The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

Read: January 2007

I enjoyed The Kite Runner. But it was all just a little too easy. The subject of childhood regret is like a scenic spot that has been visited too often; the emotional centre so contrite and self-indulgent it feels like a get-out-of-jail-free card; the setting in Afghanistan certain to elicit bursts of pity from its globally conscious readership but in style, structure, characters and plot it is inherently a ‘Western’ novel. It is like a Disney Land in Kabul.

Read this book. Its clear, uncluttered prose is sometimes beautiful and the emotional honesty of its author gives it a clarity that many bestsellers lack. It is a perfect paperback; light, easy to read and moving. It is no wonder Khaled Hosseini has received such glowing praise. But at no point did I feel the breath being sucked out of me as my mind whirled to comprehend how I had been lucky enough to stumble upon a book of this magnitude. For me, that is what sets apart a great book from the rest.

5 out of 10