The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

I've just finished reading this book, on the recommendation of a friend, The Traveller (thank you, Julz!). The book that I got has a different cover, but I couldn't find the cover that I have anywhere on the Internet, which I thought was strange.

So anyway, this is one of those books that haunts you. I started reading it, could NOT put it down, and dreamt about it for a couple of nights. The main character, Amir, was on my mind all the time. Scary.

The story is a mix of heartwrenching hopelessness of a son who is desperate for any signs of approval from his father, of friendship that was stronger than blood but yet so fragile that it was so easily and often abused.

I loved how the characters were meticulously developed by the author; not one incident, not one word is wasted. Everything that was written in the earlier chapters of the book, had profound implications as the story progressed. And the language was just beautiful. Khaled Hosseini has just become my favourite author.

What was wonderful about the book to me, is that it gave me a peek into life in Afghanistan. Or at least the author's view of Afghanistan before the wars started. It amazes and saddens me that a country that was so rich in culture and so full of life and resource was reduced to the sorry state that it is in now.

The book reminds me of "Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt. Its sense of hopelessness and despair were very similar, I thought.