REVIEW
The novel “The
Kite Runner” is an example of historical fiction which has been
written by KHALED HOSSEINI, an Afghan-American author and a physician. It was
his debut novel which made him full time author due to its great success. It
has been translated into 42 languages and over 30 million of its
copies have been sold around the globe.
If we just
have a look at the cover photo of this book, we can have a vague idea of what
this book focuses on. This book focuses on Asian culture and the effects of war
on the people of Afghanistan. Coming to the title, it not only refers to a
physical action but it has deeper, griping, intense and profound meaning as
well. The kite symbolizes the redemption and dignity.
Both Hassan
and Amir assume the subordinate role to the others to oblige in the
performance of a superior action and that’s why both could be considered as the
kite runners. In the start, Hassan sacrificed to build up strong bonding
between Amir and his father while later on Amir sacrifices to help Sohrab
(Hassan’s son) escape from the novel adversary, Assef.
In my
opinion, the title of the novel is The Kite Runner because the kite
flying tournament precedes to a terrible rape scene of the novel. It is a
symbol of innocence and the loss of innocence as well.
As the story begins, the novel’s main
character Amir looks back on his childhood in Afghanistan (twenty-six years
before). He used to live with his father named Baba and their two
servants Ali and his son Hassan. In spite of the fact Amir and
Hassan of them belongs to different ethnic groups, Amir and Hassan proved to be
a bossom companions (Amir belongs to Pashtons the superior ones and Hassan
belongs to Hazara, the ethnic minority in Afghanistan).
One day they were playing when they came
across three guys who pressurized Amir if he would catch again playing with
ethnic minority like Hassan. Hassan being a loyal friend and Amir’s
bestie uses his slingshot to scare the boys off.
Then the story shifted to winter when the kite
flying tournament was being held. When Amir cuts off a kite, Hassan ran to
retrieve it to win it for Amir. Amir was very happy because he thought
that his father will be glad to know that he has won the tournament (actually
his father didn’t give him much attention and he wanted to impress him).
Amir goes after him and finds him trapped by three bully boys who are raping
him. Amir got scared and ran away and when Hassan returns, he pretends
like he is unaware of all that happened. Amir being afflicted by guilt
decides that one of them must leave.
So, he hides some stuff under Hassan’s
pillow and conspired that Hassan stole it. Baba asked Hassan who admit
to doing it (though we know he didn’t). After this incident they were drift
apart.
Then the story jumps to 1980’s when
Afghanistan was attacked by the Soviets and became a war-territory. After this
Amir and his father tried to escape from Kabul. They have been to Pakistan first
and then moved to California.
Baba started working at a gas station and Amir
wad admitted to school there. One day while working on a flea market, Baba sees
his friend General Taheri. Amir shows interest in his daughter. He tries
to speak to her. Later on, it was diagnosed that Baba was suffering from lung
cancer. Amir proposes Soraya and they arranged the wedding quickly so
that Baba can attend. However, Baba dies after a month.
One day Rahim Khan who was Amir’s
father friend called him and asked him that he wanted to meet him in Pakistan. Amir
meets him after a week. Rahim told him about the circumstances in Kabul.
The Soviets were dislodged and now Taliban rule there violently and are
very harsh to the minorities. He told Amir that he also followed Hassan after
he was kicked from their home. Hassan ended up married with Farzana.
Years later, he heard that the Taliban killed Hassan and his wife and
put their son in an orphanage. He asks Amir to go to Kabul and bring Sohrab back
in Pakistan so that he can take care of him. He also told Amir that Hassan was
his brother. He goes to the orphanage and told that they have moved the
boy.
He goes to soccer game where the Taliban officials were supposed to be. He
meets the official and tells him that he is looking for Sohrab, and they bring
him in. It looks as though he has been sexually abused. Amir come to know that
the official is one of the bullying boys from childhood.
The officials attacked them and Sohrab shoot
them with his slingshot so he and Amir can escape. Amir wanted to take
Sohrab to U.S. He asked Sohrab about it and he agrees He faced difficulty in
getting Sohrab to U.S due to lack of documents.
Meanwhile, Sohrab tries to kill
himself. He couldn’t do this, but never speak again. They manage to move to California.
One day, they go to kite flying tournament. They win and Amir runs to bring
back the losing kite for Sohrab.
The book has been written in very elucidating
and meticulous manner. All the characters can’t escape from their past.
Sohrab’s past was traumatizing. This causes him to flinch often and be
withdrawn. Amir is haunted by his past, and his guilt from it drives almost all
his actions.
The political events that took place in this
duration effects the life of all the characters. Amir and Baba were forced to leave
Afghanistan. Hassan was killed by Taliban.
Redemption in the key factor of this novel.
Amir constantly feels like he has to redeem himself. His guilt about Hassan
drives him to search for his son, in hope of redeeming himself.
I like
the novel very much. I’m impressed by the characterization and story, the
writer explains. This book is really some thing else. You read it and you
immediately understand why it received so much acclaim. It was written to be
remarkable.
I think Khaled Hosseini knows exactly what he is doing when he is
writing. He has a firm and dexterous grip on all the strings of his story and
he is just an undeniably masterful weaver. There are so many turns and twists.
It’s a constant rollercoaster of emotions and the way the plot untied was very
unexpected.
I was constantly amazed. It was like plot twist after plot twist
and at times this book was little bit abrasive and how many shocks that were in
store but it also made this book vey readable. There is a lot of culturally unfamiliar
territory in this book.
Hosseini in- corporates a lot of foreign word in his
book and my copy personally doesn’t have the glossary and that kind made me
feel like I was plopped into an ocean without been taught how to swim. So, it
is the one of the problems I faced while reading this book. All the characters
are richly developed.
They felt so real and palpable. My favorite character is
Hassan (Amir’s childhood friend) and also the sweetest, purest and the most
innocent character. This book is pretty astonishing. Once you have read, it is
easy to see why everyone glorifies it.
The weaknesses I found in this book are that
the story felt too intentional. It is like a kind of Bible story, that the
analogy I’m gonna go with. The arcs of the story and the development of the
characters and the theme and the symbolism, they are so many present and so
very deliberate that it’s kind of distract you from the story.
And the second
one is the use of vulgar language through out the book and the scene of child
molestation is vividly described which should be avoided.
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