I have heard and read so many good things about this novel that I couldn`t wait any longer and ordered it from Amazon.co.uk.I`m taking it with me to read during my holidays.

The book is very powerful and moved me very much.It is a very sad story about devastated country,devastated lives,and a friendship which turned tragic in many ways.

Amir and Hassan are the best friends. Amir is desperate to get his father`s approval and to be the focus of his attention. In spite of his efforts,he feels like he can never get the love he needs.The deep symphathy of his father toward Ali and his son,Hassan,seems always an obstacle to get the full attention of Amir`s Baba. Amir is very jealous and this jealousy hangs like a shadow on his heart. Hassan,on the contrary,is fully dedicated to his friend.His pure love and innocent self-sacrifice brings its light over the whole book.
Amir has to fight his serious setbacks: his cowardice,his jealousy,his fear. He lets his cowardice win over him,and runs away when he witnesses his friend being tortured and raped by a local boy. After this day, he cannot look into Hassan`s eyes anymore. Hassan turns into a living evidence for Amir`s sin. Amir is desperate,and decides to tell one more lie in order to get rid of Hassan,and have his Baba all to himself. He never sees Hassan again.

Many years later,he meets an old friend of his father and learns amazing things about his past and Hassan`s fate. He is summoned to return and do his unfinished business: to save Hassan`s child from the Talibans and to redempt himself from his sin. For the first time,he manages to overcome his cowardice and takes a great risk,returning to Kabul,the city of his childhood.

I think this is a great story of friendship,loyalty,betrayal,love and duty.I liked that Amir was presented later in his life with an opportunity to make up for his mistake. His feelings were presented with much honesty.It was not an easy choice to return in Kabul after so many years of comfortable life in US. I also think that Amir was a really good person and he was too hard on himself for his mistake.Perhaps Hassan loved him so much because he saw Amir in the depth of his soul;he knew Amir had in fact a righteous,good soul.

This si going to be a Europe-only bookring.

Bookring list:

1.Pookledo (UK)
2.redjanet (UK)
3.marko167
4.Sternschnuppe (Germany)
5.Xeyra (Portugal)
6.Annelis (Finland)

RELEASE NOTES:

Sent to Pookledo in UK.

Received in the post this morning. Cheers!

I've got a backlog of bookring books and I'm afraid I'm going to have to sacrifice this one to try to keep up.

I've PMed Redjanet who seems to be in the same boat as me, so have just PMed marko167 to get an address to send the book on to.
--
No reply from marko167, so I've PMed Sternschnuppe

I've just had a reply from marko167 who was on holiday.

I'm going to post it tomorrow! :o)

Received book and will read soon.

WOW WOW WOW.
What a great book. It is a story in the old sense. No hidden meaning. I am a liberal and do tend to read books that have goodies and baddies but this book despite having both and sometimes the lines are blurred was just a great read.

Tears welled in places as well as the occasional guffaw. But most of all this was just a great book. I read it just after the Bookseller of Kabul and was somewhat comfortable with the places emotions and people but all in all not an anti-taliban book, just a story. I loved it.

PM Sternschnuppe - No response.

PMed Xeyra - will send as soon as have address.

RELEASE NOTES:

En route to Xeyra in Portugal.

It has arrived! Thank you so much. I've been wanting to read this one very much. Since I don't have any bookrings at the moment. I'll start this one straight away, in between my other current readings.

It was impossible to put this book down and I read most of it yesterday, during a long trip for a family lunch... fortunately, the sadder parts were at the end and I didn't make a fool of myself by crying uncontrolably in public. This is a powerful, poignant, touching book. An incredibly moving story that will not leave one indifferent. A tale of love, friendship, loyalty, betrayal, guilt and redemption... It floored me, brought tears to my eyes at the tragedies in the lives of these people, it made me ache with every word I read and I still couldn't stop reading, even as the words blurred as I cried. Seldom have I read a book that has left such a lasting impression on me.

Thank you so much for this bookring, bookmaniac70. I have PMed Annelis and hope to send this to her in 1-2 weeks once I get her address.

November 2: Sent today to Annelis.

The book arrived today. I will read it as soon as possible. I've wanted to read this for a long time.

November 20
This was a very emotional book: the story is sad and at the same time giving some hope. The worst thing is that the things he wrote about Afganistan is not fiction but true.

One of my cousins married an Afgani man in the 70's in Sweden and they got three children. Thus my children have half Afgani second cousins. It is almost family, isn't it?
By the way, my children have also some more second cousins in
Sweden and some in Italy and Germany.

Thank you for the book!

This book represents Afganistan in my A Book From Every Country Challenge.

November 22
Posted back to Bookmaniac70

Book returned safely in Sofia. Thanks to Annelis for sending it back!The book already looks like a well travelled one,after this small,but successful bookring. Thanks to everyone who took part in it and left his/her comments.

"The Kite Runner" goes to my PC now but will be available for loan to my Bulgarian BC friends.

I got this one at the Bookcrossing meeting this Saturday.After the wirds of Bookmaniac70 I decided to sit and start reading it right away.I'm almost in the middle now and I can't wait to go on.

Everyone should read this book, it's great.
As for me, I didn't get much surprises from it, but in spite of this I can say this was the best book for the year so far /and better than many I've read last year in fact/

RELEASE NOTES:

Дадох я на Деси на буккросърската ни среща.

A biography of pain and suffer, as i call it. Old-fashioned novel but still so timely socio-political together with strong emotional power.

Книгата е отново при мен и остава в личната ми библиотека.

Donated to The Community Corner Library.