A Taste of Afghan Culture
I recently finished a rather interesting audio book called The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. It is essentially the story of two boys growing up in Afghanistan from around the mid 1960s. One of the boys is the son of a wealthy merchant while the other is a servant’s son working in the same house, providing an interesting contrast as they explore and discover their country and customs. The story is told in the first person narrative of the wealthy son.When this book was recommended to me, I was hesitant. It has been out for a while and I hadn’t heard much about it. With all of the negativism in the news regarding the middle-east, I really didn’t feel like listening to more anti-American drivel , especially 11 CDs worth. I was relieved and pleasantly surprised at how engaging the story really was, and it offered a fascinating look at both the changes in Afghanistan in the last 40 years as well as a fresh perspective on America from an Afghan immigrant’s point of view.
There were times during the book that I felt like skipping forward, times when I had the feeling the author was just reminiscing about memories of the “old country”. As the book progressed and the true nature of the story unfolded, I was glad that I had listened to the entire story. It was very impressive to see how the author wove in elements from the beginning of the story all the way through to the very end, including those “reflection” pieces I just mentioned. By the end of the book all the loose ends were tied up and there were even some subtle plot lines exposed that I hadn’t even known were there until the final chapters. When the last track finally played, I had to remind myself that this was a work of fiction, not a biographical representation of the author’s life. It was very convincing.
I would recommend this book to those with an open mind about other cultures, and to those that would like more of a pure, insider’s peek at what the real Afghanistan was like before the Taliban occupation of the key cities in that country. Whether you read it or listen to it, you will most likely find it interesting and thought provoking.
Bonzai Book Score: 3.5 out of 5
posted by Bonzai @ 9:31 PM
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