Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I heard so much about this book, I expected to love it when I picked it up. While I really enjoyed the first part of the novel, I really disliked the second part. When I finished reading it, I understood my mixed feelings. I loved learning about Afghanistan, and its pre and post Taliban history. I think Hosseini does a beautiful job of drawing the reader into a world that is foreign and fascinating but also familiar and warm. As I was reading the first part of the novel, I could almost see Afghansitan, feel the pride and shame of the class system, experience the rush of the kite races. As I read on, I became less enchanted with this novel. After the excitement of discovering Hosseini's Afghanistan was over, I found the plot implausible and silly. I thought the plot developments were contrived, over coincidental and forced. I also thought the second half of the novel was over-sentimental. While I think Kite Runner is definately a book worth reading just for Hosseini's beautiful prose and his startling and poigniant powers of description, the plot was hackneyed.