Kite Runner
i just finished reading Kite Runner...i was really carried away by the story...(can't count how many times my tears run down my cheeks) I'm such a cry baby!!! waaaaaaaaahhhh
Im not a professional writer nor a critic but i personally recommend this book written by Khaled Hosseini...
Here's my one of my favorite part of the story...
One sluggish, hazy afternoon early that summer, I asked Hassan to go up the hill with me. Told him I wanted to read him a new story I’d written. He was hanging clothes to dry in the yard and I saw his eagerness in the harried way he finished the job.
We climbed the hill, making small talk. He asked about school, what I was learning, and I talked about my teachers, especially the mean math teacher who punished talkative students by sticking a metal rod between their fingers and then squeezing them together. Hassan winced at that, said he hoped I’d never have to experience it. I said I’d been lucky so far, knowing that luck had nothing to do with it. I had done my share of talking in class too. But my father was rich and everyone knew him, so I was spared the metal rod treatment.
We sat against the low cemetery wall under the shade thrown by the pomegranate tree. In another month or two, crops of scorched yellow weeds would blanket the hillside, but that year the spring showers had lasted longer than usual, nudging their way into early summer, and the grass was still green, peppered with tangles of wildflowers. Below us, Wazir Akbar Khan’s white walled, flat-topped houses gleamed in the sunshine, the laundry hanging on clotheslines in their yards stirred by the breeze to dance like butterflies.
We had picked a dozen pomegranates from the tree. I unfolded the story I’d brought along, turned to the first page, then put it down. I stood up and picked up an overripe pomegranate that had fallen to the ground.
“What would you do if I hit you with this?” I said, tossing the fruit up and down.
Hassan’s smile wilted. He looked older than I’d remembered. No, not older, old. Was that possible? Lines had etched into his tanned face and creases framed his eyes, his mouth. I might as well have taken a knife and carved those lines myself.
“What would you do?” I repeated.
The color fell from his face. Next to him, the stapled pages of the story I’d promised to read him fluttered in the breeze. I hurled the pomegranate at him. It struck him in the chest, exploded in a spray of red pulp. Hassan’s cry was pregnant with surprise and pain.
“Hit me back!” I snapped. Hassan looked from the stain on his chest to me.
“Get up! Hit me!” I said. Hassan did get up, but he just stood there, looking dazed like a man dragged into the ocean by a riptide when, just a moment ago, he was enjoying a nice stroll on the beach.
I hit him with another pomegranate, in the shoulder this time. The juice splattered his face. “Hit me back!” I spat. “Hit me back, goddamn you!” I wished he would. I wished he’d give me the punishment I craved, so maybe I’d finally sleep at night. Maybe then things could return to how they used to be between us. But Hassan did nothing as I pelted him again and again. “You’re a coward!” I said. “Nothing but a goddamn coward!”
I don’t know how many times I hit him. All I know is that, when I finally stopped, exhausted and panting, Hassan was smeared in red like he’d been shot by a firing squad. I fell to my knees, tired, spent, frustrated.
Then Hassan did pick up a pomegranate. He walked toward me. He opened it and crushed it against his own forehead. “There,” he croaked, red dripping down his face like blood. “Are you satisfied? Do you feel better?” He turned around and started down the hill.
I let the tears break free, rocked back and forth on my knees.
“What am I going to do with you, Hassan? What am I going to do with you?” But by the time the tears dried up and I trudged down the hill, I knew the answer to that question.
I'll soon be buying the DVD at jarir...I'd love to see the movie...
Next to read...DECEPTION POINT by Dan Brown
Sorry, not one of my best. I read the book long time back but was quite disappointed. Half way through it sounded like some stuff from a Hindi movie.
Simplestguy
Sorry for the delay...as promise...i checked the Pay it Forward in Jarir both the DVD and the book, however, it is out of stock already. According to the salesman, they might not have a new stock of it again.(i wonder why).
I'll try to check it in Virgin...im going there today...
As for Sixth Sense...i love the movie also...I always mimic the boy saying that famous line until now...:-)
Have a nice day...rather Have a nice Qatar National Day!
It is appropriate in MANY places, my friend. ;)
nice to have one of that...
that phrase is very appropriate here in Qatar. hahaha
Right after "Sixth Sense" was released, there were T-shirts (poking fun at the movie) that read,
"I See Dumb People"
That was funny! :P
anyway, thanks.
sixth sense, i heard, is a wonderful movie.
i've heard of the famous line from that movie, "I SEE DEAD PEOPLE".
Hope you had some luck. Let us know. :)
Hi there. I'm not sure. The movie was released in 2000. You can probably find it where they sell older, previously seen DVD's. Another good film is "Sixth Sense" with Bruce Willis. If I had brought them (from home), I would gladly lend them out. :( Good luck.
Light:
Thanks.
journalistgirl:
It's not all about WESTERN READERSHIP. But, it's more on COMMERCIAL READERSHIP. Aftet all, most, if not all, those writers who are famous in our time should be commercially-readable. Their products, which is their stories, should be appealing to the masses. Else, they will be left behind.
I'll inform u...
I'll go there tonight to buy Kite Runner's DVD
The "Kite Runner" was very good, as in a way the storyline was quite unusual. However, I'd like to disagree with several comments here, as I felt "A Thousand Splendid Suns" wasn't that impressive - the situation over in Afghanistan obviously is very bad, but was the book pandering more to what a western readership wants to read? I couldn't help feeling that Hosseini was really writing more to reap in Western readers......
cynbob:
i would love to watch the movie. can i find it here?
Light:
if you happen to go again in jarir, please try to find it for me if they have.
thanks a lot....
I'll try to watch it...thanks cynbob...
check the online review for that book...
maybe that could help...
Regarding the book...i think i've seen it at Jarir Bookstore...
SG90210- I have not read the book, but the movie is great. It stars Helen Hunt, Kevin Spacey and Haley Joel Osment (the child actor in the movie "Sixth Sense")
The concept of initially helping three people, thus 'paying it forward'--what a simple idea!
The movie is heart wrenching, touching and powerfful.
If everyone would practice this simple act, the world would be a better place to live.
I, too, was amazed by Khaled Hosseini's storyline in Kite Runner.
IT'S SIMPLY AMAZING!!!!
Anyone of you here have read the book PAY IT FORWARD? Is it a highly-recommended book?
And, can we buy the book here?
Thanks.
QL is really such a distraction... LOL...
One of the best books ever. And no, a movie version can never be as good as the book, but I thought The Kite Runner movie was well done and definitely worth watching.
A Thousand Splendid Suns is also excellent, but very difficult and painful subject matter, as it's mainly about women.
I didn't want the book to end, because I wanted to find out what happened to the characters next!
Amazing that a man could have written a book like this.
don't watch the movie, you'll be very disappointed...
adieu!
tc
thank god that u dint say datin :))) k buddy catch u later
QL is habit forming...
QL is addicting...
QL is entertaining...
hehehe
let me be your LIGHT in the DARKEST moments of your life
:-)
hey Man Light enjoyin QL ? :))))
hi Pajju!!!
Light no time really :))))
i think you won't...hehe
read one of my fave part in the book...and tell me how it appeals to you...
:-)
Light & Cynbob, I hope I won't be disappointed! Thanks! :D
cheers,
paul
You will not be disappointed. Read the book, then see the film. The book is overwhelmingly better.
When ur finish reading it...tell us how u feel about the book...
Anyway, just like to inform everyone...a good friend of mine just sent me a soft copy of Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks...if interested just pm me and i'll send to u a copy...
lolz...it's good for sure
i saw it on Virgin's top seller shelf but I didn't pay any attention to it. Well, I guess I should consider buying this book. But if I won't like it, I'd reap all your heads off! Just kidding! Hahaha! Don't worry, I'm on my best behavior now..
cheers,
paul
I just began reading it today, opened this thread and then had to shut my eyes! EEEEK
Been meaning to read it for ages :D
Do read Khalid Hosseini's another book " A Thousand Splendid Suns" its a marvellous read and also will wet ur eyes :(
Ditto, read above.
The Kite Runner is probably the best book I've ever read and recommend it highly. It is a painful read because of the subject matter...but it is a journey worth taking. Tissues are also advised. I remember taking breaks in order to absorb the heartache. After which, I would take a deep breath and dive into the sea of words that engulfed me into a world of dark secrets.
I was disappointed and relieved after seeing the movie. There was no way to capture all of the emotions in the book on film...and for that I was grateful.
In an interview, Hosseini said that he had lived with this story for so many years that he gave up all rights to the screen writer. Thus, the movie is different.
It really is an excellent book. While Kite Runner was the tale of a young boy in war-torn Afghanistan, Thousand Splendid Suns is the story of a young girl in the same setting - and is also excellent. Also, unlike, say Dan Brown's sequels, it's not the same story line regurgitated over again.
Your most welcome!!!
The Kite Runner has got to be my favourite book of the last few years. It's amazing that it was Hosseini's first book. The language is simple yet descriptive, and so very readable. The storyline,.... well, it's a rollercoaster of emotions, touching on love, guilt, greed, and redemption. So much of life is packed into those pages.
It's totally agree with Isabel Allende's comment on the cover "It is so powerful that for a long time after, everything I read seemed bland."
And the way the phrase "there is a way to be good again" resonates through the book... what a line!
Thanks for reminding me about it.I have to read it again now!
just when i get to read or hear good reviews of a book that i buy it ... nope! im not the type who would spend hours and sleepless nights reading books, only when i find a really FREE time with no possible distractions...
hehehe...maybe u expect too much from the movie...hehe
good to know your a voracious reader also...
torrent file is available for download... though the reviews of the story are not that good, i mean for some... havent watched it yet though...
oh and btw, i havent watched the movie version of Kite Runner yet but as always, when i get to read the book first and watch the movie it always turn out different... one example was the Bridges of the Madison County... i cried buckets when i read it, but when i watched the movie, i didnt find it so touching anymore as the book did...
Exciting...two contradicting comments...
I'll try to watch to find out...i'll buy the DVD tonight
A thousand Splendid Suns...I like to read that also...
soon...
I was at Jarir the other night...I was looking for the
book THE SECRET...unfortunately, english version was finished already...still have to wait 1 month accdg to the salesman...
Wish to read also Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Booksof Stephanie Meyer and James Patterson...
the book is still waiting for me to pick it up in the shelf together with the book "A thousand splendid suns" of the same author...
LIGHT... dont watch the movie if you loved the book... just a piece of advice... movie version always turns out to be a disappointment IMO
movie? I'm sure you'll cry more:)
Wishing you happiness in this season of hope & giving!