The Kite Runner

This book is beloved by many, and I was excited to finally read it. Unfortunately, the hype train missed me on this one. It is a very heavy book, dealing with heavy topics, such as rape, assault, poverty, child abuse, war etc. The prose is really well done, and I think the author does a great job making Afghanistan come alive in all the necessary detail.

However, the narrative is where this book loses me. The narrator is just so unlikeable at every turn, and is telling the story in an overdramatic, insufferable way. The plot itself is relatively unbelievable, but also very obvious and I called every “twist” way beforehand. There was also way too much incredible convenience- a boy who rapes someone in front of the MC grows up to be a Taliban member who just so happens to be in the perfect spot to obstruct the MC's goals 20 years later- and the way this is resolved is absolutely ridiculous. This was my least favorite part of the novel.

Overall, I did not enjoy my time reading this, but there were some poignant bits and the ending was pretty well done. I can see why other people loved this book, there were just things I personally couldn't get past.