The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - Book Review

The book is a bittersweet story that revolves around the lives of two boys, Amir and his servant and best friend Hassan, a Hazara boy. The novel is set around a country, Afghanistan, which faces constant struggles and slyly portrays the lives of the characters who encounter complex situations now and again.

This book is Hosseini’s debut novel and he has intricately crafted it with unusual literary quality, with splashes of mellow in some instances.

The story highlights the life of Amir, who is the son of a rich merchant in Kabul. It begins with patches of Amir’s childhood and his day-to-day encounters with Hassan, who is innocent, forgiving, and loyal to Amir. It slowly leads to an incident that fuels Amir’s guilty conscience.

When the local bullies harass Hassan, Amir betrays his trust instead of saving him. When he later immigrates to America after a few years, he is informed that Hassan and his wife were killed in murderous Taliban riots.

Amir decides to go back to Afghanistan to save Hassan’s son, Sohrab just to learn that he was seized by the bully who tortured Hassan during their childhood, who was now, shockingly, a Taliban official. Amir’s rescue mission leads him to pay a heavy price to bring Sohrab to America.

The reference ‘Kite Runner’ signifies the important event of flying kites in Kabul that also subtly describes the delicate friendship of Amir and Hassan. This book is packed with the opulence of emotions.

It has everything—friendship, redemption, violence, freedom, oppression, guilt, love, cruelty, and compassion, which makes this tale a compelling page-turner.

We don’t know a single person who wasn’t moved by this marvelous narrative. It’s an excellent example of how childhood decisions can affect and shape your adult life. The book went on to become a movie adaption later on.