First things first: I definitely felt a bit of (internal) resistance towards the idea of reading this book. It happened to be the first selection for the MS AC book club, and based on the blurb and the first two or three chapters, I decided that it was very likely to be utterly well-meaning, worthy, politely liberal middle class-friendly, and dull - the kind of book that people who read a dozen books a year would take to heart and treasure. Moreover, the main story (as disclosed by said blurb) is one of those which I find particularly tedious (unless done exceptionally well or in a sufficiently interesting and original manner) - the 'character does wrong and then seeks (and, inevitably in these kinds of novels, finds) redemption' narrative. Do I sound like just a wee bit of a snob? Well, then - there's not really anything I can say to that, except that, I guess, in some ways these distinctions are what I'm all about, and besides, if I'm unlikely to enjoy a book, then I'm unlikely to enjoy it, however putatively 'unworthy' the reasons for that likelihood.
So anyhow, it's probably unsurprising (for reasons of chicken and egg etc if for no others) that my expectations of The Kite Runner were largely met. I didn't find it difficult to read, but I also never - with one important caveat - really felt engaged by the novel...I think that it's a very good (in the positive sense of well-written and well done, rather than just particularly typical) example of its kind, but evidently not good enough to reach a reader like myself who isn't drawn to that 'kind'. The characters convince, the story has momentum, the settings are interesting - and I felt that I'd learned a bit about Afghan culture along the way - but in the end there just wasn't enough of anything to it, any intangible sparkle, to make me feel that it had been worth my time reading the novel. The one caveat, which I mentioned earlier, and which went some way towards making reading the novel a worthwhile experience for me, is that the last 30 or so pages do pack a genuine emotional punch, suggesting that I'd been more involved in what had gone before than I'd realised...but that, though something, just wasn't enough for me. If I kept different company, I would probably be able to recommend The Kite Runner quite highly to many of my hypothetical acquaintances, but as it is, well...
