The Kite Runner

After reading the wonderful reviews on its cover, I finally purchased a copy of Afghan-born writer Khaled Hosseini's first novel, The Kite Runner, and boy, I sure am glad I did that!

The book is mainly a story about the life of this one Afghan boy. But aside from that, it also tells the recent history of the Afghan nation and its people. It begins with a setting in Afghanistan about 3-4 decades ago, and ends in the United States. It's unlike any book I have ever read. Of course, that's probably because I've never read a book about Afghanistan before. Although I hear a lot about this country on the news, I've never really imagined how the situation there is like. This book gave me an insight into the Afghanistan of today and its previous glory before the Russian invasion in the 70's.

The story is amazing, and very well written. I could not stop reading it, even while I was at work! Although it's quite long, I was able to finish it in just a few hours. That's how much of a page-turner it is. But although it's a fast read, the book is full of emotion and is so very moving. Haunting even. It's been 4 days since I've read it, but I'm still thinking about it.

I have a lot of favorite authors: Gabriel Garcia-Marquez, J.R.R. Tolkien, Alexandre Dumas, Jane Austen, Nicholas Sparks, to mention a few. Khaled Hosseini has been added to my list. I'm telling you, he's just as good as the most popular names in literature. Coming from me, you might not believe that, but just read the reviews on this book--they're all true. And if you haven't read The Kite Runner, you are missing a lot! So you should definitely read it. As for me, I'm just saving up so I can get myself a copy of Hosseini's new book, A Thousand Splendid Suns. I can't wait--it's supposed to be really good, too!