This was the most fantastic novel I've read in a long time. It reminded me so much of 'A Fine Balance' by Rohinton Mistry which I also loved.

A touching, page turning novel to say the least!!

From back cover:

"Amir is the son of a wealthy Kabul merchant, a member of the ruling caste of Pashtuns. Hassan, his servant and constant companion, is a Hazara, a despised and impoverished caste. Their uncommon bond is torn by Amir's choice to abandon his friend amidst the increasing ethnic, religious, and political tensions of the dying years of the Afghan monarchy, and apparently dissolved when Amir and his father flee to California to escape the Soviet invasion, leaving Hassan and his own gentle father to a terrible fate.

But years later, an old family friend calls Amir from Pakistan and reminds him: "There is a way to be good again." And Amir journeys back to a distant world, to try to right past wrongs against the only true friend he ever had."

Such a powerful and phenominal book!!!

Reserved for 'Arleigh' then when she's done, it'll be on it's way to 'poohbear3' next!

Arleigh FINALLY returned this novel to me yesterday.

Sending via Canada Post to poohbear3 today.

Recieved in the mail today from my friend junebug31. Thanks Louise, this will move up near the top of my pile to read.

Starting this one tonight!!! More later

What a good story. It gives the reader another perspective on Afghanistan. I would read this author again. I will be passing this on to cestmoi next.

Received from Shelley over the weekend. Started reading this morning and am enjoying it so far. Thanks.

I started reading this way back in March, got about half way through and then put it down until tonight. It had gotten to the point where it was too depressing, too much bad stuff was happening and in my own life I had alot of challenges that were making me feel like life in general pretty much sucked!

Anyway, I picked it up tonight again, read a few pages and realised how well its written and how strong the story is. I'm going to give it another shot, if I can't get through it again I'll take it to a meet up this month so it can move along.

Ok I finished it...and not easily. There were still many times I wanted to put it down because it was so heart wrenchingly sad. It truly made me realise how fortunate I am in my life, and how lucky - yes lucky - I was to be born to a life free from personal persecution.

Going to surprise someone with this. She has it on her wishlist and I don't think she's realized I have it available...so off it goes to her...very, very soon.

Enjoy!

picked up at the Oakville Meet-up

I have stolen this one to read, which is what I am currently doing :)

I didn't know much about the history of Afghanistan before reading this book, so this was quite an eye opener. The tale truely was a sad one. But there were glimmers of hope throught the whole novel. The parallelsims between fathers and sons throughout the whole book were quite interesting, even though you can't really see them until the very end. This was quite the page turner, and very well written.

It's back with me!!

What a great story!! This was a very sad story about life in Afghanistan. It is a shame that such violence seems to be the way of life now. This is a story about cowardice, friendship, bravery and racism. Very well written!!

mailed to Noumena12 who took it out of the VBB

Big book day for me! Arrived today with 5 other books. Thanks!

FROM THE PUBLISHER
The #1 National Bestseller
Taking us from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy to the present, The Kite Runner is the unforgettable and beautifully told story of the friendship between two boys growing up in Kabul. Raised in the same household and sharing the same wet nurse, Amir and Hassan grow up in different worlds: Amir is the son of a prominent and wealthy man, while Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant, is a Hazara — a shunned ethnic minority. Their intertwined lives, and their fates, reflect the eventual tragedy of the world around them. When Amir and his father flee the country for a new life in California, Amir thinks that he has escaped his past. And yet he cannot leave the memory of Hassan behind him.The Kite Runner is a novel about friendship and betrayal, and about the price of loyalty. It is about the bonds between fathers and sons, and the power of fathers over sons — their love, their sacrifices, and their lies. Written against a backdrop of history that has not been told in fiction before, The Kite Runner describes the rich culture and beauty of a land in the process of being destroyed. But through the devastation, Khaled Hosseini offers hope: through the novel's faith in the power of reading and storytelling, and in the possibilities he shows us for redemption.

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Sending to Tinkesq for release at the 2009 Akron Family Reading Festival
www.akronlibrary.org