My first Jeffrey Archer book, Paths of Glory is a fictionalised story that revolves around George Mallory, an English mountaineer who attempted to make the first ascent of Mount Everest in 1924. While the book was categorised as a work of fiction, with fabrications and dramatization used to catch readers' interest, the fact that this was based on a true story may have struck the nerve of someone who actually know the true story.
First of all, in the story, Mallory made it to the summit of Mount Everest before losing his life during his decent. No solid evidence proved that he had done so, while Sir Edmund Hillary was confirmed to achieved the feat in 1953. Knowing this, I would rather have the author create a storyline around that fact, perhaps fictionalise a cause for the failure or leave it as a cliffhanger. A reader wrote a review saying that she was dumbfounded as to why Archer did not use the actual dates in regards of Mallory's expeditions. In the story, Mallory's expedition in 1922 took place in late June/early July. The reader explained that at that time, it was well into the monsoon season, which would make the ascent impossible. Perhaps a proof that Archer didn't done his research properly?
Despite all that, the book in itself was quite engaging, almost like a "behind-the-scene" look at the Brits' attempt to be the first to conquer Everest. Lots of personal struggles and politics. At first, I thought the book was purely fictional until I found out later that wasn't true. Perhaps the mistake was, in a way, a blessing in disguise, allowing to finish reading it without being bothered by the inaccuracies of certain facts.
The Kite Runner has become one of my favourite books in my collection. The protagonist and narrator of the book was Amir, living in the US after fleeing from Afghanistan during the Russian invasion. He recounted his comfortable life in Kabul, living with his father and servants, including a boy called Hassan. Both became good friends since childhood, although Amir never admitted that in public, possibly due to him being a Pashtun master and Hassan being a Hazara servant, in a society where master and servant being friends was unheard of.
Amir and Hassan never thought that their friendship would ever change. That changed as Amir's desire for his father's approval and love, cowardice, selfishness and guilt all surfaced on one faithful day. They never met again after Amir and his father fled to the US. The guilt followed Amir for years since. Until an unexpected redemption presented to him, along with a secret that his father had kept from everyone, including his own son.
I like how the story was written throughout the book. I can still remember how vividly I imagined the scenes in my head through the author's words, even though they may not be as accurate. It may very well remind readers about their feelings about their parents and friends, seeking approval and loyalty, hoping to be the best they can be to the one they loved.
It's a really anger-invoking and heart-warming story nicely wrapped in one book. One must read it to know how I felt after reading it.
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