I just finished this book last night. I started it on Saturday. It's one of those types of books, the type that you can't put down, the type that you choose above all else- eating, sleeping, going to the gym, watching a movie, hanging out with others, etc. I have been wanting to read this book for so long so my expectations were pretty high. I can confidently say that it didn't disappoint.

Khaled Hosseini is a magnificent storyteller. In fact, the story was so well written that I actually thought this was his life story, I thought he was the narrator. That's how convincing and emotional and real the events and characters and setting are in this book. I enjoyed reading about the Afghanistan of "the good ole' days" before political turmoil and the Taliban. I enjoyed reading about the life of Muslims, those that are devout and those whose claim is merely cultural. This story, like so many others that I love, is impactful because of the hard issues it confronts- friendship, betrayal, family, status, becoming an adult, life choices, redemption, right and wrong, etc. Good books to me are those that at the end I feel heavy over. Do you know what I mean? Like I've just taken in so much meaty stuff, both in my head and my heart, that I feel heavy. Heavy, in this case, is good. It means there's stuff to sort through. So for the next few days or weeks or months, I will be sorting through this heaviness. And I love that! I love when characters from books stay with me long after I've put down their pages. I love the images my mind creates of good stories and how they linger day in and day out.

I look forward to Hosseini's next book, A Thousand Spendid Suns, with as much expectation as the first. But for now, I'll dream of kites.

5 comments

1. Anonymous on 9:39 AM

   its no da vinci code, but it was aight
   
   ;-)

    
2. Between and Becoming on 9:52 AM

   Omg, I haven't read Kite, but read Suns and heard it's even better than Kite. It defs will trump everything in your life.

    
3. Kelli Bagby on 9:55 AM

   What? Better than Kite? I don't know if I can handle that at the moment. But wow, I can't wait to read it!!

    
4. Shannon on 2:59 PM

   I just finished that book a couple weeks ago. I read it in two days! It's a book you feel like you have to talk about isn't it? Shannon Wentz

    
5. Kelli Bagby on 3:06 PM

   Yes, absolutely! I'm trying to talk Dustin into reading books at the same time as me so we can talk about them. It's so hard to wait until he's read them and then my need to talk about it is over.