So I certainly do not have any Clay news, but I would like to share something Clay-related: part of my summer reading. I am now reading - for the second time in a row - The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini:
.I know, I know - Clay blogged about this book on the Fan Club site back in April... What can I say, I'm a little late. Better late than never! In the meantime, friends and colleagues of mine had also recommended the book very highly.
Now, you might have noticed that I said I am now reading the book for the second time in a row. Not that I'm slow, but I just love this book so much, plus a big twist is revealed at the end, such that I wanted to re-read the early chapters in light of that information. I am discovering new layers of meaning and emotion in my second reading. It amazes me that this is the author's first novel, because it is truly a work of art - moving, passionate, perceptive, well-written, sensitive, rich, with many layers of meaning. Although set in pre-Taliban Afghanistan, followed by the U.S.A., the messages and feelings conveyed by the author are timeless and universal. I can see why Clay loved it when he read it. Plus, it is a story of fathers and sons - of love and tensions between men, which is an important thread of Clay's life, since he didn't really have a father/father-figure truly validate who he is, as a man and as a person. I always remember from Clay's own autobiographical book, Learning to Sing (see my post on the book), when he described how his stepfather, on his deathbed, asked every family member to come into his room to say goodbye, one by one. But he never invited Clay in to say goodbye; I felt so bad for Clay - and for his stepfather, who missed out on that moment of potentially intense closeness with his stepson before moving on to the other side of this world... In The Kite Runner, the protagonist also spent his childhood seeking closeness with his father, as well as his father's approval, but rarely receiving it.
If you haven't done so already, I highly recommend The Kite Runner, whether you are a man or a woman! It includes important life lessons for us all...
You can order the book at Amazon.com (U.S.) or at Chapters-Indigo.ca (Canada), among other places.
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