The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Kite Runner begins with Amir (the narrator) making this statement: “I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975.” That cold winter’s day, Amir failed to stand up for his good friend Hassan when he needed it the most. The one thing in the world that Amir desired the most, was the approval of his father, and that day, he traded Hassan’s happiness for his father’s love and affection. Sadly his father’s approval was short-lived and Amir could not get over his guilt at the betrayal of such a close friend and so pushed him even farther away, this time putting physical distance between them by forcing Hassan and his father to leave.
After living in California for 25 years, Amir is summoned to Pakistan to see an old family friend (Rahim) who is dying. Rahim is able to answer some of Amir’s questions about the fate of Hassan and his father and reveals to him that Hassan had a son that is living in an orphanage in Kabul. Rahim is also able to provide some insight into the Amir’s strained relationship with his father. Amir returns to Afghanistan determined to find Hassan’s son and bring him back to Pakistan to be cared for. Through this process Amir is able to forgive himself and find peace.
My favourite thing about this book is the story. It’s gripping and emotional. It’s truly a book you can’t put down. There are parts of the story that are sad, and parts that are happy. And it’s so well written, the characters are so real. I really feel for the characters and feel with them.
There are some really bad things that happen to the characters in this story. It could be very depressing, but the way Hosseini tells the story, I felt sad and outraged when these things happened, but not depressed, it didn’t bring me down. Hosseini has a way of telling the story, that lets you accept what happened and move on. He allows the reader to hope for happiness for the characters.
I read Hosseini’s second novel A Thousand Splendid Suns and didn’t like it nearly as much as The Kite Runner. It’s a good book, but it’s not at all the same type of story. I think I would have liked it a lot more if I hadn’t known it was by the same author.
Tags: Afghanistan, Amir, Khaled Hosseini