Word Attack!!

The Kite Runner

April 1, 2008 on 1:51 pm | In Book Reviews |

June 16, 2006

I was curious about this book. I hadn’t read any reviews of it, but the name was interesting. I picked it up by chance four weeks back in Landmark, when I actually wanted to pick up Sonia Faleiro’s ‘The Girl’. Finally, The Kite Runner came back home with me, where it was delegated on a shelf, with a few others I own, but don’t feel like reading.

Last weekend, my family drove down to Visharam ( a small town near Vellore) where my uncle has built a house. I took the book along with me, just in case I would be bored. I started reading it in the car, and was surprised at how much I was enjoying it. Also, when we reached there, I found out that there was no TV (Not that I watch much of it). That evening, the rest of the family ventured out to a mazaar on the outskirts of the town. This mazaar had to be reached by climbing a small hill, and so I opted out of it. I stayed back home, reading this book, enjoying every moment of it.

The Kite Runner is the story of two Afghani boys, Amir and Hassan. I’m thinking of how to describe Amir’s father here. He’s the embodiment of every young boy’s ideal father. Yet, Amir finds that whatever he does, it does not meet with approval in his father’s eyes. Hassan is the son of their servant Ali. Hassan and Amir are born a year apart, and they are constant companions. Hassan is a Hazara, a shiite and low-caste muslim. The class distinction is rather evident as we see Amir going to school, while Hassan stays at home, cooking and cleaning with his father. Amir’s mother is not alive, and for Amir, his father means the world to him. He is willing to go to any lengths to win his father’s affection.

Winter in Afghanistan is the time of kite tournaments. Amir and Hassan are partners in the kite flying contest. Amir flies the kites, while Hassan runs them for him. The contest starts in the morning with a large number of kites dotting the sky. It continues until there is only one kite left. Every time a kite falls, the kite runners run and retrieve them, and Hassan is the best of them all. That fateful year, Amir and Hassan strive to win the tournament. What follows that afternoon, will change their lives forever. The choices we make determine who we become eventually. A well-used cliche, but one that nevertheless encapsulates what The Kite Runner is all about.

The Kite Runner is the journey of a boy into a man, in every sense. From a coward, to one who can stand up for himself and those who need him, the novel captures every nuance without any melodrama. Yet, I felt my throat catch at certain moments. The backdrop of turbulent Afghanistan is portrayed with a lot of feeling. I could feel the pain in the author’s words when he recalls the Kabul of his childhood to the monstrosity it has become.

I can go on and on and on about this book. The simplicity of language, and yet the profound thoughts that the author conveys so effortlessly made me a mite jealous! One really should read this book. This is Khalid Hosseini’s first novel, and his second one is expected to come out this year. I’m waiting eagerly for it.