Fiction.

Picked up at the Unconvention.

This is an unsettling book, that contains a number of brutal episode. I started out liking Amir and getting engrossed in the story, but the ending is very contrived and left me feeling somewhat disappointed with the book.

Going in the post to DJgib as I thought I'd promised to post this book, packed it up ready to go and then realised I'd promised the Bookseller of Kabul!!!! But, as it's packed, I might as well post it.... I hope you enjoy this surprise RABCK :-)

What a surprise! Thanks so much. I have read A Thousand Splendid Suns, which I think I read after I had put this one on my wishlist. My thoughts on the other book are similar to what 666Izzy has written about this one, but I'm still interested to read it - it has had a lot of good reports and I'm trying to broaden my horizons by reading books set in cultures I'm not familiar with. Very grateful for the RABCK.

I found this a very intense and engrossing book. The protagonist is hard to live with - easy to dislike for his sense of entitlement and cowardice. But then, how would any of us have acted in that situation? For me, that is the interesting question that the book raises, and there is sufficient foreshadowing of things to come that I wanted to read on. Throughout, I thought the writing was evocative - I could easily imagine all the scenes despite having never seen any of the places where the action occurs. There is much to be sad about; in fact looking back on reading it I'm not sure I find anything much uplifting - even at the end it is still completely open as to how things will ultimately work out. But that is life too; the best people do not always get the best outcomes.
For me, this was a good read. Thanks again for the RABCK! I think my boyfriend would like to read this too, so will reserve it for him for the moment.