uncommonpear.com » reading

Clarkson on: horoscopes – BBC Top Gear

schmoo — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 02:46:11 +0000

First JC article I’ve read, but man is it funny. I confess, I would kill for a white BMW M3.

The Kite Runner film true to book

pedwar — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 02:44:29 +0000

To take our minds off our recent car troubles, N and I picked up our good friend Francis and went to see The Kite Runner. The movie plot closely follows the book’s, and the tale had mesmerized me when I read it on our cruise last year. I had so enjoyed that first book by Khaled Hosseini, who also wrote A Thousand Splendid Suns, that I was waiting eagerly for the movie, and I wasn’t disappointed. Very insightful into the last few decades of Afghanistan’s history, the story was bit slow in the very beginning as it laid the foundation for the plot, but it’s difficult to cram that much detail into a short, two-hour movie. The backstory was essential to the main story, however, giving it flavour, nuance, and life, and the movie moved along very well once underway. With an international cast of non-actors, half in English when Amir and his father move to America and half in sub-titles during the scenes in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the movie was poignant, moving and well acted. One of the best films I’ve seen in some time.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

pedwar — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 06:44:57 +0000

This second book by Khaled Hosseini (author of The Kite Runner) is set in Kabul, Afghanistan. The lives of two women connect through a common husband, and their story, enthralling and heart-wrenching, is inextricable from the context of the country’s socio-political system of the past thirty years, from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban. Although a work of fiction, this book is nevertheless a clear glimpse into the day-to-day lives of Afghani women, who have experienced and continue to endure unbelievable human rights atrocities with stoicism and determination. Like me, you will not be able to put this book down.