Finally, the long awaited discussion on The Kite Runner! I must say, for weeks after reading it, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I tried picking up other books but they all seemed bland to me after reading such a well crafted novel. I read the book in a total of about 2 days (Noah was a single parent during that time--sorry Noah). So what makes it so great? I acknowledge that it's not exactly a feel-good kind of book (although I love the redemption of the main character at the end), it has some rather graphic imagery and some difficult subjects. However, you can't help but become captured by the characters, scenery (much of which brought me back to the portion of China where Noah and I lived shortly after getting married--we bordered Afghanistan) and the themes (friendship, betrayal, lies, escape, and finally redemption).
Do you who have read the book agree that it was an incredible book, or did you hate it?
5 comments:
It is a masterpiece. The plot turns are so subtle and unexpected and POWERFUL. I felt like I really got to know the characters and to love them. And it is SO important to get a sense of Afghansistan now, when it is the center of such significant activity. Thanks for choosing this book, Factotum! I read it in four days.
So here's a philosophical question or two: When a society enforces a class distinction and maybe even segregates, how immoral is it to go along with the society's demands? Suppose one's life would be at risk were he/she to befriend someone of another "class"? More importantly, what if one were simply UNAWARE that the class distinctions were wrong? What kind of responsibility do we have to raise the consciousness of those who tolerate and sustain prejudice (and hence risk the kind of violence portrayed in _Kite Runner_)? Should we be more concerned with their safety than with their morality? Do we have a right to judge them? Do we have a duty to protect them? (And remember that "protection" can become the excuse for even greater violence...)
Alas, the maze of violence is so tangled.
A child, trying desperately to win his father's love and good opinion, will react to situations quite differently than a secure child who knows he is loved and valued. I think Hassan was (unknowingly) "the competition" for the father's heart. Class distinction may have motivated the father's actions, but I don't think it was the motivation for the son's behavior. Justification maybe, not motivation.
We both read the book, and enjoyed it immensely. It was haunting and yeah, not a book you just put down and forget about after finishing it. I just got another book by the same author and hope it's as good of a read.
Wendy: Let me know how you like the new book you picked up, I've been so tempted to read another one by the author.
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