Kite Runner Renews My Love of Fiction

My wife had been bugging me to read this book for ages. It wasn't that I didn't want to read it--it was more a matter of finding the time and getting in the right mind set to be able to read something for enjoyment without falling asleep.

Assuming Hosseini's descriptions of Afghanistan and its cultural milieu are accurate, I also found the book incredibly informative. It almost makes me want to take a trip to Afghanistan to find Kabul and look around.

I'm undecided on what Hosseini's final religious convictions are. I sensed that you got a picture of the best and worst Islam has to offer. Amir's father is the most enigmatic. He is a man of strong convictions, yet somehow fuzzy on who or what God is. He's especially cynical towards the religious establishment, particularly the teachers of Islam.

This book has renewed my love of fiction because I see now that a book like this can do only what good fiction can -- to suck you in and make you care so much that it hurts. Perhaps the most gratifying moment was when little Sohrab, full of his father's conviction and loyalty, burst Assif's eye with his slingshot. The book could have ended right there.

When I turned the last page, a strange sensation came over me, like, this is what salvation is all about. I'm still trying to figure out why the book had this effect on me. Anyway, its a great read and I see now why my wife begged me to read it.