Khaled Hosseini
My perspectives are a bit skewed because I have read the author’s works in reverse chronology. I think that probably explains why I found this a little underwhelming compared to “And the Mountains Echoed“. But if I move that out of the equation, then this is a good book, not just from the point of a universal human story, but for the fact that it is a window into life in Afghanistan.
The book covers the time frame from a few years before the Soviet occupation to the post-Taliban era and covers three generations.
The characters are really fleshed out and this is what works for the book. Amir’s loneliness living as a motherless child, his friendship with Hassan, his complicated relationship with Baba that continues even in adulthood, and his guilt stemming from what he let happen and made happen have all been well captured. Hassan is immediately lovable and the author is able to convince us that such a genuinely noble character can exist. All the others – Amir’s Baba, a complex character who never stops being a proud Afghan despite a massive change in fortunes, his wife Soraya who has her own relatively minor demons to conquer, her parents who probably fit Afghan stereotypes of an older generation couple, and Rahim Khan, who serves as a father figure to Amir and finally shows him the path to redemption – serve as perfect foils.
The story is set in three parts – the first part dealing with Amir’s childhood in a Kabul suburb and his relationship with Baba, Hassan and Rahim Khan, the second his youth and adult life in the US after his escape, and the third his return to Afghanistan. They are all in stark contrast with each other thanks to the change in places and people.
There is clearly a touch of autobiography in this – if not the main narrative, at least the places and a few of the supporting characters. I found the first two portions very gripping and focused, but thought the finale had more than its fair share of melodrama. In his defense, any other ending might have been too depressing.
It’s a decent read, but if I had to pick one of the author’s books to read, it would be ‘And the Mountains Echoed’.
