Book Review: The Kite Runner

Book: The Kite Runner

Author: Khaled Hosseini

My rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Brief synopsis:

A novel set mostly in Afghanistan. The introverted and insecure afghan narrator, Amir, grows up in Afghanistan in the closing years of the monarchy and the first years of the short-lived republic. His best and most faithful friend, Hassan, is the son of a servant. Amir feels he betrays Hassan by not coming to his aid when Hassan is set on by bullies and furthermore forces Hassan and his father Ali to leave his father´s service. Amir´s relatively priviledged life in Kaboul comes to an end when the communist regime comes to power and his extrovert father, Baba emigrates with him to the U.S. There Amir meets his future, afghan wife and marries her. Amir´s father dies in the U.S. and Amir receives a letter from his father´s most trusted business partner and, for a time, Amir´s surrogate father, which makes Amir return, alone, to a Taliban-dominated Afghanistan in search of the truth about himself and his family, and finally, a sort of redemption.

My review:

Wow! Why it took me as long as it did to get around to reading this book I don't know. It was amazing. Powerful. It made me stop. It made me gasp. It made me cry. It was nothing short of amazing. Some books are best sellers because they are popular. And some are best sellers because they are well written, eloquent, beautiful pieces of prose. This is definitely the latter.

I am sure many who are reading this have read The Kite Runner before me. I sold many copies of it during my days as a bookseller at Borders. And, now I know why. While it's tough to get through at points, and requires a strong stomach at several points. But, it is a book that should be read. It's a story of love, friendship and family. It's a story that helps Americans understand the culture of Afghanistan-- and the impact that the wars that have wrought the country have had.

In short, just read it. It. is. just. Good. Very, very, very good.

Recipe Box: Mint Cake!

I've realized that I haven't posted any recipes in awhile, something I've meant to do on my blog. While I aimed to make 30 recipes before 30, that honestly fell away. I think mostly because my time and attention were given to Lucy. (She takes a lot of both!)

So, I'm trying to get back to my blogging and am sharing a new recipe. For a friend's birthday in July, I made a family favorite, simply called "mint cake." It's very, very easy and very, very delicious. This is a super simple one. Enjoy!

Mint Cake

Ingredients:

One box of white cake mix

Bottle creme de menthe

Cool whip

Fudge ice cream topping

To prepare:

Prepare the white cake mix according to the box directions. (Or for those more culinary inclined, prepare white cake batter from scratch.) Add creme de menthe to the batter. I eyeball it, but about 1/8th cup is probably close. Bake the cake according to cake mix directions. Let cool. Add layer of fudge topping on top of the cooled cake. Mix creme de menthe into cool whip. Again, I eyeball it, but 2-3 tablespoons is probably about right. Spread the cool whip layer over the cake. Serve and enjoy!

Book Club Reading List

I am so excited that we've come up with a reading list for BYOB Book Club. I can't wait to dive into these good reads over the next year and discuss them with a great group of fun women!

Based on our group recommendations (we started with 40, narrowed that down to 27 based on what people had already read), we came up with these eight great reads for 2011-12.

2011

September: The Wrong Mother, Sophie Hannah

November: Loving Frank, Nancy Horan

2012

January: Maze Runner, James Dashner

March: Blindness, Jose Saramago

May: Delirium, Lauren Oliver

July: The Lonely Polygamist, Brady Udal

September: Freedom, Jonathan Franzen

November: Never Let Me Go, Kazu Ishaguro