Book Review 18: The Kite Runner

I have been rightly accused of reading too much non-fiction and too little fiction, but after 18 straight non-fiction books I finally decided to break the streak. Some friends and I decided we'd all read this one together, so that made this book especially fun to read. I think they're still working on it but it was good enough I had to jump ahead a little bit.

I know you aren't suppossed to judge a book by its cover, but I usually start books by reading what the newspaper editors have to say and then seeing whether or not they are right. The first review I read of this book called it "powerful and haunting." Those are strong words but this book lives up to them.

The Kite Runner is the story of two Afghani boys who are torn apart and then brought back together by war. It takes place during the last twenty years, a period in which their country saw monarchy, foreign occupation, anarchy, theocracy, and now more foreign occupation (or democracy if you want to believe that). Reading non-fiction about states in turmoil gives a valuable objective overbearing view of the causes and effects of history, but this book really proves that more subjective accounts, even fictional ones, can provide deeper insight and leave a longer lasting impression on the mind. When you read history books you don't understand what it is like to experience the events. This book gives a fictional portal into Afghanistan to better understand the countries and peoples the United States is somehow "liberating."

I know I'm talking a lot of politics, but guess what - that's me.

This book is a powerful story even if you don't give a hoot about Afghanistan or ethnic conflict. It is about friendship, family, duty, and honor. It has won all sorts of awards and deserves them all from what I see.

Out of the books I've read thusfar since I started reviewing them, this is the one that I will make me keep an eye out for the author's next.

Check it out.

Next Book:
In celebration of taking and killing the GRE, I'm going back to an old favorite - The Great Gatsby.