I don’t usually read much that ends up on the bestseller lists, but my friend Terry (more about Terry soon) was reading the Kite Runner the last time I saw her. And, I had the book on my shelf from one of those “buy two off the table get one free” at B&N, so I slid it into the list after Gilead.
First, let me say that I really enjoyed the book. In the midst of trying to work on an article and manage a bunch of projects at work, I made my way through it in about a week and a half, which is far quicker than most of my leisure reading these days.
The story begins with Amir and his buddy Hassan in Afganistan in the 1970s when they are young boys. These are complex characters who are flawed in very human ways. Their time together includes one major tragic event that spawns a series of others. The tale winds it way to America in the 1980s and then back to Afganistan in the summer before September 11. In lots of ways, it’s a strange text, with a string of predictable coincidences and tie-ups. But, this is not a story with a happy ending and the process of character redemption is definitely two steps up and one step back. And, that, made it worth reading.
Next up: Ian McEwan’s Saturday.