I have read a lot of books since I learnt how to read at the age of 5.
From books by Enid Blyton (I had a collection of all her books), to the Sweet Valley High series, to Nancy Drew, to Sweet Dreams…I have read them all!
As I grew older, I sought books by Jeffrey Archer and John Grisham and re-read Malory Towers and The Twins at St. Clare’s. I grew up in Mombasa, Kenya in the 1990s. We only had one local library and one decent bookshop that got new stock from England every few months.
I borrowed from friends and the local library as many times as I could.
After I moved to Perth, Western Australia as an international student, my world widened and I came across new authors, one of whom was Khalid Hosseini.
The first book that made me cry
His book The Kite Runner was the first book ever to make me cry. It touched me so deeply that I couldn’t watch the movie when it came out.
The vivid descriptions of Afghanistan and the trauma of the main character remains forever etched in my memory. The part that made me cry was when the drug lords dressed the little boy in girls’ clothes, made him dance and then abused him.
The idea of grown men preying on a vulnerable child made me burst out in tears. I did manage to finish the book but the heartbreak and trauma inside its pages cut me deeply.
The Kite Runner was the first book that made me cry and opened my eyes to the atrocities in Afghanistan committed on children in the name of religion.
It’s also one of those books that’s eternal in its storytelling. So that each time you open the book to read, it feels like you’re reading it for the first time.
And I’m so glad to have found it and read it in my lifetime. I’d give it 5 stars. It is my wish to be able to write a book that stands the test of time and appeals to everyone.
How about you? Which book made you cry?
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