This was a rewarding read, a mix of character drama with some pre- and post-Taliban description of Afghanistan. It doesn’t go into great depth in any one area, but chooses instead to remain accessible to a mostly clueless American such as myself, which I appreciated. The plot devices get a little transparent here and there, but Hosseini does a good job of playing up the drama then drawing the story back to a concrete, believable reality.
Referred by Mom.
2 responses to “Book: The Kite Runner / Khaled Hosseini”
Yes the plot felt somewhat, toward the end, contrived to me, but the writing was a joy…wonderful sentences, fabulous vocabulary, characters that held interest, and the whole thing evocative of place and time. My book club members disapproved of my critical comments regarding the plot, but I’m a writer and I don’t like to become aware of the author writing when I’m reading a novel, which I did toward the end. Still, one of the best reads of the year for me, and I read a lot.
Totally agreed. The whole setup was totally convincing and a joy to read, then the resolution is just too perfect, it loses the feel of real life that you so enjoy early in the tale. I think the hard finish is an attempt to balance that out, but I would rather have good writing and a less perfect plot structure.