The Kite Runner

By my second Lit. Circle meeting I had read to page 149 in "The Kite Runner"

So far the book has been very enjoyable in my reading. Amir has just arrived in the US after a brutal Russian reign has overcome his previous country's (Afghanistan) government. He and his father, Baba, have set up shop in a San Jose swap meet to make a few dollars on the side. While running the front, Amir runs into the most beautiful girl he has ever seen before who is protected under her father "The General's" rules.

I predict that in the later parts of the book, Amir will find away to get around The General to some how make off with his daughter and maybe elope. Also, as Baba has been diagnosed with cancer, I believe that he will end up dying soon and that this will greatly transform Amir into the man his father has always wanted him to be. I also predict that Amir will find Hassan at the end some how and that their troubles will be mended.

I can see that later in the book the relationship between Amir and Soraya will most likely cause big problems if they continue on in this relationship in secret. Mainly because Afghan standards say that this is an inappropriate way to conduct themselves and Soraya's father is all into standards.

One of the most interesting things about the writing thus far was how visual the lines seem to be, almost as if it were written for the big screen. One part that particularly stood out to me was the scene where Amir and Hassan are sitting under the pomegranate tree, and suddenly Amir stands up and starts throwing pomegranates at Hassan. Hassan kind of sits there taking it without showing any want to retaliate, once Amir is done, Hassan picks up the remaining ten fruits, smashes them on his face, and walks away. The whole scene was very dramatic and almost cinematic.

While reading I found that I lost track of certain character's names (especially in the first section where they are still in Afghanistan) so what I did was make a list of characters that I thought were or would be important to the story and wrote down some key characteristics of them. This strategy also helps me when I am reading other fiction books with people that have very bland and forgettable names.

So far I have really enjoyed the book despite one of my friend's best efforts to convince me that he disliked it. And I can't wait to get to the end to see what happens.

Will Amir and Hassan be reunited again? Tune in later to find out!