The Kite Runner
by Khaled Hosseini
Overall, this book is a gem of modern storytelling, and a compelling read. It's the story of a young boy growing up in Afghanistan, and his relationship with the two main people in his life: his father and his best friend. All the while in the background you have the evolution of the country, which turns clearly violent in the 1980's and undergoes some traumatic changes as the Taliban take over. The backdrop is a culture very different from one most in this country have ever known, and the author does a fanstastic job of bringing the reader into his world. This is an intensly personal story about a little boy and his father and the journey they take through different cultures, trying to preserve integrity and value in very different ways. In the end it is also about the clash of cultures, and makes the valuable point that even when people live according to different sets of values, you can still tell good people from bad.
The prose is good, but not great. The sentences are not as tight as they could be, and he has a tendency to ramble towards the end of the book. He does not demonstrate a mastery of the english language that someone like Rushdie or Hemingway has (although that comparison is probably a bit unfair). Nevertheless he has a great talent for the art of storytelling, and in particular his writing has a rythym that moves very much like normal thought processes. In other words it strikes a good balance between having a lot to say and being thought provoking without being too dense and pretentious. I am reminded very much of The Life of Pi, although to be honest that was more theoretical whereas I feel this book can have a more immediate impact on the way people interact with the world around them.
The character development is the real strength of this book -- each one is meticulously crafted and very well thought out. There are no inconsistencies, and yet there are several surprises. Since there are only a few main characters the author is able to devote considerable time to each one, although always through the eyes of our protagonist, and as a result by the middle of the book I felt almost completely synchronized with the main character. I felt his slights, was guilty at his transgressions, and happy at his victories. Character development is at the heart of good storytelling, and it's done here really well.
by Khaled Hosseini
Overall, this book is a gem of modern storytelling, and a compelling read. It's the story of a young boy growing up in Afghanistan, and his relationship with the two main people in his life: his father and his best friend. All the while in the background you have the evolution of the country, which turns clearly violent in the 1980's and undergoes some traumatic changes as the Taliban take over. The backdrop is a culture very different from one most in this country have ever known, and the author does a fanstastic job of bringing the reader into his world. This is an intensly personal story about a little boy and his father and the journey they take through different cultures, trying to preserve integrity and value in very different ways. In the end it is also about the clash of cultures, and makes the valuable point that even when people live according to different sets of values, you can still tell good people from bad.
The prose is good, but not great. The sentences are not as tight as they could be, and he has a tendency to ramble towards the end of the book. He does not demonstrate a mastery of the english language that someone like Rushdie or Hemingway has (although that comparison is probably a bit unfair). Nevertheless he has a great talent for the art of storytelling, and in particular his writing has a rythym that moves very much like normal thought processes. In other words it strikes a good balance between having a lot to say and being thought provoking without being too dense and pretentious. I am reminded very much of The Life of Pi, although to be honest that was more theoretical whereas I feel this book can have a more immediate impact on the way people interact with the world around them.
The character development is the real strength of this book -- each one is meticulously crafted and very well thought out. There are no inconsistencies, and yet there are several surprises. Since there are only a few main characters the author is able to devote considerable time to each one, although always through the eyes of our protagonist, and as a result by the middle of the book I felt almost completely synchronized with the main character. I felt his slights, was guilty at his transgressions, and happy at his victories. Character development is at the heart of good storytelling, and it's done here really well.
posted by slithytoves at 11:43 AM
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