Last weekend I finished Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.
It was not an enjoyable read in the sense that it did not make me feel happy or good, but it was about real life and I felt like it did not shy away from the tough things in life.
The NY Times Book Review (on the back cover) said, “a story of fierce cruelty and fierce yet redeeming love.” I would agree on the fierce cruelty, but I don’t know about the redeeming love. It seemed that the main character was seeking redemption of his own haunting past rather than loving the child that was in need of redemption. I guess at the end I can see the love, but it seemed that the parents never were able to really love the child.
It was a hard read. There were points in the book that I thought, why and I reading this because it is making me depressed. Then there were moments where I was able to see life from a different perspective and that made me keep reading. Also what kept me reading was the need to see the main character redeemed out of the deep pain he was living.
One of the things that fascinated me was the importance of prayer throughout the story. I would like to sit and talk to a Muslim person about prayer because it was so central. I lent the book to a friend and I am excited to hear what he has to say.
Currently I am reading the Chonic-What-Cles of Narnia. That is a drastic difference to Kite Runner. I am interested in reading I Am Charlotte Simmons next, but I don’t know if the book will live up to the hype. Tom Wolfe’s next book is of more interest to me. I don’t know the title, but it will be on the life of immigrants in the US. Since he is writing on current themes, my guess is that the book has to involve a Latin American family.
