After three people having recommended “The Kite Runner” to me, I finally caved in and bought it last weekend. Originally, I had intended to read this on my flight to the US this weekend, but I ended up finishing it in two days. I also lost considerable sleep last night, because of reading it.

Indeed, it was not only a good book, it was a great book. I loved the way the author, Khaled Hosseini, wrote. It was soft, flowed easily, and had an touch of approachable easiness. He described emotions and imageries with equal vividness and honesty. It was hard not to become sympathetic to the characters in the novel.

The story grippingly described a boy’s betrayal of his best friend, the scars the betrayal caused, and his eventual redemption. The story is as much about love, friendship, kinship, as about recent history of Afghanistan. Many elements in the novel were crafted with artful symmetry and contrast, through the actions and environments of people who are connected through friendship or through blood.

The novel had actually changed my view of the US invasion. I am against all wars by principle. However, if the descriptions in the novel was anything close to the truth, the US’s liberation of Afghanistan from years of Taliban or Russian rule, was probably a good turn for the country. A war to end the other wars. Perhaps the end justifies the means.

In conclusion, I highly recommend this impressive book.  “For you, a thousand times over.”

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