Kayan (3/26) : The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

I could not put this book down. I don't remember ever devouring a fictional novel with such eagerness. Khaled Hosseini is able to intricately weave a beautiful center stage story of human bonds against the backdrop of recent history of Afghanistan and America. Every detail in the story has a purpose, and the characters jump off the page and come alive with Hosseini's prose that, at risk of sounding crazy-cheesy, is simply magical.

The following all happened while reading this book:

- I dropped my jaw.
- I rode a crowded bus and strained to hold onto a too-high handlebar with one hand while holding this book in the other.
- I gasped, audibly.
- The clock struck 2 a.m. on a school night.
- I covered up the bottom of a page with my hand so my eyes wouldn't wander ahead to the ending-revealing dialogue before they were supposed to.

I watched my brother read this book with rapt attention (and some gasps of his own) before deciding to read it for myself. Boy I am glad I did.