Book Club/The Kite Runner

My girlfriends and I formed our own book club over 10 years ago. We take turns picking a book, we all buy and read the book and get together over dinner to discuss it. We usually break the book up, most often into thirds but it depends on its length, and get together after reading each section. It makes the discussion more interesting to talk about the book as we progress through it. We have read things that were just for fun and we have read things that were more thought provoking and begged to be analyzed.

Most recently we read The Kite Runner. It wasn't my turn to pick and I was a little skeptical at first. I was interested because of the hype surrounding the book, but I was actually more interested in reading the author's other book, A Thousand Splendid Suns. I wasn't sure if The Kite Runner was going to be a book I enjoyed reading. Boy was I surprised.

It is one of the best books I have read. The story is gripping, disturbing, haunting, and suspenseful. There were times when the book made me sick or so emotional that I would sob. There were several times that I had to put it down and walk away. But five minutes later I was right back to it because I had to see what was going to happen and how this latest turn was going to play out.

I ended up disliking the narrator. He was a selfish coward. But at the same time I could feel sympathy for him because of his family situation and relationships. Without giving anything away in the story, it is hands down one of the best tales of friendship, loyalty, betrayal, forgiveness and heartbreak. And of how one man tries to redeem himself after a lifetime of guilt.

My girlfriends and I haven't gotten together to discuss the book yet. We had to cancel our first scheduled dinner and we all ended up agreeing to finish the book because we were each so gripped by it. We have discussed minor details by email, but I am really looking forward to our dinner next week so that we can delve into the story together.

I would highly recommend this book. For those who wouldn't be interested because of the location of the story or fear of it being slightly political in nature, I can tell you that the story is about so much more than where it takes place, and the political side of the story is very benign. It is a tale that won't soon be forgotten. I know it will stay with me for a long time.