This weekend, I finished reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini, the author of "The Kite Runner." While Afghanistan and its turbulent recent history are always fascinating, I was disappointed about half-way through this book. It seemed too pat, a bit contrived. There were too many coincidences. But it was still a good story, so I kept reading. And, satisfyingly, a plot twist arrived that made the earlier concerns no longer relevant, plus a nice bit of come-uppance for one character. Overall, I probably liked Kite Runner better since it was my first encounter with Afghanistan, but this one was also interesting as it presented the female point of view. If you're curious about Central Asia and are looking for a fairly fast read, I'd say this is a good one.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Almost Splendid
I really ought to be doing other things, but it's been a while since I've posted and I've already been quite productive today, so I don't feel guilty. Plus I'm posting about a book, and that's redemptive in its own right.
This weekend, I finished reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini, the author of "The Kite Runner." While Afghanistan and its turbulent recent history are always fascinating, I was disappointed about half-way through this book. It seemed too pat, a bit contrived. There were too many coincidences. But it was still a good story, so I kept reading. And, satisfyingly, a plot twist arrived that made the earlier concerns no longer relevant, plus a nice bit of come-uppance for one character. Overall, I probably liked Kite Runner better since it was my first encounter with Afghanistan, but this one was also interesting as it presented the female point of view. If you're curious about Central Asia and are looking for a fairly fast read, I'd say this is a good one.
This weekend, I finished reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini, the author of "The Kite Runner." While Afghanistan and its turbulent recent history are always fascinating, I was disappointed about half-way through this book. It seemed too pat, a bit contrived. There were too many coincidences. But it was still a good story, so I kept reading. And, satisfyingly, a plot twist arrived that made the earlier concerns no longer relevant, plus a nice bit of come-uppance for one character. Overall, I probably liked Kite Runner better since it was my first encounter with Afghanistan, but this one was also interesting as it presented the female point of view. If you're curious about Central Asia and are looking for a fairly fast read, I'd say this is a good one.
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Welcome to my odditorium, a collection of curiosities made up of snippets about my life and occasional machinations on deeper subjects.
4 comments:
I am interested in this book, so it's nice to see your take on it. I liked the Kite Runner, but I felt it was too predictable and had a lot of contrived scenes.
Right now I am dying to read something even slightly uplifting... any suggestions?
Uplifting? I know lots that end well eventually, but I don't know that I'd call them uplifting. "Cloud Atlas" by David Mitchell is a really, really excellent book. I guess you could call it uplifting in that the style and writing are amazing. The story isn't necessarily a downer, either.
Hmmm. Not exactly a ringing endorsement there, H.! Hee. But I will certainly add it to the ever growing list. Thanks!
Oops, it was supposed to be a ringing endorsement! What I meant was it isn't a feel-good book, not a happily-ever-after kind of thing, but it's also not depressing or dark. There's a definite hopeful note to it.
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