Wednesday, April 16, 2008

The Kite Runner

I read this book because of peer pressure. I felt like I constantly saw people reading it on the metro and several of my friends had read it and liked it. I caved to the pressure and decided to read it myself. As we say in the South, that'll learn me.

Don't get me wrong. This book is not terrible but it's not necessarily good either. One the most basic level, it is moderately interesting story. Unfortunately, I do not think the author was terrible talented and any appealing aspects of the narrative were lost among his merely average writing skills.

My main problem was that he told the story chronologically, which really prevented the true drama and emotion of the main character's struggle from coming through. Instead of introducing us slowly to this conflict and the effect on his life, he just marches us through the story piece by piece. There was no drama or complexity. There was a secret revealed at the end of the story but it felt very unnecessary and a little forced.

So, semi-interesting story stripped of all appeal by the storytelling itself.

4 comments:

Annie said...

Dang.

And yet I still feel pressured to read it, somehow.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of average writing skills, somebody needs to edit your second paragraph. ZING!

I hate Hate HATED The Kite Runner. I thought the narrator was painfully whiny and too precious about every g.d. thing. I mean, the guilt part, fine, but then that whole mess because his daddy wasn't perfect? Gah. So annoying.

The plot itself was also predictable (like, the final villain of the piece--who didn't see that coming?). While that's fine--it's nice to close that circuit--I don't think it works in the type of fiction that he was writing. Everything I read around this book admire its authenticity, but then all the main characters re-connect at the end of the book in a sort of coincidence like in a kid's movie when all the characters walk into the sunset over a chirpy theme.

Now I'm all worked up! Thanks a lot!

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Hey Good looking,
I always enjoy reading your blog. And I did this one as well. However I was a bit suprised by the errors in spelling and in accurate use of some of the words. It must have been a tough day at work.
Love ya Princess