Book Review: The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, is just a wonderful book. Jeff’s Aunt Joan had recommended it to me awhile ago and since then, numerous others have recommended it to me as well. I finally had a chance to read it and was blown away. I said it before when I reviewed A Thousand Splendid Suns, Hosseini’s second novel: he’s a very effective and engaging story-teller. What’s more, Hosseini is really good at characterization: his characters are layered, faceted, flawed, compelling, nasty, selfish, brutal, redeeming, sympathetic and sometimes lovable. Furthermore, he gives us glimpses into elements of Afghani culture that we wouldn’t have known about otherwise.

To wit, The Kite Runner revolves around a certain defining kite flying competition and the events that occur therein. It deals with the relationships between both master and servant, and two best friends at the same time. It’s a story about the lack of courage and loyalty, and yet the possibility of redemption for nearly unforgivable wrongs. Hosseini draws you in and the 400 pages just fly by. If you haven’t already done so, go read it!