PositiveThe Washington Post… [a] powerful book, perhaps because it contains no frills, no nonsense, just hard, spare prose … Hosseini extrudes it into an intimate account of family and friendship, betrayal and salvation that requires no atlas or translation to engage and enlighten us … Parts of The Kite Runner are raw and excruciating to read, yet the book in its entirety is lovingly written. Characters are physically deformed but endearingly noble. Homosexual rape is rampant, but its purpose is to expose hypocrisy and the abuse of power. Hosseini clearly loves his country as much as he hates what has become of it … This is not densely textured sociology but a tale told in simple brush strokes.
