The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

I just finished reading this book, and I must admit it’s been a while since I was last nearly moved to tears by a story.  I haven’t seen the movie so I thoroughly enjoyed every word of this. 

It begins in Afghanistan and tells the story of Amir and his friendship with Hassan, their family’s Hazara servant who was of the same age.  Amir and Hassan grew up together and Amir treated Hassan like they were brothers.  Even Amir’s father seemed to love Hassan like he was his own son, which made Amir terribly jealous.  Everything Amir did to try to gain his father’s praise and acknowledgement seemed to end in failure, and it made things worse when Hassan always managed to save him from trouble.  And so though Amir truly loved Hassan as a brother, he grew up feeling unworthy and incompetent next to his friend.  He gradually became bitter, contemptuous, and he begrudged Hassan every little thing that his father did for the servant.  The only time Amir managed to gain the respect and praise of his father was when he won the kite fighting tournament, but it was also on that same day that his fate and that of Hassan’s will change forever.  For it is on that day that Amir commits the greatest betrayal against his friend and begets the guilt and regret which he will suffer for the rest of his life. 

The story of Amir follows the tumultuous changes that Afghanistan suffered since the 1980’s.  The wars, Russia, and the Taliban – all those political forces ravaged the land and destroyed the dreamlike homeland that Amir grew up in.  He and his father fled to America, and Amir thought he would also escape his terrible sins against Hassan, but of course he couldn’t escape from himself.  Eventually he did find some measure of success and joy, but the past inevitably comes back to haunt us all.  A distress call from a beloved friend compels him to go back to Afghanistan, only to be confronted with painful and incredible truths about who he and Hassan truly were, to witness the destruction and agony of his homeland, to relive every horror and compound every sin, at last to face the greatest demon from his past, to be presented with a chance to right his wrongs, and eventually to find redemption and forgiveness. 

This book put me through an emotional storm.  At first I thought it would bore me; that it would be preachy and moralistic. But as I followed the story of Amir and Hassan, I grew closer and closer to them, could almost hear their voices in my head.  I felt my heart clench and throb painfully for Hassan, mourned for the cruel fate that he had to face and marvelled at his integrity, loyalty, and purity.  I just knew life would deal him the cruellest hand – the world tends to extend the harshest punishment on those who deserve it least.  But I could not retain any anger toward Amir either.  He, too, suffered in his own pure way.  It is only those with a conscience who suffer.  I’m so glad he managed to do something in the end; that he did try his best to atone for the wrongs he did.  In the end, that is the only thing any of us could try to do.  We cannot go back and undo any of our mistakes.  Even though the story was filled with so much pain, it also provided some small measure of forgiveness and hope.  It is told in a voice that is straightforward, honest, and sincere.  It gave me a clearer picture of what faith actually means and what power it can provide.  I strongly recommend this book to everyone.  We can all learn something important from this unforgettable and moving story.  

Only Yesterday (1991)

A few days ago I saw an anime called Only Yesterday or おもひでポロポロ (Omohide Poroporo).  It aired in Japan in 1991, so you could say it’s pretty old for a movie.  Be that as it may, it really struck a chord in me and made me think of my own situation and what I would like to do with my life. 

Taeko is in her late twenties, unmarried, and yearning to get away from the city, having lived all her life in Tokyo.  She takes a vacation in quiet and provincial Yamagata, to help in the saffron harvest and around the farm.  While traveling, she begins to reminisce about when she was eleven years old, recalling memories of friends, crushes, impending womanhood, and dreams of the future.  As she spends busy but peaceful days helping around the farm, she deepens her friendship with the family she stays with, as well as becomes good friends with Toshio, her brother-in-law’s cousin.  She finds much comfort in the peace and simplicity of life there and starts to contemplate her childhood memories and the kind of life she wants to live from that moment on. 

I’m so glad I gave this story a chance.  I felt so close to Taeko, seeing myself in her situation.  For the longest time now, I’ve had this deep yearning to get away from it all – to abandon the city, my so-called-cushy job, the oftentimes suffocating care of my family – and leave myself to the whims of chance.  I did just that, and I was rewarded with a blessed interval – I was free for a while.  Japan took me in its arms and set me free even as it held me so close.  But my reality just won’t allow me to keep dreaming; it just had to wake me up and pull me back.  So I came back here and still I keep trying to resign myself to the painful choice I made.  But the yearning never left me.  I carry it always like weights attached to my wrists and ankles. 

Recently I went to an island on a very short vacation, and there I found the dream once again.  I saw what I really, really want to do with my life, just like Taeko did.  But of course, Taeko got her wish and I didn’t.  I couldn’t.  Reality and the city keeps pulling me back and won’t let me go.  Now I let every day carry me along and the only comfort I can give myself is the knowledge that my dream actually does exist and I know where it can be found – I can at least fantasize about swimming in clear, deep waters, my skin browning under the sun, and living at the mercy of the beautiful and terrible ocean.  I’m glad Taeko got her happy ending.  I don’t begrudge anyone that particular joy.  And while I cannot have mine, for now, perhaps the dream would be enough. 

First two movies of 2013

The first two movies I saw in 2013.  First, Jack Reacher.  It dwells on the efforts of an ex-army cop to investigate the gunning down of five seemingly random victims by an ex-army sniper with a bad record.  Together with the lovely attorney (Rosamund Pike) with an unshakeable sense of fairness, they try to uncover all the inconsistencies surrounding the shooting and prove that the accused was actually framed for the brutal murders. 

Pros: I liked the plot and the pace of the unfolding events well enough.  Of course they didn’t reveal everything at the outset.  The truth about the murders was slowly but surely revealed, enough to allow you to feel curious about how it’s all going to turn out.  There were also a lot of subtle comedic moments that had me chuckling.  Also, I liked the cars (Camaro, and the white Benz) and Robert Duvall was really cool.  Cons:  Although the mystery surrounding the killings was effectively revealed clue by clue, it wasn’t really gripping or exciting.  Reading a Sherlock Holmes story would give you more of a thrill than this story.  It felt more like events turned out that way just to make Tom Cruise’s character seem smarter, more impressive and heroic.  It was okay, but in the end it all felt too contrived.  The fight scenes were not bad, but lacked impact somehow; like you already expected it all to turn out the way they turn out and it all ended up being a tad bit too predictable.  In the end, it all felt like a half-done thing.  The story could have had merit, but wasn’t delivered too well. The action scenes weren’t bad, but weren’t all that remarkable either.  Overall, I didn’t really understand the point of the movie.   Was it trying to create a glorified image of American soldiers who end up committing crimes?  Was it trying to melodramatize the idea of random gun violence because it’s so rampant in the States nowadays?  Was it trying to just make Tom Cruise look cool (which it quite failed to do, in my opinion)?  I didn’t hate it, but unfortunately it’s not ever going to make my Top 100 favorite movies.  The film flopped in the U.S. 

Next, Life of Pi.  I didn’t read the book, so I don’t know how it compares, and I don’t plan on reading the book.  The movie was visually beautiful, no one can deny that.  It’s more difficult for me to talk about the story’s themes.  Pi tells the story of his life to a journalist (?) who’d been told he would hear a wonderful story that will make him believe in God.  So Pi tells of his childhood – growing up in a zoo, being bullied for having a weird name and how he overcame that, trying out as many as three different religions at the same time, falling in love as a teenager and getting heartbroken, having to leave everything behind for a strange new land, and last but not the least being the only survivor of a shipwreck with only a Bengal tiger for company.  Majority of the movie centers on the moments that transpired while Pi and Richard Parker (the tiger) are lost at sea and struggling to stay alive, how they formed an uneasy friendship, how having to face grief and death in the middle of the beautiful and unmerciful ocean changed his faith and understanding of life and everything.  I loved the ocean and sea life, of course, and the meerkats, and Richard Parker – he’s my favorite. And I understood that the story was trying to get across a message about faith and hope, but unfortunately, story-wise I didn’t appreciate it as much as I thought I would.  In the end I felt it tried nothing more than to proselytize – something that I always resent in anything and anyone.  The acting was good; great even.  Pi was brought to life with sincerity and honesty.  And again, the tiger was splendid.  I just couldn’t get enough of animals in the big screen, especially something as spectacular as a tiger lost at sea.  I was so happy when he got back to the jungle and had lost none of his true wild nature.  I was so happy that he, at least, had never been tamed.  I do recommend everyone to see it.  The film is up for a whole bunch of movie awards and I’m sure it will bag a few of them.  It’s being compared to Avatar a lot, but I have to say I liked Avatar much better.  But that’s me.  Between a sci-fi/aliens love-mother-nature visually awesome fiesta like Avatar and a moralistic/proselytizing love-mother-nature visually awesome fiesta like Life of Pi, I’d choose the former any day.  See it and decide for yourself.