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hailthejessiah's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
If I could rate it more than 5 ⭐️, I would.
Hosseini gets better and better with every novel. I loved the mosaic of narratives in this one, wondering how certain perspectives would thread together. The characters were so rich, the various settings breathtaking, and the plot all wound together so neatly. What I wouldn't give to read this book again for the first time!
Hosseini gets better and better with every novel. I loved the mosaic of narratives in this one, wondering how certain perspectives would thread together. The characters were so rich, the various settings breathtaking, and the plot all wound together so neatly. What I wouldn't give to read this book again for the first time!
caitkad's review against another edition
4.0
This book is lovely and wandering. I actually listened to the audiobook. The narrators are wonderfully accented giving the story an authentic and real feel.
janada59's review against another edition
3.0
I'll be honest, I didn't remember I had read this one before until I was more than halfway through. I love Khaled Hosseini as a storyteller, his writing grips me and evokes emotions in me that a lot of other books don't do. This book was enjoyable, and I'm glad I revisited it, but it doesn't resonate for me the way The Kite Runner, and A Thousand Splendid Suns did.
jessicamaywillock's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Very emotional book - not at the standards of Hosseini’s others, yet it is still very emotive and thought-provoking. I like the Afghanistan focus, which is different to the Western-set novels that I generally read.
daja57's review against another edition
5.0
Abdullah is a poor boy living with his father, his sister Pari, his stepmother and his baby half-brother Iqbal in a dirt-poor village in Afghanistan. His uncle's rich employer wants a daughter and Abdullah's father arranges that she should adopt Pari; Abdullah is devastated. This book follows the consequences for all those who are touched by the story: for Uncle Nabi and for Markos, the Greek doctor who comes to live in Bani's house, and for the next generations.
If there is a theme, it is that some people are born beautiful and have all the luck; others are ill or crippled, and ugly and crooked and plain; that some people have the gift of caring for the afflicted and that some can only hide themselves away: "All her life, Parwana had made sure to avoid standing in front of a mirror with her sister. It robbed her of hope to see her face beside Masooma's, to see so plainly what she had been denied. But in public, every stranger's eye was a mirror." (3); "Beauty is an enormous, unmerited gift given randomly, stupidly." (8)
This book is beautifully written. There were moments when my heart-strings were tugged and there are perfect descriptions, such as: "A delicate crescent moon cradled the dim ghostly outline of its full self." (2)
There are also moments full of the poetry of parenthood: "When I was a little girl, my father and I ad a nightly ritual. After ... he had tucked me into bed, he would sit at my side and pluck bad dreams from my head with his thumb and forefinger. His fingers would hop from my forehead to my temples, patiently searching behind my ears, at the back of my head, and he'd make a pop sound - like a bottle being uncorked - with each nightmare he purged from my brain. He stashed the dreams, one by one, into an invisible sack in his lap and pulled the drawstring tightly. He would then scour the air, looking for happy dreams to replace the ones he had sequestered away. I watched as he cocked his head slightly and frowned, his eyes roaming side to side, like he was straining to hear distant music. I held my breath, waiting for the moment when my father's face unfurled into a smile, when he sang Ah, here is one, when he cupped his hands, let the dream land in his palms like a petal slowly twirling down from a tree. Gently, then, so very gently - my father said all good things in life were fragile and easily lost - he would raise his hands to his face, rub my palms against his brow and happiness into my head." (9)
Loved it!
If there is a theme, it is that some people are born beautiful and have all the luck; others are ill or crippled, and ugly and crooked and plain; that some people have the gift of caring for the afflicted and that some can only hide themselves away: "All her life, Parwana had made sure to avoid standing in front of a mirror with her sister. It robbed her of hope to see her face beside Masooma's, to see so plainly what she had been denied. But in public, every stranger's eye was a mirror." (3); "Beauty is an enormous, unmerited gift given randomly, stupidly." (8)
This book is beautifully written. There were moments when my heart-strings were tugged and there are perfect descriptions, such as: "A delicate crescent moon cradled the dim ghostly outline of its full self." (2)
There are also moments full of the poetry of parenthood: "When I was a little girl, my father and I ad a nightly ritual. After ... he had tucked me into bed, he would sit at my side and pluck bad dreams from my head with his thumb and forefinger. His fingers would hop from my forehead to my temples, patiently searching behind my ears, at the back of my head, and he'd make a pop sound - like a bottle being uncorked - with each nightmare he purged from my brain. He stashed the dreams, one by one, into an invisible sack in his lap and pulled the drawstring tightly. He would then scour the air, looking for happy dreams to replace the ones he had sequestered away. I watched as he cocked his head slightly and frowned, his eyes roaming side to side, like he was straining to hear distant music. I held my breath, waiting for the moment when my father's face unfurled into a smile, when he sang Ah, here is one, when he cupped his hands, let the dream land in his palms like a petal slowly twirling down from a tree. Gently, then, so very gently - my father said all good things in life were fragile and easily lost - he would raise his hands to his face, rub my palms against his brow and happiness into my head." (9)
Loved it!
mcnallyswife's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mvmcginley's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.75
laceyreads8's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
georginamay22's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Found this slightly confusing at times, especially if I'd put the book down in the middle of a chapter. Some links were more clean than others. The beginning and ending were a beautiful story though.