The Kite Runner (2003)

 

"For you, a thousand times over."

A story of a people's resilience in a country that has endured great suffering. The Kite Runner, though a work of fiction is very much steeped in real events, and that makes it all the harder to read. Against the backdrop of a chaotic period in Afghanistan's history, a growing boy is forced to confront harsh realities at a young age. These mold his personality and actions until one day, it sets him down a path he cannot turn back from. As an immigrant in the US, he grows to understand his childhood and how religion and politics had forced his family's hand in situations where right and wrong become blurred.

Our protagonist is Amir, who also narrates the events as they unfold. He speaks of many fond childhood memories with his servant's son, Hassan. They grew up together and played together, even though he is a Sunni Muslim and Hassan is a Shia. That religious distinction doesn't keep them away from one another, but Afghan society tells them otherwise. When circumstances force them to part, Amir's world is forever changed.

The Kite Runner builds on Amir's relationships with Hassan, his father, and other key figures in his life. We see from his perspective the changes that take place, and how they threatened to destroy many lives in the process. From the Soviet invasion, to the mass exodus of refugees to Pakistan, and finally the rise of the Taliban, Amir witnesses the suffering and pain wrecked upon a country he once loved and called home. Amir is beset by his own guilt and regrets as he matures, all the while trying to fight against the deep seated religious differences that tore him away from Hassan.

It's an extremely powerful novel that shows both sides of the coin. A lot of it is nostalgia for a past that might never return, and Khaled Hosseini does acknowledge at one point that the Afghanistan Amir knew was not the 'true Afghanistan' due to his privileges of being rich. That being said, Khaled is also aware of the atrocities committed, and depicts them as they are. Amir finds himself often guilty of being complicit in such events, but one also finds much sympathy for him as he wrestles with his own demons. In difficult times people are sometimes forced to make morally questionable decisions, simply for the sake of survival. As we grow into maturity and look back, the only thing we can do is try to atone for our mistakes.

By Lycando

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I haven't read any book that feels as complete as this. It gives you a detailed insight of the environment which enable you to visualize and feel for them. It's filled with every single emotions at different level. 

I hope we can all treat people kinder and with respect and I also hope you have someone in your life that you will say this to, "For you, a thousand times over.".

By Lightfury