The Kite Runner

As a young boy, Amir leads a sheltered life, one of privilege and luxury, surrounded by learning and culture. As the son of an upper class Pashtun, Amir has a constant playmate in Hassan, son of his father's Hazara servant of many years. Each winter the boys compete in the popular sport of kite running, Hassan's daunting agility adding to their success. As a Hazara, Hassan has no importance as a person and is in imminent danger when threatened by a local bully. Amir has the opportunity to intervene, but in his arrogance, he hides behind the superiority of class, betraying his companion. Amir's extemporaneous decision will define the inner dialog of his entire adult life.

Immigrating to America with his father just before the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, Amir does everything in his power to make his Baba proud. It seems his Baba cannot be pleased, requiring much of his only son. But, as the years pass, father and son reach a place of mutual understanding and respect. Later, when the Taliban is in power, an old family friend contacts Amir, offering a second opportunity at redemption. Having spent most of his life consumed by shame and regret, Amir recognizes the very real implications of his decision so long ago. His internal struggle is the underlying theme of the novel, which spans Afghan history from the peaceful 70's to the repressive rule of the Taliban in the late 90's.

The desperate battle to preserve the cultural heritage of Afghanistan spans Amir's life in Kabul and America, played out upon the world stage. Amir and his father have lived safely in America while their homeland is decimated by constant warfare. After years of chaos, the streets of Afghanistan are lined with beggars, fatherless children whose future is marginalized by poverty. "There are a lot of children in Afghanistan, but little childhood."

The sweet simplicity of youthful winters spent "kite running" with Hassan, seem light years away, illuminated in retrospect by the boys' unfettered innocence. Returning to Afghanistan as a grown man, Amir is challenged as never before, charged with the protection of a young life already scarred by the random violence that is visited upon the disenfranchised. With inordinate compassion Hosseini soulfully portrays Amir's impossible dilemma, where salvation lies in his potential for human kindness towards the less fortunate. Given another opportunity to heal the terrible wounds inflicted by personal choice, Amir's potential for compassion is renewed. He begins to understand the power of forgiveness, when the impossible becomes possible. Suddenly, the wild joy of two young boys' soaring kites against a winter sky is an everyday miracle. Luan Gaines/2003.


Afganistan discovered   July 2, 2003
 5 out of 6 found this review helpful

The Kite Runner is a excellent novel. It tells us about the people and customs of Afganistan. You can see what Kabul appeared as before and after the Taliban's rise to power. The main character is interesting in that he is not a hero but somewhat a coward. The interaction between father and son is very thought provoking. What man has not wanted to please his father and felt at times that he has failed.
The novel keeps your interest throughout. Hard to put the book down.


A Remarkable Story of Adventure, Betrayal and Redemption   July 2, 2003
 11 out of 11 found this review helpful

This remarkable book explores the themes of loyalty, betrayal and redemption in an engrossing story of a childhood friendship that affects three generations of intertwining Afghani families. The book centres on two children: the first the son of a prosperous Kabul businessman, the second the son of his longtime servant. The two boys grow up together -- constant companions despite their differences -- and become fast friends. But an ugly event leads to an act of cowardice and ultimately to a betreyal that ruptures the relationship. But, as the narrator says, "it's wrong what they say about the past, ... about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out." It does indeed, and the narrator, now an adult, is summoned from a comfortable life in San Francisco by a telephone call from Kabul with a request that he cannot in conscience ignore. This leads the narrator to undertake a dangerous quest into Taliban-held Afghanistan to recover a lost child and to redeem his honour. The book manages to combine a tale of high adventure with an engrossing portrait of childhood friendship and familial ties, wrapped up with a profound exploration of the nature of love and the need for repemption. Altogether, a stunning, moving, highly memorable novel.


Familiar Theme New Perspective   June 25, 2003
 11 out of 14 found this review helpful

Kahled Hosseini has made his debut as a novelist with, "The Kite Runner", and it is an appearance that is worth noting. The story that he tells and the characters that inhabit his tale are some that are likely quite familiar to you. Children who are friends yet separated by society's values, wealth, or religion are not necessarily unique, however; Mr. Hosseini brings readers to Afghanistan, to this nation before and during the Russian invasion through to the appearance of The Northern Alliance and finally the Taliban.

This is not the view we are often exposed to with the lines drawn simply between East and West, demarcations broadly defined between Christianity and Islam. These are not the shallow glimpses that are convenient to news organizations. The author brings you to the Islamic life that is divided dramatically between Sunni and Shia, Pashtun and Hazara. The primary characters occupying opposing sides are two young boys, one the son of a wealthy merchant, the other a servant of the same merchant's household. They are at once best friends while living with barriers each knows cannot be crossed.

This book takes some patience, a bit of time to grow accustomed to some language that is unfamiliar to the western ear even as the author presents his tale in solid unadorned prose. This is a story about character, truth, and the ease with which both can be amended and rationalized. It's about redemption and its pursuit; it is about profound regret and inaction. Perception can create the view that differences between societal beliefs are tremendous are cannot be reconciled. The truth is often different and the author portrays fathers, sons and mothers that share the same wishes and disappointments that all families face, endure, and survive.

The horrors and persecution are also universal whether an individual keeps his eyes averted from the Taliban, minions of Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia or the dark days of Jim Crow in this country. The author himself is an émigré of the country he writes about and so the reader can expect that what one is exposed to in the nation's customs, prejudices and History are accurate. This is a nation that many books have viewed fictionally as settings for thrillers and now with, "The Kite Runner", has been presented as fiction, albeit a very personal and more literary one.


Excellent! Excellent! Excellent   June 24, 2003
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This book was wonderful. I was hooked from the beginning and couldn't put it down. I feel as though I know the characters personally and I suffered through their dilemmas with them. This author is truly talented. Hard to believe this is his first novel. Thank you for this gift. I'll never forget this book.