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What Members Thought
cw: child rape
The narrator and main character of this book, Amir, witnesses a rape when he's a child and, honestly, the whole thing upset me so much that I had to put the book aside and then I did something I never do and read spoilers to see if anything else like it would happen again.
So, anyway, I finished the book. And it does have a hopeful ending, so.
This book is well-written and compelling, but it is definitely written for a White/western audience. I don't necessarily mind foreign words b ...more
The narrator and main character of this book, Amir, witnesses a rape when he's a child and, honestly, the whole thing upset me so much that I had to put the book aside and then I did something I never do and read spoilers to see if anything else like it would happen again.
So, anyway, I finished the book. And it does have a hopeful ending, so.
This book is well-written and compelling, but it is definitely written for a White/western audience. I don't necessarily mind foreign words b ...more
Jul 15, 2007
Dana Berglund
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-for-grown-ups
It took me several tries to get past the difficult scenes early in the book, but was so worth it once I did. I was pretty ignorant about the history of Afghanistan, so this was like reading a history book for me (in a good way-I was a history major). Very well written.
Apr 04, 2008
Jaime
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-2006,
general-fiction
This was an interesting book. It gave some history of Afghanistan that I wasn’t really aware of, and a good perspective that fits in with our current times.
After the first evening of reading this book, my boyfriend asked me what I thought and I said "well, the protagonist isn't very likable is he?" And anyone who knows me well knows that I do not enjoy stories about unlikable characters, no matter how good the book/movie/tv show is or whether the reason for the character being unlikable is a good one (think Seinfeld or the Office). Anyway, I didn't totally hate the book but I also didn't really like it in particular. The character started out as an
...more
Ok, I completely see why everyone recommends this book. I was reluctant to read it for a while (I was somehow turned off by all the hype, crazy I know), but then one of my friends said she stayed up all night reading it. I knew I needed to read it then - and I was right. It is a powerful and heartbreaking story, and one that is filled with loyalty, love, and ultimately, redemption. My heart broke for Hassan all the way through the story. He faced so much cruelty, hatred, and discrimination, yet
...more
This would've been a five star book, but I did find it a little slow in the beginning. Quite a dark, depressing read, but absorbing and interesting.
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Beautiful and heartbreaking. Don't be stupid like me and read it on the subway... *really* embarrassing. :)
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Feb 25, 2008
Allison Jones
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
literary-fiction
