Loved this.
Film was terrible.

ابدأ رحلتك مع الرواية، تجرّع ما بها من وجع على مهل
وعند النهاية، ستدرك أنك لن تنساها.. أبدًا
لأنها ببساطة كُتبت لأجلك، ألف مرة و مرة.

"لأجلك ألف مرةٍ أُخري.."❤️

عداء الطائرة الورقية هي أول رواية للطبيب والكاتب الأمريكي من أصل أفغاني خالد حسيني.. ولما تكون أول رواية بهذا الجمال فمينفعش نتكلم كتير..

"أنا خائفة جداً لأني أشعر بسعادة غامرة..السعادة بهذا القدر مرعبة..لايتركوك سعيداً بهذا القدر إلا إذا كانوا سيأخذون شيئاً منك.."

"مخطئون فيما قالوه عن الماضي ، لقد تعلمت كيف أدفنه ، إلا أنه دائماً يجد طريق عودته.."

4/5 Estrellas

La historia de Amir y Hassan es trágica, es terrible. Te llega al corazón y toca todas aquellas teclas que debe presionar para desatar tu empatía, tu sensibilidad. Es una historia que puede copar con facilidad los primeros y más destacados puestos de lecturas de cualquiera de nosotros.

Transcurre en Afganistán. Desde los años 70, cuando la monarquía todavía reinaba en el país, hasta principios de los 2000, con los talibanes en el poder y en ciernes de su derrota, tras el ataque a las torres gemelas.

En este periodo asistimos al derrocamiento de la Monarquía (1973), al golpe de estado comunista (1978), a la invasión rusa (1979), a su retirada (1989), al gobierno títere pro-ruso, a la guerra civil, al triunfo de los muyahidines (1992), a la guerra civil entre sus distintas facciones, al triunfo de los talibanes.(1996), la intervención estadounidense (2001) y la guerra civil, otra vez, que acabo en 2021 con la retirada occidental y el triunfo talibán. Sencillo y corto resumen, para uno de los periodos de la historia más trágicos y sangrientos que haya sufrido un país.

Amir pertenecía a la burguesía afgana, a las élites que dominaban el país en tiempos de la monarquía y que fueron desposeídos con el ascenso comunista.
Hassan pertenecía a la etnia hazara, de raza mongola, probables descendientes de pobladores provenientes de las estepas asiáticas durante las invasiones mongolas o tártaras. Sus rasgos y sus creencias chiíes, los habían relegado al estatus de parias desposeídos abocados a ser perseguidos o a trabajar como sirvientes y esclavos de otras etnias afganas (el autor pone el acento en los pastunes, no sé lo que tendrá de verdad). Y si su historia ya había sido trágica, imaginaros su futuro en un país dominado por extremistas religiosos sunníes, la masacre y la limpieza étnica.

En este trasfondo social y político tremendo transcurre la historia de Hassan y Amir. EL amor, la traición, la amistad, la muerte, la redención, sobrevuelan las páginas de este libro emocionándonos y asqueándonos, cuando nos enfrentamos a las realidades de este país maldito y abandonado a su suerte.

Pero hay peros, si. No le he puesto las 5 estrellas y os preguntaréis cual es la razón.

Nos presenta una visión de la sociedad afgana que me ha parecido un poco tendenciosa y sesgada. Parece que el mundo afgano en el periodo previo al golpe comunista era idílico, feliz, cuando no dejaba de ser un país atrasado y dominado por una minoría privilegiada, mientras la mayor parte de la población permanecía en la miseria. Un país atrapado en la guerra fría y que venía de un siglo XX donde los conflictos con las potencias occidentales, británicos y rusos sobre todo, había sido habituales. Amir (¿el autor??) pertenecía a esta minoría privilegiada y no nos refleja la situación real del país, ni social, ni política.

Nos presenta el status servil de los hazaras con una normalidad escalofriante. Que una familia hazara viviera en las casas de los ricos en plena década de los 70 del siglo XX, analfabetos y serviles, no parece que plantee demasiados problemas morales al autor. Los trataban bien, no los molían a palos o los humillaban, con eso le sirve.

Nos habla de los problemas en el exilio de estas familias acomodadas afganas que salieron por patas del país, fueron a la India, Pakistán, Irán, Estados Unidos, Reino Unido...pero tuvieron medios para hacerlo y sobrevivir, mucho más pobres, pero sobrevivir. ¿Pero que pasa con los que no pidieron salir? ¿Con los que murieron y se hacinaron en campos de concentración?

Con "Mil soles espléndidos" el autor nos da una visión más real de la terrible situación de Afganistán.

Los niños, pobres niños, siempre se llevan la peor parte. Huérfanos, explotados sexual y laboralmente. Pobres niños y niñas de Afganistán.

Creo que la parte más acertada del libro es la que habla de los problemas que plantea la adopción en estos países con conflicto. Un niño que haya perdido a sus padres, muertos en una guerra por ejemplo, y cuyo estado no puede acreditarse oficialmente (decenas de miles en Afganistán), no se pueden adoptar. Trágico.

Se trata de un muy buen libro, además es el primero del autor, tiene mucho mérito. El éxito de ventas alcanzado lo demuestra. Demasiado "edulcorado" para mi gusto. Con una visión un poco sesgada de la realidad social y política, que me ha impedido darle las 5 estrellas.


Muy recomendable, por supuesto.

“And that’s the thing about people who mean everything they say. They think everyone else does too.”

An unlikely friendship between two young boys told against the devastating backdrop of the history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years.

Oh, boy. This one really put me through the wringer. If I wasn’t wanting to batter Amir to death with said book because of his selfish childhood actions, I was sobbing crying on my knees shouting “Why, God? WHY?!” I feel like Hosseini was trying to personally destroy me with my feels.

Luckily, I read to feel my feels. Whether that’s excitement, or rage, or tension, or fear, or that moment when you actually feel a pain in your chest and you sincerely hope that your Red Bull addiction hasn’t come back to haunt you and that it’s just an emotional pain deep in your heart. So, yes, Hosseini, you may have broken me, but I loved every minute of it

The characterisation is just another level here. Within merely 30 pages I just knew that Hassan was a young boy who must be protected at all costs because he has the most pure heart and soul, and I may or may not be welling up again just thinking about him... As for Amir... we got off to a rocky start *see earlier book battering* but you were only a child and I see that in hindsight.

I was worried I wouldn’t enjoy this as I am quite ignorant when it comes to politics in Afghanistan (or any politics, tbh) and I wasn’t sure if the book leaned heavily on this. Thankfully it did not, and any time politics did play a role, the narrator (Amir) explained it in a very accessible and easily digestible manner. Which I really do appreciate!

This book is powerful and moving, and I have no doubt it will stay with me forever. My #jobis30before30 challenge has been worth it for this book alone - now a forever favourite.

One of the nicest things about this challenge is that it allows me to recommend books to my mum (she ain’t about that horror life). I shall force this one upon her so that she too can read this beautiful story about friendship, family and redemption - AND FEEL ALL THE DAMN FEELS!

All the stars!

Eff this book, it crushed my soul. Gahhh, you don't know pain until you've read this book.

RTC

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

more required school reading

i'm hoping this one is as amazing as everyone says. pleaseeeeeee.

In the wake of the Fraud of Small Things, tons of Asian writers with their impossibly exotic backgrounds and compellingly interesting lives have become all the rage in the publishing world. And of course, it doesn't get more exotic than Afghanistan these days. Khalid Hosseini rides the wave for what its worth churning out a predictable piece of semi-literate garbage — the sort that will appeal only to fellow Afghani nostalgia hounds — the small proportion of whom believe books are better read than burnt — and to the sort of snobs who love regurgitating knowledge picked up second hand from books like this one to show how clued into the world they are.

The story remains at least reasonably interesting as long as its located in Afghanistan; but these thinly disguised memoirs of boyhood are a banal cliche of writing; it's only very exceptional ones like Swami & Friends and to a lesser extent Black Swan Green by David Mitchell which have any emotional impact.

The book quickly slides into ultra tedium speaking about the sad lives of the once aristocratic Afghanis exiled in America when the Soviets took over their country. And then becomes this 'exotic Afghanistan' guidebook with reams of boring detail about Afghani culture, propriety and mating rituals. I skimmed through this barely reading four lines on every page.

Our unloveable hero then returns, to reconnect with his best buddy from childhood who he insulted and vilified for some obtuse emo reason, only to find that the guy is
a) his step-brother
b)dead

tangles with the Taliban, and in a mondo improbable coincidence, meets and gets his ass-whupped by a rabidly homosexual childhood enemy. Who incidentally raped his step brother. And his step brother's son...and oh god, what's the fucking point?

You might ask why I persisted with a book I was deriving no joy out of. It wasn't because it was a compulsively readable bad book - but since I was stuck in a hotel room with an unusually severe case of insomnia, brought on, no doubt, by the dozens of cups of coffee i consumed in the course of work-related meetings through the day. Most of the other books I had were actually interesting and I figured I'd have a greater chance of crashing out while reading something that was tiresome and boring.

Khaled Hosseini writes books that you can read in one afternoon and leave the book forever, but once you turn that final page, the story WILL NEVER leave your mind.

Khaled Hosseini never disappoints

Well Well Well......

I must say the Book is a great attraction. The recent Culture (for last few decades) of Afghans has been depicted very well. Its so popular, Why? You have to go through it for that.

The matter of child abuse is also raised via this book. Racism in the society is still in existence and that is elaborated decoratively in this work. How orthodox one religion can be to its children, in their upbringing and their women, and how that ideology spoil the future of those naive children and of this world as well, observed and put on paper so fairly.

But, there were some mistakes (editorial) that I have noted while reading it. Like-wise, the floor is mentioned as Story and not Storey. Anyhow, this is a masterpiece. I wish if it had been extended to some more pages.

For me its: 4.5/5.0

I want to underline that what I write now is my personal opinion. You are the master of your own morality. I could write another review but I'm in no mood for it. There's more than 100 000 of it on gr. Some of thoughts that the book gave me.

I was looking at the reviews, maybe not at many, but I noticed one thing - it's about Amir's bad deeds, regret, and atonement. Okay, certainly it is, the writer clearly had such intentions. The question is if he was the worst of the positive characters, or if really his deeds were the worst. Baba was sleeping with two women. He was cheating on his wife which is of course very bad thing.

Amir did some bad things. What about the witnessing what they did to Hassan without any reaction? Surly he couldn't beat them, but at least could try to distract them, screaming could make them lose the desire for love. I think it would be enough to scare one of his two dogs. But they were in such place that it would hardly give any effects. After that Amir did something even worst. For this thing there's no such explanation like I can't beat three boys even older than me - he rejected his best friend when he needed him the most. If Amir still was his friend, Hassan probably wouldn't loose his weight.

The question is what was the single worst deed, except what Assef did? When the Taliban enter the house where Hassan lived with his family he should obey them. There's such rule that if you want to play Rambo, do it on your own account. He exactly knew how bad they were even before they took the power. He couldn't stop them, but he could make them angry, so they killed him and his wife. It was the single worst thing that the good characters did. The ability to predict the consequences of your deeds is a wisdom, but I think in real life Hassan would obey them. It was obvious what they were, and still are capable of. Some of the consequences were postponed in time - the guy who raped Hassan was raping his son. Don't play Rambo when it can be dangerous for others. The novel is written in first person narrator which is Amir, so the narrator doesn't think my way.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is like six-star book, like a book of decade but this one deserves five stars.

Kabil'de monarşinin son yıllarında birlikte büyüyen iki çocuk arasındaki dostluk; vefa, arkadaşlık, çocukluk, masumiyet, sadakat, kardeşlik ve ihanet, baba-oğul gibi insanlar arasındaki ilişkiler ve bir ülkenin işgali ile yaşanan acılar, gözyaşları, vicdan azabı gibi temaların işlendiği güzel bir kitaptı"
3.5