The Kite Runner

by Khaled Hosseini

You’ve all been anxiously waiting to hear what I thought, haven’t you? Well…I’m kind of undecided.

By the end of the first paragraph I was telling the Romgi that this was a really well-written book. On the whole, I love books that catch my attention so quickly, whether with the plot or the writing. By the end of the first chapter, I was hooked. The story was fascinating.

So why am I undecided? Good question. It isn’t because of the uncomfortable (and heartbreaking) much-talked-about rape scene. It isn’t because of the backdrop of Afghanistan politics and wartime. I’m not exactly sure what it’s from…when I finished reading I felt some emotion that seemed to be a combination of (but not the same as) depression, heartache, sadness, loneliness, sickness…I’ve been reading A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier at the same time, and maybe it just gave me too negative of a view of humanity.

I think that’s it — how am I supposed to save the world when the world is like The Kite Runner?

Still, despite that, I’d recommend it. Like I said, I’m torn!