Kite Runner

I also liked the book. The part near the end of the book was a little bit of a stretch. (I think you know which incident I'm refering to) but otherwise it was a nice, light read.

No, I'm not sure what part you are referring to at the end of the book. Can you be more specific?

We may be talking about 2 different books - this was a pretty intense book & sad.....what part did you think was 'light'?

I too have read this book.
There were parts I could have thrown it out the window.. being so pissed at the main character.


yikes.. i need to find the book because now I do not remember his name..

The main guys were Amir, the rich kid, and Hassan, the servant boy. I thought it was an interesting journey about betrayal and redemption. Amir felt terrible throughout most of his life about his cowardice in not rescuing Hassan, but I agree, he was pretty wimpy about actually DOING something about it - letting them move away, which eventually led to Hassan and his wife's death - or maybe that would have happened anyway. The son that Hassan had, Sohrab? wasn't that his name?, is Amir's redemption. Interesting that Sohrab rescues Amir using his slingshot to get the soldier to quit beating on Amir. Amir, from my recollection of that part of the book, almost welcomed the beating. I had a hard time remembering that this book was fiction. It seemed autobiographical. The fact that Amir did not know that Hassan was his brother until he was middle aged is an interesting twist in the book. Makes you wonder that had he known, would things have been different between not only Hassan and Amir, but between Amir and his dad? Remember he was always jealous of the attention his father paid to Hassan. Too bad dad didn't confess early on, eh? Ahhh...the sins of the father.....

Yes! Thank you .. that is his name

I have often wondered what would have happened if daddy spoke up about him being his brother in the first place?
Would Hassan have been moved into the house then? What about his " father".. the older man who raised him? Would he have been seen as a servent still?
I have the book in my library . I will look it up later this evening and see if it was a work of fiction or not.. It seems to have been presented as such. But I would not be surprised if it wasnt.

EM, we are definitely talking about the same book. How many current books out there are entitled "Kite Runner"?

When I said the book was "light" I was referring to the amount of time required to read it and the ease in doing so.

Like I said, I enjoyed it, but I certainly wouldn't disclose the plot during a discussion. Now you have ruined some interesting twists for whoever may have planned on reading it.

But it was a very enjoyable book. I will agree with you on that.

shewolf, if was fiction.

i see your point gus.
It was light. It was a 3 day read. And a good enough story that I would have loved for it to have taken a week or so.


Maybe, you should edit the title of this thread, english, to say ( SPOILERS) so those who are reading it know not to come in so it doesnt spoil their story.
On the other hand, a thread that has the title of a book will most definatly be a discussion of the plot.

oops, sorry! I assumed that the book forum was to discuss books that had been actually read. Maybe "Books to Read" would be a better title, then folks would know there wouldn't be any plot discussion! Anyway, I don't think we've ruined it as we've all read it........I see what you mean by a light read, gus. I thought you meant it wasn't too emotionally involving, thus 'light'. Glad you liked it even tho it says it is fiction I wonder if the author didn't actually take episodes from his life in Afganistan......guess we'll never know unless we email him!

Has he written any other books?
Have you read any of them ?

not that I know of. but i'd love to read more of his stuff!

Aside from Kite Runner, I posted a topic re: Life of Pi, which is fantastic! I'd recommend that book too. What are you reading?

Right now I am reading Good Earth by Pearl s Buck.
it is , so far, a great book.
It is about a young asian farmer, who lives with his elderly father on a few acres of hard to work land.
His father secures him a wife , and the story picks up about the time he goes to 'retrieve' her from the house in wich she is a slave.

My mother read it first and said it is the type of story that will completely and truly..piss you off..
I enjoy books that change how you feel about the characters to the point where, even after you are done reading it, you spend time picturing them, lecturing them, and wishing the story was longer. :-)
What are you reading?

I love that book! My grandmother loved that book and Pearl S. Buck as well. Anything about China interests me. I know, some books you hate to end, eh? It's like losing a friend!

I am reading Milton's Paradise Lost, and also a book about Islam called The Trouble with Islam by Irshad Manji.

I was going to recommend the Spiritual Gyre, which is an interesting delve into history, religion, politics, etc.

If you love stories about China/ asia - forget all the hype .. and read Memoirs of a Geisha.


bad press or not, that was an excellent book!

That's a book I've been wanting to read, too. Maybe I'll check it out @ the library this week. BTW have you read Fall On Your Knees, by Ann-Marie MacDonald? Excellent, you won't be able to put it down. My family had late dinners for awhile. But it was worth it!

No I have not.
I will pick that up next.
The good earth is my last available reading book in the house , so I am only reading a chapter a day until I get some reserves.

My mother was telling me about a book called..
ooh.. I think it was The life of Bees?
Or something like that..
I believe it was just on Oprahs book list as well and that is where it gained its popularity.
Apparently it is an excellent book .. I was thinking about opening that one as well.
Do you know wich one I am talking about?

A Recipe for Bees?

No, that's.... A Recipe for Death by Lightening?

Arg.

(Not at home to check)


Edited: It must be a Recipe for Bees and A Cure for Death by Lightening.

Phew. Stoopid memory.

Anyhoo...both lovely. Really. At least for me.

(Still need to check when I get home.)

How differently do you think the lives of Amir and Hassan would have been, had they known they were brothers? I think it was terribly cruel of the father not to tell them. He, I think, caused the subsequent tragedy of having Hassan leave which resulted in his death.......but then that's plot development for ya. There had to be a way for Amir to redeem himself and I guess Hassan's son was it.

(Sorry for the derail englishmajor…just another small aside re: A Recipe for Bees and The Cure for Death by Lightning ~not lightening!~ for shewolf.)

Both books were written by Gail Anderson-Dargatz. I was surprised to see this when I got home yesterday, though I must have known it at some level since they came to mind in a pair like that, and it's likely I purchased A Recipe for Bees because I enjoyed her first work, A Cure for Death by Lightning. I wasn't aware she made the Oprah list (not surprised), though I knew both were shortlisted for The Giller Prize.