A friend had gifted me a copy of this book quite some time back. The review had been quite good. But, from what I gathered, the book seemed to be rather sad, and this deterred me from picking it up for quite a long time. For last few months, things have been rather hectic and tiring, and I am not inclined towards heavy reading. Nitin read it some days back, and recommended it, but I still could not muster up enough enthusiasm to start on it. Which goes to show the kind of deep rut I am in - fiction is usually my forte. So, when our recent trip to Shimla promised to provide enough time and opportunity, I looked forward to reading The Kite Runner. I love to read during journeys. As soon as the train started, and everyone settled down, I opened the book. Okay, not exactly - I covered it with a newspaper first, so the pages would not get dog-eared. The first few pages had me engrossed, and I continued to read all the free time I could get, staying up till 1:30 am one night to finish.
The book was indeed good, even though there is a constant feeling of sadness throughout; which is to be expected, given the context of the long war and the rule of Taliban in Afghanistan. The story, narrated in first person, is well told. It gets you interested within the first few pages, and manages to sustain this interest till the very end. I think that is one of the main reasons that make it a good read. It portrays different shades of human nature, including the darker ones. It depicts a spectrum of emotions - the innocent joys of childhood, conflicts of an adult mind, devotion of a loyal friend, unapologetic cruelty of an enemy. In spite of all the pain and suffering it shows, and the somber mood it carries, the book does not leave you depressed or gloomy. Perhaps because the negative acts are compensated by virtues - sacrifice, unconditional devotion, remorse, and a desire "to be good again".
Hi. A dear friend led me to both your blogsopts. I find a treasure here :-) I am particularly writing on this post of yours coz I too have read the book. I agree with you completely that despite the "pain and suffering", "the book does not leave you depressed or gloomy." And I could'nt agree with you more about why it is so. On one hand it captues the demonic face of human beings while on the other is Hassan who left me hoping that such a person existed and it is not mere fiction :-) "... for you a thousand times over" still rings in my mind :-)
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