The Writer's Block

by Alyssa Ast

Taking us from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy to the present, The Kite Runner is the unforgettable, beautifully told story of the friendship between two boys growing up in Kabul. Raised in the same household and sharing the same wet nurse, Amir and Hassan nonetheless grow up in different worlds: Amir is the son of a prominent and wealthy man, while Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant, is a Hazara, member of a shunned ethnic minority. Their intertwined lives, and their fates, reflect the eventual tragedy of the world around them. When the Soviets invade and Amir and his father flee the country for a new life in California, Amir thinks that he has escaped his past. And yet he cannot leave the memory of Hassan behind him.

The Kite Runner is a novel about friendship, betrayal, and the price of loyalty. It is about the bonds between fathers and sons, and the power of their lies. Written against a history that has not been told in fiction before, The Kite Runner describes the rich culture and beauty of a land in the process of being destroyed. But with the devastation, Khaled Hosseini also gives us hope: through the novel's faith in the power of reading and storytelling, and in the possibilities he shows for redemption. Information courtesy of http://www.khaledhosseini.com/index.htm

A little over a year ago, I read A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. I enjoyed the book so much, I just couldn't wait to read the author's first book, The Kite Runner. I quickly purchased the book, yet it sat on my bookshelf collecting dust for nearly a year. Finally, I just couldn't resist any longer and began reading The Kite Runner.

I loved The Kite Runner just as much as I loved A Thousand Splendid Suns. I couldn't put it down. What I love about author Khaled Hosseini's books is that fact he presents the other side of cultures, which we often forget about. After 9/11, many Americans began to view Muslims differently. Many Americans began to stereotype Muslims. These books let us see their side to situations, that not all are bad, like those responsible for the 9/11 attacks.

The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns are beautify written. They are engaging, descriptive, suspenseful, heartbreaking and heartwarming. The author does an exceptional job connecting the reader with the characters, making the reader feel each characters' joy, pain, excitement and every other natural emotion.

If you haven't done so already, I recommended that you read The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. I promise, you won't regret reading them.

Have you read either of these novels? What did you think about them?

Happy Writing!

The Kite Runner-- Book Review