There.

I did it.

I read The Kite Runner.

Who knows? Maybe next I’ll read Harry Potter. Or even the Bible.

And really, it wasn’t that bad. I spent most of my time reading The Kite Runner dreading the inevitable cheesy happily-ever-ending that I was certain would come. Luckily, it didn’t. And actually, The Kite Runner isn’t that bad. If I had to add to the numerous positive blurbs for the book, I would call it a “harrowing tale of redemption.”

I can see why this book was so popular. It has interesting characters in culturally relevant settings with a plot that continually turns through constant conflict with broad, easily-comprehensible themes. It’s a quick read complete with surprises and cliff-hangers at the end of short chapters. The sparse narrative style does not dwell on nor over-dramatize actions. If anything, Hosseini could be accused of poor “under” writing. Sample passage: “The idea of fatherhood unleashed a swirl of emotions in me. I found it frightening, invigorating, daunting, and exhilarating all at the same time. What sort of father would I make, I wondered.”

The book’s overwhelming popularity is certainly due to its ability to provide a unique perspective into a world newly opened up to Western readers at the same time as providing a universal tale of customs, tradition, class, family, love, death, birth, school, jobs, food, weddings, and the ramifications of watching your childhood friend get raped by a classmate. You know, the usual stuff.

What bothered me most about this book was that it contained a major pet peeve of mine: books whose narrators are writers writing about wanting to be writers. Booooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hosseini displays such a repectable capability for imagination and creativity in The Kite Runner, and while the writer profession had its significance and place in the story, I just hate when that’s the profession writers write about.

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