Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the approval of his father and resolves to win the local kite-fighting tournament, to prove that he has the makings of a man. His loyal friend Hassan promises to help him - for he always helps Amir - but thus is 1970s Afghanistan and Hassan is merely a low-caste servant who is jeered at in the street, although Amir feels jealous of his natural courage and the place he holds in his father's heart. But neither of the boys could foresee what would happen to Hassan on the afternoon of the tournament, which was to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realises that one day he must return, to find the one thing that his new world cannot grant him: redemption.

A very enjoyable book, particularly because it is told from a different cultural viewpoint when compared to most books available in the West. And because it is narrated from the first person singular and the author himself left Afghanistan to go to the States, it wasn't clear how much was fiction and how much was "autobiography".

My only criticism is that although I know that Afghanistan under the Taleban was no picnic, I had the uneasy feeling that some of the events in Afghanistan had been exaggerated, as if to play to the folks in middle America who have sons and loved ones currently fighting in Afghanistan [and Iraq]. But then, I've never been there, so how would I know?

RELEASE NOTES:

on the bookshelves under the stairs

What a nice surprise to find a book from my Wish-list 'under the stairs' of Hotel De Doelen in Leiden. Thank you very much! I'm looking forward to reading The Kite Runner.

RELEASE NOTES:

On second thoughts I did not read the book, as someone said it contained grief without end. In that case, I'll pass this very popular book on to someone who can't be bothered about that...

With thanks to engelsman for the opportunity!

RELEASE NOTES:

On the ground floor

Dear Finder,
Congratulations on finding this book! I hope you'll enjoy reading it. It would be nice if you'd take the time to let us know if you'll read the book and what you will be doing with it once you've read it, by making a journal entry.

Please note that visiting www.bookcrossing.com is anonymous & free!

Found it about 2 days ago. Saw the release alert for this book at the VU medische faculteit, and I was walking around hoping to catch it.. and I did! I think I'll read it first and then release it again.

Edit 6 February 2010: Reserved for J4shaw (chosen from the Contemporary Asian Literature VBB).

Well, this book has been lying on my shelf for a while now, I just never really felt in the mood for it I guess. But I did want to read it before I sent it off, and I finally finished it a couple of days ago. It was easier to read than I had expected and I quite enjoyed the first half of the book (well sort of..), though I did find Amir a bit annoying sometimes. But somewhere halfway through I started to lose interest, not sure why.. I continued to read and somewhere near the end it got better again, or more interesting at least.. and I liked the ending (not too sad or too happy :p). The only thing was that it didn't really grab me, there were some sad and gruesome bits in it, but I had expected something more since it is such a popular book..





[SPOILER!]

The thing about Amir and Hassan being half-brothers kind of bothered me, they were about the same age, so Amir's dad slept with Hassan's mother while his wife was still alive/pregnant? It just seemed out of character.. And shouldn't Amir and Hassan look a bit more alike then?

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

This book was chosen by J4shaw from the Contemporary Asian Literature VBB, hosted by ApoloniaX.

And is now travelling to Australia :)

Happy reading!

This book arrived with me today.
Many thanks for sending it Tsjara, and thank you for the postcard.

Oh I loved this book, and it made me cry too, so that gives it 4 stars to begin with!

I'll admit there are some fundamental issues with the story, but I disagree with Tsjara about their ages as on page 6 it says that they are a year apart in age and Amir's mother died during his labor.

I felt that the heart tugging guilt of Amir pulls you through the book at a rapid pace (I read it in 2 sittings) and the twists and turns the story takes, never lingering too long on one particular part of the story in order to cram everything in, is very clever writing.

I really enjoyed this book, and will not hopefully wait too long to read Khaled Hosseini's 2nd novel " A Thousand Splendid Suns ".

Taking along to King O'Malley's pub for the October 2010 BC Canberra meet-up.
I have earmarked it for Melanie2474, but if she isn't there hopefully someone else will claim it.

Picked up today at the Canberra meetup at King O'Malley's pub. I have seen the film version of this and enjoyed it.

This was released late November 2010 at the Canberra BookCrossing Xmas get together (I just forgot to journal it!)

Well I seem to have had this book since the 2010 Christmas get-together.
I'm taking it to release at Benedict House Queanbeyan today at our Canberra group meetup.

Well I seem to have had this book since the 2010 Christmas get-together.
I'm taking it to release at Benedict House Queanbeyan today at our Canberra group meetup.

Mel didn't turn up - must be off being a goddess somewhere - so I snaffled this book to take it off adventuring somewhere.

It is dawn as I write. Dawn at Anzac!

For an Australian - or a New Zealander - there is a magic to those words. You have to understand the history and the legends.

But here in The Gallipoli Houses, there is no legend. Just fact. The Houses are clean and comfortable. The rooms are large and elegant.The food is excellent. And the host knows everything about Anzac. He wants to know what you want to see here, and then he tells you the best way to go about seeing it. He knows everything. and more.

Happiness is his aim, and I am happy here. I shall probably join the legion of loyal customers, returning again and again.

The clouds above are pinkening, the sheep and roosters are sounding their matins, the book is on the shelf.