The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

[katekintailbc]

The Kite Runner
by Khaled Hosseini
(Audio)
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/5265600/

Finished listening to this today. I wasn't sure what to expect. I heard people call it "very dark and disturbing".

And it certainly was very dark as far as subject matter and themes... but it didn't FEEL like the sort of dark and depressing I was expecting. I was shocked and terrified and worried and oh INCREDIBLY sympathetic. But I still enjoyed every minute. Listening to it was the perfect experience, because the story kept going. I couldn't dwell in the horrible images the way I would if I were reading. The story went on with a great pace, moving forward into better moments. Though even in some of the dark moments, there was so much else going on- conflicting emotions, vindication, justice, rescue.

The emotions... SO well done! My life is absolutely nothing like this character's, but through the description and especially the emotions I had no trouble jumping in there and feeling what he felt so intensely. And the worse things got, the more I desperately wanted things to get better for him. My heart ached for a happy ending. And the ending I got was... well... not what I expected and, yet, exactly what I expected. Amazing.

Oh, and hearing it read by the author himself was SUCH a treat! He was an excellent reader and really made it come alive.

This was a stunning book. Probably one of the best I've read (or earread, at least) this year. It deals with so many different subjects and themes, teaches and makes you think, and does so without dancing around anything. It comes right out and hits you with realism. *sigh* Fantastic. Wonderful book!