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ashleysweitz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Colonisation, Classism, Dementia, Death, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Ableism, Trafficking, and Child death
henrytinker's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I didn't like this as much as Kite Runner or ATSS. It started strong, and I was really hoping that the engagement with Afghan folklore would continue. Unfortunately, it felt very disconnected, and was more like a short story collection than a novel. There were stories that I didn't really understand why they were there (Parwana's and Markos's), and then omissions such as Paris' return to Shadbagh, which should be a huge emotional moment, just being a brief mention by Markos.
I rated this so low because as a disabled person, I really hated how the author wrote about disability. I'm confused why he decided to write about so many types of disability, and yet still made all the depictions offensive stereotypes. Two of the characters are euthanasised after consistently being portrayed as burdens to their loves ones, this is a dangerous stereotype to perpetuate.
I rated this so low because as a disabled person, I really hated how the author wrote about disability. I'm confused why he decided to write about so many types of disability, and yet still made all the depictions offensive stereotypes. Two of the characters are euthanasised after consistently being portrayed as burdens to their loves ones, this is a dangerous stereotype to perpetuate.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
fe_aye's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Khaled Hosseini is a good author, I adore his writing style and that is the main reason I ended up finishing this book,. He knows how to weave words together masterfully and I have previously enjoyed his other books The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.
This book did not gel with me, it spends a vast majority of the narrative veering off into long winding tangents that end up having almost no contribution to the story of Pari and Abdullah. Granted I am biased as these sorts of theme based slice of life stories are not my thing at all, but this book spends 90% of its narrative around characters who have little to absolutely no interaction with the supposed central two characters of this story.
Pari and Abdullah don’t even appear in the book for over half of the pages, that is instead dedicated to lengthy descriptions of different characters who have a very shaky connection to these two at best and their lives. They are all interesting in their own ways but I would have preferred to stick to the narrative of the two siblings than this. It ended up feeling disjointed and more like a compilation of several shorter stories tied together by a central theme of family, which I don’t mind but the description for this book is a little misleading. It makes it sound like the entire book will be focused on Pari and Abdullah’s separation when that particular plot beat only takes up about 20% of the book.
Regardless this is still a wonderfully written piece of literature and I’m sure so many people will be able to see their own lives in this and connect with the characters and their situations in ways I couldn’t. I hope you found this experience more engaging than I did.
This book did not gel with me, it spends a vast majority of the narrative veering off into long winding tangents that end up having almost no contribution to the story of Pari and Abdullah. Granted I am biased as these sorts of theme based slice of life stories are not my thing at all, but this book spends 90% of its narrative around characters who have little to absolutely no interaction with the supposed central two characters of this story.
Pari and Abdullah don’t even appear in the book for over half of the pages, that is instead dedicated to lengthy descriptions of different characters who have a very shaky connection to these two at best and their lives. They are all interesting in their own ways but I would have preferred to stick to the narrative of the two siblings than this. It ended up feeling disjointed and more like a compilation of several shorter stories tied together by a central theme of family, which I don’t mind but the description for this book is a little misleading. It makes it sound like the entire book will be focused on Pari and Abdullah’s separation when that particular plot beat only takes up about 20% of the book.
Regardless this is still a wonderfully written piece of literature and I’m sure so many people will be able to see their own lives in this and connect with the characters and their situations in ways I couldn’t. I hope you found this experience more engaging than I did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Abandonment
Moderate: Cursing, Ableism, Classism, and Bullying
s3lin's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Dementia
Moderate: Ableism and Death
faizoo's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Grief, Medical content, Suicide, and War
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