Before reading this book, I knew of Afghanistan only as a geopolitical entity that has suffered and continues to struggle. The Kite Runner finally introduced me to the people, culture, and language of Afghanistan. It's a loving book about a peaceful time in a beautiful country, which serves as the context in which a tragic story unfolds. Afghanistan is not so much a simple location for the novel, as it is a complex character itself, one that changes, falls victim to circumstances, and suffers.
Sadness and regret fill the pages of this book. There are only hints and pockets of happiness, some only in the form of nostalgia. Khaled Hosseini shows a very tender respect for Afghan tradition. There's a sense that things always come full circle, but it's up to you to decide whether you will ultimately pay for your sins or redeem yourself from them.
Some will probably complain that the manner in which redeption is achieved is predictable, but that didn't make its attainment any less satisfying for me. And despite the main character's weaknesses, the author successfully led me to the point of empathy.
Khaled Hosseini had a habit of interjecting earlier quotes as memories, to make sure the reader got his point; while normally I complain if an author is too explicit and doesn't give his reader enough credit, I wasn't so bothered this time. Maybe because Hosseini made his point, but didn't belabor it. Or maybe because his tendency to explain things also made him define the Farsi (I think) words, either explicitly or in context, and I like it when I can understand foreign words that are interspersed with English in books.
Overall, I found the book well-paced, and I generally overlooked the literary shortcomings described above. I subtracted half a star, though, because I was left with some unanswered questions relating to the main character's father, Baba. Though Baba's actions were central to the plot, his motives were never made clear, or even explored.
No comments:
Post a Comment