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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A very, very human book with characters facing sincere and relatable moral struggles. The kinship I found in some of the characters (particularly Idris) certainly made me think more critically about my relationship between the struggles I face vs. the struggles people abroad in poorer situations face, and the importance of not letting your call to action slip away.
Additionally, loved how tragedies (both familial and community wide) unfolded suddenly, without fanfare as they often tend to in real life.
Additionally, loved how tragedies (both familial and community wide) unfolded suddenly, without fanfare as they often tend to in real life.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Stunning and heartbreaking, a beautifully written multi-generational novel with fully-fledged complex characters. This book weaves multiple story arcs, including that of Afghanistan itself, with masterful use of show not tell.
I loved every page.
I loved every page.
khaled lost me in the middle but the ending tied everything together nicely. but it’s probably my least favorite among his works (still made me tear up lol i love khaled)
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-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:
Yes
This was no ordinary novel to read. This book felt like an elevator ride. Meaning, when you use stairs you start at the bottom floor and make your way up staying certain period of time at each floor. First floor, second, third and so on. But no one rides an elevator like that. You start at the bottom and go straight to one of the upper floors, skipping everything inbetween, then you go down a few floors, back up and so on. It makes you dizzy and confused but you love it. That pretty much sums up my experience reading this book. It was like a rollercoaster ride – full of fear for the characters but also full of hope, kindness and positivity.
In the process of reading this book I got to know all these fascinating people, each with a different perspective on life. Each with their strenghts and their faults. At one point it almost felt like there was too much information. With the wings of this novel I travelled from 1929 to 2010 through countries like Afghanistan, France, Greece, USA. You would think that everything was too confusing, too complicated. For some it would be a burden. For me it was an abundance.
To be honest, I hadn’t even started to read this book when I already knew it would be my favorīte. And to no surprise for me it did live up to my expectations if not exceeded them.
Before this novel I had read only one more of Khaled Hosseini’s three novels. And instantly he became my favorīte author/storyteller. I just know that he has this out of this world ability to put words we all use in our every day lives in such order that they make people cry and smile and feel everything all at once. I can’t comprehend how one using an alphabet can make a 450+ page long spell that hypnotizes you, makes you forget about the real world around you and draws you right in this fictional universe. Like the quote in this exact novel: „Was (s)he merely a gifted trickster? A magician, with a pen for a wand, able to move an audience by conjuring emotions she had never known herself? Was that even possible?”
For Khaled Hosseini’s books I don’t have expectations, I just let his stories take me wherever their characters go.
„A story is like a moving train: no matter where you hop onboard, you are bound to reach your destination sooner or later.”
What I like about this book the most are the relationships portrayed. If The Kite Runner was a great portrayal of father and son relatinship, then this was even greater portrayal of the relationship between siblings. And also for some unknown reason I am drawn to Afghan culture. I think it was when I was reading The Kite Runner when I first fell in love it. I have never come in direct contact with this culture, not that I recall, but from reading books alone it has left a great impact on me. It has teached me so much and I will forever be thankful for that. Oh, what a country would Afghanistan be if only it wasn’t „a thousand tragedies per square mile..”
As I have mentioned previously, this novel isn’t an easy read. Though, the story is far beyond great, there is a fight to get through to reach the end of the book. And I am afraid not everyone could survive it.
But to those who don’t fear challenges, have a thing for the complicated and to those who are ready for their heart to be ripped out and put back in place several times to make you die a little inside and then come back to life – this is the book for you!
(from the book review I handed in for my english class)
In the process of reading this book I got to know all these fascinating people, each with a different perspective on life. Each with their strenghts and their faults. At one point it almost felt like there was too much information. With the wings of this novel I travelled from 1929 to 2010 through countries like Afghanistan, France, Greece, USA. You would think that everything was too confusing, too complicated. For some it would be a burden. For me it was an abundance.
To be honest, I hadn’t even started to read this book when I already knew it would be my favorīte. And to no surprise for me it did live up to my expectations if not exceeded them.
Before this novel I had read only one more of Khaled Hosseini’s three novels. And instantly he became my favorīte author/storyteller. I just know that he has this out of this world ability to put words we all use in our every day lives in such order that they make people cry and smile and feel everything all at once. I can’t comprehend how one using an alphabet can make a 450+ page long spell that hypnotizes you, makes you forget about the real world around you and draws you right in this fictional universe. Like the quote in this exact novel: „Was (s)he merely a gifted trickster? A magician, with a pen for a wand, able to move an audience by conjuring emotions she had never known herself? Was that even possible?”
For Khaled Hosseini’s books I don’t have expectations, I just let his stories take me wherever their characters go.
„A story is like a moving train: no matter where you hop onboard, you are bound to reach your destination sooner or later.”
What I like about this book the most are the relationships portrayed. If The Kite Runner was a great portrayal of father and son relatinship, then this was even greater portrayal of the relationship between siblings. And also for some unknown reason I am drawn to Afghan culture. I think it was when I was reading The Kite Runner when I first fell in love it. I have never come in direct contact with this culture, not that I recall, but from reading books alone it has left a great impact on me. It has teached me so much and I will forever be thankful for that. Oh, what a country would Afghanistan be if only it wasn’t „a thousand tragedies per square mile..”
As I have mentioned previously, this novel isn’t an easy read. Though, the story is far beyond great, there is a fight to get through to reach the end of the book. And I am afraid not everyone could survive it.
But to those who don’t fear challenges, have a thing for the complicated and to those who are ready for their heart to be ripped out and put back in place several times to make you die a little inside and then come back to life – this is the book for you!
(from the book review I handed in for my english class)
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love this author, and have read 3 of his books (I believe that is what he has published thus-far) This book was very different than the other books, but still carried with it the sharp edge of tragedy and triumph that his books all seem to have. While I love & recommend this book, I would rank it as my least favorite of the 3 I read.
Es un buen libro, entretenido, me recordó un poco a Purga de Sofi Oksanen, solo que aquí el autor no es finlandés sino afgano.
En 1952, Sabur, un pobre agricultor de una aldea ficticia en Afganistán no encuentra mejor remedio de salvar del hambre a Pari, su hija de 3 años, que entregándola a una pareja rica en Kabul. La decisión la separa de su hermano Abdulá, de 10 años, que se ha dedicado a cuidar a Pari tras la muerte de su madre en el parto.
La historia de un reencuentro que llevará más de 50 años se entrelaza con la vida de otras personas y sus propias historias individuales. También nos da una visión del Afganistán desmoronado por sus conflictos bélicos con sus montones de refugiados en medio de la pobreza y el dolor.
Hay una constante que se hace presente en casi todas las historias: la facilidad con la que el ser humano puede olvidar y volverse ciego ante las injusticias. Puede conmoverse ante imágenes desgarradoras frente a un televisor pero también, quizá en parte como mecanismo de salud, las puede olvidar al apagarlo.
A los personajes de la novela les sucede lo mismo. Solo cuando son testigos de las atrocidades son capaces de compadecerse, entender e intentar hacer algo. Pero una vez que estos se distancian, la preocupación disminuye o deja de existir. Se nos olvida y regresamos a nuestras acomodadas vidas. Si no lo vemos, no existe y Hosseini, quien vive en Estados Unidos en asilo político, parece compartir esa culpa como una carga personal y quizá intenta con su historia de alguna manera cambiar ese sentir.
En 1952, Sabur, un pobre agricultor de una aldea ficticia en Afganistán no encuentra mejor remedio de salvar del hambre a Pari, su hija de 3 años, que entregándola a una pareja rica en Kabul. La decisión la separa de su hermano Abdulá, de 10 años, que se ha dedicado a cuidar a Pari tras la muerte de su madre en el parto.
La historia de un reencuentro que llevará más de 50 años se entrelaza con la vida de otras personas y sus propias historias individuales. También nos da una visión del Afganistán desmoronado por sus conflictos bélicos con sus montones de refugiados en medio de la pobreza y el dolor.
Hay una constante que se hace presente en casi todas las historias: la facilidad con la que el ser humano puede olvidar y volverse ciego ante las injusticias. Puede conmoverse ante imágenes desgarradoras frente a un televisor pero también, quizá en parte como mecanismo de salud, las puede olvidar al apagarlo.
A los personajes de la novela les sucede lo mismo. Solo cuando son testigos de las atrocidades son capaces de compadecerse, entender e intentar hacer algo. Pero una vez que estos se distancian, la preocupación disminuye o deja de existir. Se nos olvida y regresamos a nuestras acomodadas vidas. Si no lo vemos, no existe y Hosseini, quien vive en Estados Unidos en asilo político, parece compartir esa culpa como una carga personal y quizá intenta con su historia de alguna manera cambiar ese sentir.