OW: After reading this novel I was interested to know how much of the story came from your own life experiences.
KH: Of course some of my inspiration came from my own culture and life growing up in Afghanistan. As many know the story of The Kite Runner is in part based on a particular relationship I had with a Hazzara man as a child.
OW: So when you wrote this novel you really identified with the narrator?
KH: Well that might be in part true, however I chose to do a first person narrative because that technique was well suited to exploring the emotion of the character, Amir, I was creating. I try in my novels to emphasize whats happening emotionally. I don't want the reader to have a rational or analytic response to the conflicts that make up the center of the plot. I am much more interested in making a reader actually affected by the conflicts.
OW: Yeah I noticed that although this novel is powerful, as the reader I am not overwhelmed by the literary stuff.
KH: I prefer using clear and direct sentences when I can because I feel like they are the best way to get readers immersed into a scene as quickly as possible.
I liked the questions you asked because they seemed like things an interviewer would ask the author. And nice pictures. I think it's true that Khaled Hosseini based some events from the book on his own experiences. I didn't know about the relationship he had with a Hazara man.
ReplyDeleteI also liked the fact that you pointed out the simple style of writing Hosseini uses. Good job Heath!
I really enjoyed reading this blog because i am reading the same book, and was interested to see a different opinion of it. I agree completely with what you are saying. Khaled Hosseini didn't "dumb" the story down at all, he explored the emotions of all the characters. This may have struck people as unnecessary, but I believe that without this strong emotion, the book would not be nearly as good. I also enjoyed the use of graphics (the cover of the book and the picture of Khaled Hosseini). It made the article more lively and interesting. --Marielle Friedman
ReplyDeleteHB - This post is just fine. And I, too, like the inclusion of the images. I would like to see you delve a little deeper into the text, especially in terms of looking at some specific examples. This feels pretty surface-y.
ReplyDelete21/25