Thu 8 Nov 2007
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/Story?id=3225368&page=2
For many American readers of his books, Hosseini is their only window into a culture and world that is very distant. “It’s really such an insider’s view of a country that we don’t get to see inside of very often,” said Elizabeth Santoro, who attended a book signing and discussion at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. “You see the violence on the news, but you don’t see the richness of the culture and its history.”
4 Responses to “Insider’s View”
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November 8th, 2007 at 11:53 pm
Whee! Elizabeth is FAMOUS. Were you actually on the TELEVISON? Coolness. BTW, I’ve heard his latest book is even more depressing than _The Kite Runner_– anyone read it yet?
November 9th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
I was indeed, which is ironic since I don’t watch television. The lady said “I’m from Nightline” and I said, “What’s Nightline?” Way more exciting was meeting Khaled Hosseini and getting my book signed! If you ever get a chance to hear him speak, seize it.
Although it certainly had a lot of sad and difficult themes, I didn’t find The Kite Runner depressing. I thought the concept of making peace with the past was uplifiting, and dovetailed interestingly with the political context. That being said, I didn’t enjoy his most recent novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, nearly as much. Although the plight of Afghan women is compelling, I didn’t find the characters as well-drawn, and the way Hosseini finagled a “happy ending” for them was unrealistic, IMO.
I have both these novels if anyone would like to borrow!
November 9th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
If you have not read ‘The Kite Runner’ borrow it. I don’t think that it is depressing. It is certainly powerful. The last page is as perfect as any I’ve ever read. Bittersweet?
That said, I certainly don’t plan on re-reading it for awhile…. because it is too much.
I should probably read A Thousand Splendid Suns, but I am working up to it :)
December 2nd, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Yay, Elizabeth! I see that “Nightline” (whatever it actually is) has a discerning sense of whom to interview. (I remember you mentioning this encounter a while back.) I haven’t read either book, but maybe one of these days!