The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini has been a tremendous success in the publishing world. But all writers do not love it uniformly. Here is a reporint of a reader's response from the Summer Reads post in this blog. What do you think?
The Kite Runner
Submitted by Alice Osborn on June 22, 2008 - 8:59pm.
The Wonderland Book Club (my book club) discussed "Kite Runner" on Friday and we collectively enjoyed it, yet as a writer, I always deconstruct novels and try to figure out what works/doesn't work. I loved Hosseini's characterization and images, BUT he is the most unsubtle writer I know -- so many lines started with, "and that was the last time I ate..." "and that was the last time I saw Hassan smile."" DUM, DUM, DUM. Cue soap opera music. AND I'm a Mustang enthusiast and he states that Amir's (the protagonist)father drives him to school in a black Mustang, like the one Steve McQueen drove in Bullet (1968). BUT, McQueen drove a GREEN Mustang -- this missed detail totally distracted me. In addition, Amir was the most unlikeable narrator I've encountered in a long time -- anyone else out there feel this way?
