The book follows the interactions of recently divorced environmental lawyers Nick and Lena. Nick gets all of the lobsters from the local grocery stores and puts them in the mayor’s swimming pool as a protest. Lena volunteers to represent him at his hearing (they still like/love each other) and he is ordered to have a psych evaluation. He maneuvers his way into being released into Lena’s custody and is ordered to undergo community service at a local animal shelter. Nick discovers the fate of the cats and dogs that spend 30 days at the shelter (nighty night Fido) and it severly disturbs him. Nick pulls one more trick out of his sleeve at the end.

This is Stephen Evans first novel, and it’s a decent attempt. The problem is that he has built the dialogue (which is fun) and drama of the story around Nick and Lena, but we don’t get a chance to get to know them really. There’s a bit of a flashback to how they met and were married, but Nick’s quirkiness (he was diagnosed with a delusional disorder) seems much more annoying than endearing. It’s a quick book to read and I can’t help but think that another fifty to a hundred pages of character/relationship development would have been a helpful addition to the book.

I was not as bothered by some that Evans wrote the book after discovering the prevelance of animal euthanasia in the United States. He basically wrote the book to bring it to the public’s attention. I didn’t have a problem with the storyline, it was the way we were supposed to latch on to the protagonist without much/any reason to. Anyway, it was an enjoyable afternoon read, but won’t be one I’ll be encouraging others to be sure they pick up.

2.5 out of 5 stars

It is truly a sickness I have. I won’t walk out of a terrible movie in the theater, I don’t turn off a TV show I’ve never watched before until it’s done, I don’t fall asleep during movies, and I can’t go to bed if I’m enjoying a good book. I just HATE not knowing what comes next (I also NEVER read the ending before I’m done with the book–who does that?). So, after toiling through Don Quixote, it was a welcome relief to read a page turner like The Kite Runner.

The story is written from the perspective of Amir, an American immigrant from Afghanistan. While living in San Francisco in 2001, he receives a phone call that forces him to deal with his past. The story then unfolds on the streets of Kabul in 1975. Amir tells of his father, Baba, the rich, benevolent hulk of a man who is disappointed in his son’s relative weakness. Then there are Ali, the crippled Hazara servant who grew up with Baba and his hare-lipped son, Hassan.

Hassan and Amir are inseparable, even though there was a social stigma of a Pashtun socializing with a Hazara. The boys are around 12 years old and spend time doing the things 12 year old boys do. Reading stories, climbing trees and fighting kites take up most of their leisure time until the day of the kite fighting tournament. After competing in the tournament, both Amir and Hassan’s lives change forever when Amir betrays Hassan in a frighteningly cruel way. Shortly after this the Russians invade Afghanistan and Amir and Baba flee to America.

The story continues in America with Amir marrying and living a relatively normal life as an author until he receives that phone call from Pakistan in 2001. He goes to visit his father’s old friend who tells him of “a way to be good again.” Amir’s quest for redemption takes him to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan where through a couple of convenient twists of fate, redemption comes.

I am a sucker for redemption storylines. My favorite movies are Braveheart, Good Will Hunting, and Shawshank Redemption. The books I’d have to take on a deserted island: Les Miserables, The Lord of the Rings, and The Chronicles of Narnia. The Kite Runner is very well done, gives a great picture of what Afghanistan used to be like before it was thrust into the national news, as well as a disgusting picture of what it was during the Taliban’s rule. Some of the later coincidences may test the novel’s believability, but all in all, it was a great read.

4.5 out of 5 stars