Kite Runner,
a book everyone got to read once at least in his or her lifetime. Really, this is really one super dooper touching and moving book which I have ever read...and almost everyone who has read this book would agree with me. A few of my friends and relatives have even shed tears while reading and personally, I came close to such a scenario. Well, I secretly hope that this book would be made into a movie as the effect and drama would be super great and fantastic. Sure to invite discussions everywhere and a definite block-buster.
Editorial review from Amazon.com:
In his debut novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini accomplishes what very few contemporary novelists are able to do. He manages to provide an educational and eye-opening account of a country's political turmoil--in this case, Afghanistan--while also developing characters whose heartbreaking struggles and emotional triumphs resonate with readers long after the last page has been turned over. And he does this on his first try.
The Kite Runner follows the story of Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. As children in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early 1970s, the boys are inseparable. They spend idyllic days running kites and telling stories of mystical places and powerful warriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of their relationship forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could have ever predicted. Even after Amir and his father flee to America, Amir remains haunted by his cowardly actions and disloyalty. In part, it is these demons and the sometimes impossible quest for forgiveness that bring him back to his war-torn native land after it comes under Taliban rule. ("...I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded, not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.")
Some of the plot's turns and twists may be somewhat implausible, but Hosseini has created characters that seem so real that one almost forgets that The Kite Runner is a novel and not a memoir. At a time when Afghanistan has been thrust into the forefront of America's collective consciousness ("people sipping lattes at Starbucks were talking about the battle for Kunduz"), Hosseini offers an honest, sometimes tragic, sometimes funny, but always heartfelt view of a fascinating land. Perhaps the only true flaw in this extraordinary novel is that it ends all too soon.
The Kite Runner follows the story of Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. As children in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early 1970s, the boys are inseparable. They spend idyllic days running kites and telling stories of mystical places and powerful warriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of their relationship forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could have ever predicted. Even after Amir and his father flee to America, Amir remains haunted by his cowardly actions and disloyalty. In part, it is these demons and the sometimes impossible quest for forgiveness that bring him back to his war-torn native land after it comes under Taliban rule. ("...I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded, not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.")
Some of the plot's turns and twists may be somewhat implausible, but Hosseini has created characters that seem so real that one almost forgets that The Kite Runner is a novel and not a memoir. At a time when Afghanistan has been thrust into the forefront of America's collective consciousness ("people sipping lattes at Starbucks were talking about the battle for Kunduz"), Hosseini offers an honest, sometimes tragic, sometimes funny, but always heartfelt view of a fascinating land. Perhaps the only true flaw in this extraordinary novel is that it ends all too soon.
And the rest of the favourable comments:
Los Angeles Times, July 8, 2003
...explores issues of character and country, the subtle and not-so-subtle ways that narrative and history intersect.
Bookpage, June 2003
...provides an extraordinary perspective on the struggles of a country that...had been for too long ignored or misunderstood.
USA Today, May 22, 2003
...a haunting morality tale set in Afghanistan and California, covering nearly 40 years.
San Franscico Chronicle, June 8, 2003
Informative, sentimental...Hosseini imparts a delicacy here that transcends any mere topical curiosity about Afghanistan.
Entertainment Weekly, June 6, 2003
Poignant...clear...moving.
Wall Street Journal, May 30, 2003
Vivid picture of Afghanistan.
People, July 14, 2003
...this extraordinary first novel locates the personal struggles of everyday people in the terrible sweep of history.
Washington Post, July 6, 2003
Intimate account of family and friendship, betrayal and salvation that requires no atlas or translation to engage and enlighten us.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 19, 2003
Hosseini shows how an engaging novel begins- with simple, exquisite writing that compels the reader to turn the page.
The Boston Herald, June 15, 2003
Well-paced suspense, engaging characters, riveting incidents and pungent dialogue make The Kite Runner a soar.
Okay, I come to the end of my novel-review, so what are you all waiting for???
Okay, I come to the end of my novel-review, so what are you all waiting for???
Go grab this book in your major friendly bookshops and follow it up with the 2nd book of Hosseini, ___Thousand Splendid Suns____
Hermes store for baizu...i took this photo for u..
haha yes you are right! that's my lunch... MUSSELS!!!! my fav! and they are super fresh and succulent. There were a total of 65 of them i think...can u imagine!!?? but of cos i din finish them all by myself. i shared my lunch with grace. anw this restaurant is called leon's and it's actually like a franchise in paris. there are several stores all over paris and their ads are all over the metros... simply make me happy when i take the trains to the different places. hah i am seriously thinking of franchising this store to singapore...ooh such nice food should exist in singapore!!!
