"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

In the end of this school year, my English teacher picked a new book for our home reading class, The Kite Runner by the Afghan-American writer Khaled Hosseini. And guess what? I have a new book to add to my favourites.

Taking place in Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, The Kite Runner centers around the friendship between two boys, Amir, the son of the richest man in Kabul and a Pashtun (an Afghan ethnicity that forms the upper class), and Hassan, his Hazara servant (and consequently seen as less than a dog). One cowardly and jealous, the other - faithful till the end. Hoping to win the affection of his emotionally distant father, Amir is determined to win at the kite flying competition this year, and his loyal friend, the best kite runner ever seen, is happy to help. However, none of them would have foreseen the tragedy that would occur that afternoon, robbing them of childhood joy and changing their lives forever. Through the vibrant threads of Afghan culture, Hosseini weaves a story that explores the complexities of human relationships, love, jealousy, and betrayal, and ultimately, remorse and redemption.

Wow.

The back cover had promised that The Kite Runner would move even the hardest hearts, and I was not disappointed. This book did indeed tug at all my heartstrings, making me experience warm affection, hatred and indignation, empathy and heartbreak. I cried several times throughout the book, and broke down in the bathroom after finishing it. As the kind of reader that strongly believes that heavy stuff is the best stuff, I loved this book. Gotta warn you, though, if you prefer not to read books that stir up negative emotions or if you fear that a story that covers hard topics such as the trigger topics mentioned below (don't click if you don't need them and hate spoilers), though, steer clear of this book.

Click here for trigger warnings

genocide, sexual abuse, rape, suicide attempt

First, Hosseini's characters are amazingly written, with an intricate emotional complexity that made them feel real and relatable even through hatred. My relationship with the main character was complex to say the least, but that's how it was meant to be. I disliked Amir from the very start due to his jealous and ill-meaning character, and with time, I dispised that piece of shit more and more, just as my absolute love and attachment to his best friend, Hassan, increased. As the story went on, however, with Amir gradually undegoing character growth and embarking on a redemption journey, I started to feel more for him, too. However, even through those morally ugly parts of him, he seemed so... human, I must even say, relatable. Even though what he did is absolutely disgusting, if I think of it, I'm not sure if I would be able to do any better in his place. I'm not good either. No human being is.

Humanity and hope shines brightly through this story. Masterfully delving into the aspects of the human heart such as loneliness, jealousy, fear and guilt, as well as love, the reader is ultimately taken on a journey to redemption and transformation, as the main character uncovers even darker truths of his past and endeavours to somehow make right his wrongs, as impossible as that is to reverse the deeds of the past. 

Besides the thrilling and deep emotional rollercoasters I went through, I loved the cultural/historical aspect of the book. As a European, I admit I had very little knowledge of Afghanistan, which is the main setting of the story. All I knew about the country was that it must be somewhere in Middle East and that people were probably Muslims there. Now, however, it almost feels as if I had visited it, having read the book and studied its cultural, social and historical context in the class (yes, our teacher is amazing). Now Afghanistan feels like somewhat a familiar spot in a blank map or rather, a spaceless mess of country names meshed into the map of the world I live in. I acquired an impression of the main ethnic groups in Afghanistan, their struggles and inter-ethnical relationships, and was heartbroken by the torments they've had to go through in the last decades. And I thought my country had suffered. I mean, it has, but this is different, so much more violent and desolate, ravaged by civil wars and brutal governments. Afghans live in relative piece now, but I only say 'relatively', because the Taliban are back with their repressions of women's rights and extrajudicial killings and torture. If I had the means (unfortunately, I'm broke 😊), I would want to help Afghan people in any way I could. However, if you read the book and are touched by Afghanistan's fate and have the resources to do it, consider donating to the Khaled Hosseini Foundation.

By the way, we had to design a Kite Runner -themed kite, and here's my design. Unfortunately, you cannot see the writing, as it is quite small, besides, I'm no visual artist, but this digital design is supposed to reflect my feelings and the associations The Kite Runner caused in me, as well as the main themes of the book, namely love, friendship, suffering, betrayal and redemption. I mean, it does but it may not make any sense to you at all.

Since my teacher loves Hosseini's books and says that each of his books is even better than the previous one, I definitely want to read his A Thousand Splendid Suns and And the Mountains Echoed, as well as Sea Prayer all some day. If his debut was such a bomb, and the others are even better... I guess I must prepare for some serious stuff. And I must add that we all loved this book, 'us all' being the half of my class that was taught by this teacher, and my classmate/friend was delighted to receive And the Mountains Echoed as a birthday gift, telling me that she had just considered contacting our teacher to borrow her copy. Well, she's having it borrowed from her after some time. ;-)