal with all these Muslim names and places that would get confusing and such. But I was wrong. Hosseini did a great job of mixing in Arabic words with the English so you are never lost or wondering what a certain words mean. My favorite part of the style was the bits of foreshadowing he tended to end paragraphs with. Things like, "Little did I know it would be the last solid food I would eat in a while" or "Those were the last words I would hear him speak for over a year", just got your mind reeling and wondering what was going to happen to fulfill those prophecies.
Without spoiling anything, the book is about a man who grew up in Afghanistan before the Russians invaded. Things were great, albeit pretty rough and poor compared to American standards, then the fall of the monarchy lead to the Russian invasion which lead to the rise of the Taliban and the rest is a war torn history. Well this boy fled with his father to America and became a successful author until he is brought back to Afghanistan to retrieve the son of his best friend/servant of the past who he greatly wronged and from there the story is just packed with tales of honor, shame, trust and forgiveness.
Like I said this got dark and depressing and there were definitely some horrible things done in this book but I believe it is a great truthful tale of the Afghan people and their culture. Just the name itself, plays off the Afghan sport of kite flying where you cut the strings of your opponents and then kids run after the freed kites, is interesting and something I never knew was done anywhere. If you read it and don't like it, well at least you may be able to walk away with a deeper understanding of the Afghan people and what life is really like over there for the people that we are fighting for. Sorry for getting political but the next book I got is pretty short so look for a new post pretty soon in the new year.
NEXT UP: #21 Animal Farm by George Orwell
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