2007-12-17 15:59:36
来自: Donald
(初冬气候多变。)
The Kite Runner的评论
Finished the Kite Runner in a single night, Hosseini is certainly a sound storyteller, and a rather traditional one at that. However, it would be unwise to heap any praise other than that upon him. The themes are mostly well-tested, love, loyalty, betrayal, alienation and redemption; the same (forgive me) as the Gospel, and plot seemed mostly predictable, although I found the final confrontation between Amir and Assef (and also the escape from Kabul) slightly far-fetched.
Still, many great novels revolved around similarly simple themes, so it’s hardly the theme’s fault. What I found fault with was the language, and in consequence, the depiction of characters, though I have a faint feeling that perhaps Hosseini can’t be blamed for this (too many creative writing class taught by Hemingwayesque philistines I suppose). The language seemed, in many places, unnecessarily blunt and even cliché-ridden, not a language to depict intricate emotions or nuanced conversations, and not particularly colourful either, though it was suited in the Kite-running scene. The characters were also somewhat flat, in that they conformed to one’s stereotypes, the domineering yet loving father, the slightly self-conscious and neurotic son, the loyal servant and etc. Never once throughout the novel was I surprised by the characters, as they all seemed so obviously predictable (a slight exception could be made for the ending perhaps).
As for the much-touted descriptions of a bygone age, one would be better off with Proust. The middle-upper class of Kabul in the 1970s became one giant sequence of strange feuds and tasteless parties, hardly the impression one would imagine befitting of an ancient and distinguished race of people. However, the life as a newly immigrant at Fremont seemed much more authentic and rounded (I remember seeing similar groups of Middle Eastern gentlemen in garage sales in Canberra), and it is a portion of the book which I heard was sadly neglected in the film version.
Therefore I cannot but pity ourselves, when the Chinese version was published to great acclaim, knowing that there are so many more intricate and moving stories of loss and repentance of our own, only waiting to be discovered.
The Kite Runner的评论
Finished the Kite Runner in a single night, Hosseini is certainly a sound storyteller, and a rather traditional one at that. However, it would be unwise to heap any praise other than that upon him. The themes are mostly well-tested, love, loyalty, betrayal, alienation and redemption; the same (forgive me) as the Gospel, and plot seemed mostly predictable, although I found the final confrontation between Amir and Assef (and also the escape from Kabul) slightly far-fetched.
Still, many great novels revolved around similarly simple themes, so it’s hardly the theme’s fault. What I found fault with was the language, and in consequence, the depiction of characters, though I have a faint feeling that perhaps Hosseini can’t be blamed for this (too many creative writing class taught by Hemingwayesque philistines I suppose). The language seemed, in many places, unnecessarily blunt and even cliché-ridden, not a language to depict intricate emotions or nuanced conversations, and not particularly colourful either, though it was suited in the Kite-running scene. The characters were also somewhat flat, in that they conformed to one’s stereotypes, the domineering yet loving father, the slightly self-conscious and neurotic son, the loyal servant and etc. Never once throughout the novel was I surprised by the characters, as they all seemed so obviously predictable (a slight exception could be made for the ending perhaps).
As for the much-touted descriptions of a bygone age, one would be better off with Proust. The middle-upper class of Kabul in the 1970s became one giant sequence of strange feuds and tasteless parties, hardly the impression one would imagine befitting of an ancient and distinguished race of people. However, the life as a newly immigrant at Fremont seemed much more authentic and rounded (I remember seeing similar groups of Middle Eastern gentlemen in garage sales in Canberra), and it is a portion of the book which I heard was sadly neglected in the film version.
Therefore I cannot but pity ourselves, when the Chinese version was published to great acclaim, knowing that there are so many more intricate and moving stories of loss and repentance of our own, only waiting to be discovered.
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在哪儿买这本书? · · · · · ·
作者: Khaled Hosseini
isbn: 1594480001
书名: The Kite Runner
页数: 371
定价: USD 15.00
出版社: Riverhead Trade
装帧: 平装
出版年: 2004-04-27
又名: 追风筝的人
2007-12-17 16:19:00 沙加
your comment is even better the the book.like your use of the language that i once thought this must be written by a native speaker.
2007-12-18 08:45:52 Donald
您过奖了，我这写的实在很一般的，呵呵～～2008-09-01 07:56:15 葱头鹰
Impressive review.All I can say is that I totally agree with you. I would have never been able to express my thoughts in such a clear, effective fashion as you did.
The whole plot does seem very familiar when I read it--just like you stated, the self-conscious and neurotic son, the loyal servant...I also totally agree with you on the Assef part of the story at the end--the villain returns; again it seems so familiar among fictions.
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