Family Fiction Reading, not.

I finished a book today, a novel, "And a Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini.

It has been heavily promoted and is available at Costco.  If was my first book by the author, but Hosseini was familiar to me from hearing the same interview with CBC radio three times.  (It does make you wonder that one could hear this interview this many times.)  However, I had enjoyed the interview with Khaled Hosseini as he made a very good impression for his depth and humanity.   I even thought that I might read it out loud to my husband for bonding.

But I am afraid the book disappointed.  After a few pages I realized it would not make good reading aloud, as I was lost already.  Half the time you are wondering who is the narrator and what is the setting and what on earth is going on.  It was on the strength of the oft-heard interview that I soldiered on.  There was no way that I could subject my husband to it, if I was feeling so impatient.

There were parts to enjoy and lessons and insights to keep.  I even cried like three times. -- I can't remember about what, though.  It's too bad that venturing out into fiction was a bit of a let-down.  In future, in choosing novels,  I will try to stick to classics and prize winners.