Book recommendation- The Messenger of Athens

Recently I finished  a book called The Messenger of Athens by Anne Zouroudi. Set in Greece, this murder mystery is sure to captivate all who reads its. The novel is written in such a way that will keep all of its readers on the edge of their seat because the author has done a wonderful job of putting all the pieces together and revealing bit by bit at the right moment. Zouroudi crafted each of the characters in a very complex and unique way, where none have the same qualities, yet they all are connected at the same time. Since the setting is in Greece island Thiminos, the readers are exposed to a wide varitey of Greek foods, terms, and customs. That way you are also able to learn about the little known Greek festivities. Of course, since this is a huge thriller book because the story is based off the  murder of a woman whose body was thrown off a cliff. A police officer ends up solving the mystery after a whole lot of close scrutiny and analysis.

The author did a wonderful job of adding a lot of imagery to enhance the text and making it really feel like the readers are there, watching what is happening. For example, the author uses rich vocabulary to describe the greenery, ocean, and the eerie town where the story takes place. There are many examples of figurative language to show how the characters feel and what they are going through. At first when you start reading this book, it feels like the puzzle pieces will never connect and they are the wrong ones. However, once you really get in the middle with all these different events happening you start to realize how everything is part of the domino effect. In the end, everything eventually comes together and the finished product is the completed plot of the book.

Analysis- Poem

Recently, I read a poem by Naomi Shabib Nye called "Hidden". In the poem Nye talks about a fern that can be hidden by a large stone and how it would feel like it has been swallowed by the stone. Of course, the fern and stone can stand for many things. For example the fern can stand for a person who is really shy and never really speaks their true heart out in front of people, while the stone can represent the world around them with loud, obnoxious people who are never are afraid to say what's on my mind.   Therefore the people who are loud are obviously going to overtake the shy person and conceal them. The fern and stone are clear symbols and the poem reads, "If you place a fern / under a stone / the next day it/ will be/nearly invisible/as if the stone has/ swallowed it" (1-6). 


Overall, depending on the way you approach this poem, there are multiple meanings that can come out of it. The first meaning I took out of the poem is that if you don't forgive and forget the people you love just becuase of a mistake you or the other committed, then you will always end up regretting it. The lines that show that are, "If you tuck the name of a loved one / under you tongue too long / without speaking it / it becomes blood," (7-10). The meaning I take out of it is you want to mend relationships with people quickly otherwise you will never do so. Then, you will end up regretting it and hold that feeling with you for a very long time.

The line, "no one sees / the fuel that feeds you," (15-16) can mean that no one will know what your confidence booster is or what things you are motivated by, so continue to use that motivation to go log ways. I also feel the other meaning from that line is that some memories/ secrets are what keeps you going whether it be in fear or happinees so continue on using those to keep you going considering the fact that no one knows. Certain memories that people have act like motivation for them or impact who they are now. Those memories may even further the meaning of their life and give them a reason to do what they are doing now or just a reason to live.

Link to the Poem, "Hidden"

Characters- The Kite Runner

The characters, especially the main character have a massive impact on the book itself and what the overall theme is. Decisions they face, how they overcome them, and what how they react to certain choices made by the other really drives the course of this book. It is like the domino effect where one thing that happens is immediately followed by other events. That is one way the theme gets to be created and notable by the end of the book and how the puzzle pieces fit as you continue to read this book.

For example the theme of friendship is derived based on the interaction of Hassan and Amir. They show the typical friendship with ups and downs but also showcase a scenario that is more rare when talking about real life. A broken friendship that never was able to mend, leading to grief and major regret. The way they talk is implementing their relationship. Sometimes is nice and happy, while at others it is annoyed or angry.  After the break up Amir's life changes and he ends up never meeting Hassan again, which leads to one of the themes: Friendship is the key to a happy life.

You also see the way Amir interacts with his father implements a huge impact on the theme of family. When he was younger he was very distanced with his father. Even if they lived under the same roof, very little conversation was made between them. Therefore you can consider it as a very rocky relationship[. however after the kite festival, things started to thaw up again and Amir was finally able to treat his dad like a real father whom he could have shared his feelings with. That concludes the theme of family and how important family is in one's life.

Analysis- The Kite Runner

       When Amir comes back to his home town, in Kabul, the audience can notice how reminiscent he feels. Everywhere he goes in his town he is reminded of his past memories with his father, family, and most of all his friend... Hassan. Basically anything that Amir  sees, touches, eats, smells, or hears sparks memories of him in childhood doing  that same activity or something alike it. For example, a simple jungle of a bell reminded him of the Monkey Man that he and Hassan would go after when they were younger. It says, "It reminded me of the Money Man that Hassan and I used to chase down in Shar-e-Nau. The bell on the monkey's neck had made the same jingle sound"(300). That is one example of how strong his memories are from the past that even the smallest things trigger some kind of reaction. When he thinks of these things he becomes very sad and longs to go back and fix his mistakes. However he knows he can't go back and fix those mistakes because it is too late and wouldn't really be able to face those people again even if he could.

       However the audience can understand how Amir feels because everyone feels reminiscent when they go back to a place where they grew up in or the school they used to go to. So I personally believe that how Amir is feeling is completely justified  and is right for him to do so.

Theme and Summary #2- The Kite Runner

      This book is told in flashback mode, where the man Amir is telling his life story. It starts off with the description of Amir and general things like his family, friends, and the city where he lived. He talks about childhood memories with his best friend Hassan, like going on vacation to climbing the apple tree in their backyard. Amir talks about his rocky relationship with his father and why Hassan is his best friend, even if he is their servant's son. Every year their city named Kabul holds an annual kite festival where all the kids come and participate to knock each other's kites out of the sky. Amir wanted to make his father proud and was determined to win this year with the help of Hassan. As the day comes Amir is really excited and in the end wins. As he goes to show his prize to his father, Hassan disappears into a dark alley. Amir goes and tries and to find him, only to see that he is being harassed by the neighborhood bullies. Instead of the being there for him, Amir just watched the entire scene unfold in front of his eyes since he was. Amir runs back home and once Hassan comes back, their friendship starts to spiral down. The things was it that Hassan knew that  Amir has seen the entire scene and didn't help him. But it wasn't that Hassan didn't want to talk to Amir, he still stayed loyal to him. The problem was that Amir didn't want to talk to Hassan.

      A few months later, Hassan and his father come out crying and say that they are leaving the house. When asked the reason, they don't come out and state it directly. Right then and there, Amir realizes that Hassan had known all along, that he was there that night and had told his father about what happend. After they, left the story fast forwards many years, to Amir and his father moved to America, trying to start a new life. That is when Amir falls in love and decides to get married. Just a few years later Amir's father dies and he goes to Kabul to fix his mistakes with Hassan. However, when he went there, he learned that Hassan and his wife were dead and their son Sohrab was in an orphange. He also had an oppturnity to meet up with his father's old friend Rahim who told something that changed Amir's life forever. It turns out that Hassan was Amir 's illagitamate brother. Those news shocked Amir as he felt like his entire life was a lie. Then, he knew that to make up for all he had done, he needed to find Sohrab and take him back with him to America. After a lot of searching Amir finally gets a hold of Sohrab. After a few days in the hotel, Amir is finally legally allowed to take Sohrab back with him to Calirfornia where they live.

      By the time they reach home, Amir's wife Soraya has made all the preparations they needed for Sohrab to permanently live there with them. Soraya and Amir decided to adopt him legally since he was Amir's nephew. However,  the first few months in America he doesn't say anything until one day he finally ends up smiling at Amir, which to him was the first step for Sohrab to finally become a part of their family.


Theme: So many topics are touched in this book like friendship, decisions, future, family, trust, loyalty, and secrets. However the overall theme would be:  keeping secrets can be one of the fundamental reasons of a broken relationship. This is shown when Amir kept something from Hassan and they never spoke again and when Amir's father didn't tell him and Hassan that they were brothers.

Reading Skills- The Kite Runner

As I read this book I have made a few predictions that involve most what will happen in the plot. For example, I think that Amir will go and search for Hassan's son since he thinks that it is the only to make up for all the things he has done in the past. Because he is an author, I feel like whatever he has experience in his trip back to his home town in Kabul, he will use to write a book to convey his message and pour out his feelings through his writing, which he may not have done otherwise.

A few questions that I might ask the author:
1) Is any part of this part based on your life?
2) What did you want the reader to get after reading this book?
3) Why did you choose the characters in this way, and shape the plot to create such surprise moments?
4) Did your environment inspire the one in this book?
5) What was your purpose of crafting the characters in a way that made all of them different, yet they were able to connect?

Text to World:  The text to world connection I can make is the war/dispute to the Afghan war in the 1970s. This book is based around the time in the 1950-1980s where there was a war going on in the Afghanistan so you can connect the events in the book to what really happened during the war. Some similarities were the trashing of towns, illegal kidnapping of small children and selling them, and killing people who tried to rebel against the government.

Text to Self: Amir was put into certain situations where he has to make a decision and similarity I can relate to that because I have made choices that impacted me in many ways especially to shape the person who I am today.

Text to Text: Because this book is based on the foundation of decisions, an autobiography written by former President George W. Bush, called Decision Points.   The book focused on the types of things he had to do in order to win the election and then prepare for his presidency. He talks about making decisions early on that let him to be in the position he was today. Therefore it can be connected to Amir because what he did early on, affected him later on.

Characters #2- The Kite Runner

The characters in this book are very real. Real, in the sense that you can literally withdraw the charcter from the book and it would shape into a real person-with imperfections, problems, talents, and of course secrets.

Amir:
        He is the main charcter of the book and goes through multiple phases in his life. He changes in many ways and the reader is able to see all those transformations because this book covers the time period from his chilhood all the way to adulthood and even farther on. My opinion of him changed many times as I was reading the novel going from good to bad. At first he is just a normal boy with some average family problems, a best friend, and caring people he lives with. As the story continues and his relationship with his best friend declines, you feel a change in his attitude. He becomes more timid and doesn't want to talk to Hassan [friend] and tries to stay away from him as much as he can. "I made sure our paths crossed as little as possible,planned my day that way'(100). That shows you how he doesn't even want to be near Hassan. The only reason he is acting like this is because was too afraid to tell Hassan the truth that he was there, and didn't do anything to help him when we was getting bullied. As the story progresses and Amir and his father move to America after their village was captured by the Afghans, you notice a change in him again. He tries to forget the past and becomes more focused on his future. He is able to speak his mind and works hard to achieve his goal. He even becomes really close to his father, which wasn't like that when he was younger (their relationship was really rocky due to the fact that his mother died at childbirth). Then again as there are plot twists he continues to evolve but at the point right now, he is very determined to find Hassan's son who was orphaned after Hassan and his wife were killed by some corrupted police officers.

Book Recommendation #2- The Kite Runner

Book Recommendation:

Out of all the books I have read this year The Kite Runner [by: Khaled Hosseini] has been my favorite. One reason is simply because there can be a connection felt between the characters and the audience. The author includes many conflicts that can be relatable such as conflicts between friends, parents, and trying to make wise decisions in your teenage years. Things like how best friends can become complete strangers in just a few minutes, or how rocky relationships between a child and their parent can be especially after loss of their spouse. Besides the self to text connection that the reader can make, the language that the author uses is very descriptive and enables the reader to really visualize the scene. For example it says, "She was standing behind us, a slim- hipped beauty with velvety coal black hair... she had thick black eyebrows that touched in the middle like arched wings of a flying bird, and the gracefully hooked nose of a princess from old Persia..."(155). Just with the one line of example you can tell that Hosseini crafts his language using a lot of imagery to describe the characters. It really makes you think that she is standing right in front of you.

Not only does that author use literal language but also metaphors that make this book a must read. It says, "America was different. America was a river, roaring along, unmindful of the past. I could wade into this river, let my sins drown drown to the bottom, let the waters carry me someplace far"(151). The way America is compared to a roaring river really lets the audience get a sense of his emotion therefore letting us to connect with Amir [main character].

The unexpected plot twists, strange/complex characters, and rich symbolism used throughout this book really sets a high standard for it and this is one novel that I recommend everyone read.