I thought this was an excellent book and that the author is a good writer. Some of the reviews I read on here do not agree with my opinion, but I thought it was an honest, genuine story. I look forward to reading his next book. The story of Amir and Hassan was an unforgettable story about true friendship and betrayal.

i thought the writing was well done and it moved me in places. the ending was kind of predictable but with enough twists that it was good. i love that assef was the talib man.

I read this book in two days. Thats how good it is. Sometimes it can be emotional, but it is purely good literature. Everyone should read this book.

i have to put this one on hold for a bit. i had rented it from the lib. and it got returned by mistake. no more copies are available but i’m on the waiting list.

I sat against one of the house’s clay walls. The kinship I felt suddenly forthe old land…it surprised me. I’d been gone long enough to forget and be forgotten. I had a home in a land that might as well be in another galaxy to the people sleeping on the other side of the wall I leaned against. I thought I had forgotten about this land. But I hadn’t. And, under the bony glow of a half-moon, I sensed Afghanistan humming under my feet. Maybe Afghanistan hadn’t forgotten me either." (253)

This book was on Nuke’s list, but I’ve seen and heard of it other places. When I picked it up, I knew only that it was about Afghanistan.

For me, that one fact can sum up the entire book. The writing was okay, but not great. The plot moved along, but it was predictable and often seemd contrived. Where the book absolutely shines is in its depictions of Afghanistan and her people. The cultural aspects of the book were so amazing, that it made me sad that the other elements didn’t fall into place.

The plot revolves around the main character, Amir, and his childhood in Afghanistan. His friendship with his father’s servant’s son, Hassan, is central to the story. Amir is a Pashtun, Hassan is a Hazara. Hazara are the lowest class of Afghani society – they exist to serve the higher classes. It was poignant to read about the friendship between the two boys in tandem with descriptions of their daily life. Each morning, Hassan woke long before Amir in order to start the fire, launder and iron Amir’s clothes and serve him breakfast. Then Amir went to school while Hassan stayed behind to work.

Hassan loves his friend Amir and is endlessly loving and loyal to him. Amir has a lofty sense of entitlement and taunts Hassan because he can’t read. Ultimately, Amir betrays his loving and loyal friend in the most horrific way. Amir rejects Hassan but he lives with that guilt long after he has immigrated to the United States with his father, leaving Hassan behind. As an adult, Amir goes back to his homeland to visit a friend of his father. Afghanistan is under Taliban rule. Hassan’s family is in danger. Amir decides to do the one thing that can make things right.

I had trouble with parts of the story, particularly the ending. I hesitate to say very much, as I don’t want to spoil it for others. But suffice to say, I wish the author had researched child psychology before writing this book.

Overall, it was an okay read. Not fantastic or anything, but I learned a lot about the culture of Afghanistan and that alone made it worthwhile.

I know I’m in the minority but I HATED this book. So contrived and sloppily written that I can’t understand why it’s a bestseller. To each his own, I suppose.

I was warned that the beginning of the book wasn’t that interesting, but that I should tough it out and it’d get better. Truth be told, I had no complaints about the beginning. I enjoyed Hosseini’s style from the beginning, so the book was a pleasure to read. As arulba mentioned earlier, some horrific things happen to people, and the story’s pattern isn’t incredibly original (in particular, the “big surprise” shouldn’t be a surprise to any of the readers), but the characters were multi-faceted, we were able to learn a little about Afghanistan and its culture, and the whole package was presented well.