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Book broadens view

Morganton News Herald
Tuesday, March 18, 2008

As a native of Burke County, I was disappointed to read the recent letter to The News Herald from Margaret Hedrick in which she compared "The Kite Runner" to an X-rated movie and a pile of dog poop.

Most people who have read that book would recognize those comparisons as unjust and inaccurate.

At its best, this book is about redemption and forgiveness.

At its least, it informs our perspective on a country and culture with which the U.S. is actively engaged.

Perspective-taking of other cultures is an important part of understanding the world around us.
I am 38 years old, have lived in several states, traveled in most of the U.S. and a handful of other countries, so my world view is probably a little broader than that of the average 10th grader.
Reading "The Kite Runner" several years ago simply helped to broaden that view; it gave me a tiny bit of understanding of Afghani culture and the Islamic religion.

This book put a human face on the news reports of suicide and roadside bombings.
An understanding of another person's beliefs and culture is never a bad thing.
Without question there are some graphic scenes in this book and it is difficult to read about the horrific things one person is willing to do to another, but it is not in anyway a book full of gratuitous sex and violence.

The scene so often objected to in "The Kite Runner" may make you uncomfortable and it may make your soul ache, but this book is not about sex or rape.
It is about two boys who grow up together flying kites in their beautiful city and get caught up in war and terror and petty human jealousy in the worst ways, but survive it and forgive themselves and each other.

Laura Brown
Greensboro