Reviewing "The Kite Runner"

Moments ago, I finished reading Khaled Hosseini's "The Kite Runner". Now I understand the buzz that came with the book and I'm going with the majority of reviewers who had positive words for it.

I am most impressed with how the author unveiled the drama against a recent historical backdrop. Not that such a thing is uncommon in literature, it's just that the book had a personal effect of making Afghanistan not just a subject of a news story to be read but a living and breathing abode that holds dreams and memories of people, like Amir and Hassan in the story. I have seen similarities and differences between its culture and mine. On some pages, it seemed like its people were like the ones I encountered when I was growing up. On others, the book talked about people whose beliefs and manners are completely alien to me.

I think though that the book could have used at least a hundred more pages to add more depth to the story - probably on Amir's new life in America. The first person narrative throughout the story also gave little opportunity to see through the eyes of the other characters (most significantly Hassan and Baba), and hence allowed for minimal character buildup.

All in all, I find it to be a wonderful book and I like it more than Hosseini's newer, "A Thousand Splendid Suns".