The Kite Runner

Author: Khaled Housseini
Genre: Fiction

In Afghanistan in the 1970s Amir and Hassan are as close as brothers.  They grew up together, played together, even nursed from the same wet maid as infants.  There is one major difference between them; Amir is a Pashtun, a member of the ruling class, mostly comprised of Sunni Muslims, contrarily, Hassan is a a member of the lower class of Hazara people, primarily Shi'a Muslims.  As a result of this difference, Hassan is the son of Amir's father's servant and never truly viewed as an equal in the eyes of his playmate.

Then, one crucial afternoon, Amir witnesses a heinous act committed against Hassan, but rather than intervene, chooses to remain passive.  He spends the next several decades haunted by the flashbulb memory of that day; tortured by the guilt of his inaction.

Years pass, The Soviets overthrow the Afghan monarchy, forcing Amir and his father to flee to America.  Amir adjusts to his new life, trying to bury the past but discovers "the past claws its way out". The Taliban takes Amir's homeland back from the Soviets.  One day, Amir, now a grown man gets a call from his father's friend, Rahim Khan in Persia.  Rahim tells him he knows what happened back in 1975, but there is a way for him "to be good again" he just needs to come back to the Middle East.

Where do I start with this novel?  I may or may not have been mildly obsessed with it during and for a while after reading it.  I really liked the way Khaled Hosseini used the political situation in Afghanistan over the past four decades as a backdrop for his story without making it the focus of the novel.  In its heart, it is a book about humanity, loyalty, and redemption.  Hosseini is a fantastic writer.  I love the way he uses anecdotes, such as the slaughter of a lamb to describe an expression during a very sensitive scene.  It is a good way to paint a picture for the reader, without sounding cliche, as well as providing a metaphor for the current situation.  The author chose a highly complex topic for the centerpiece of his story, and I feel he did it justice.

5/5

WARNING:  Topics discussed in the book include; sexual assault (not too graphic, but there is no misinterpreting what is occurring), violence (people executed in the streets, stoning, fistfights), pedophilia, and suicide.  There is very little language throughout the novel, however, there is a one-time use of the word, "c**t".