The Kite Runner

Khaled Hosseini

Summary:

A story of fathers and sons, friendship and betrayal, and the casualties of fate.

1970’s Afghanistan: Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the local kite-fighting tournament and his loyal friend Hassan promises to help him. But neither of the boys can foresee what will happen to Hassan that afternoon, an event that is to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realises that one day he must return to an Afghanistan under Taliban rule to find the one thing that his new world cannot grant him: redemption.

In One Word: Tragic (causing or characterized by extreme distress or sorrow)

Plot:

I must admit, this story drew me in much more than I expected. I knew that many people loved this book, but it didn’t sound like something I’d enjoy, I expected it to consist of a historical/war-based plot, but that’s not all I got. I loved this story, but it feels wrong to say that, because it’s shocking and terrifying and like I said, tragic. I had no idea what this book was about before I read it (I know, where have I been...), but I’m glad, because that meant I could go into it with no expectations. I definitely didn’t expect it to be this engaging. I thought the writing was good, and the plot stayed interesting throughout while still giving you some moments of quiet amidst the chaos. I don’t like books that force you to read one shocking thing after another, and this one wasn’t like that.

Characters:

The characters in this book are the reason I subtracted one star from my rating, I would’ve given it five stars except I really didn’t like the main character. And I think that was the point, but the contrast between Amir and Hassan was a little unrealistic to me. Amir is selfish and a coward while Hassan can do no wrong. I did think that Amir’s character was more relatable, he is flawed (extremely flawed), but he knows it and resents himself for it. I also thought the relationship between him and his father was very interesting. However, while I understand why the author decided to make his character so imperfect, I didn’t like that I found some of his actions completely abhorrent and stupid. I did care about the characters, and I wanted Amir to realise what the right thing to do is, and in the end he does, but for most of the book I didn’t like him at all.

Who should read this:

16+, there is language, violence and sexual content (sometimes violent sexual content) in this book, and while it’s never described very graphically it is very disturbing. If you’re sensitive to things like that, you might want to skip this book. However, if you enjoy books that are not just a light read with a happy ending and will possibly make you cry and shock you at the same time, then definitely give this one a go.

My rating:

Not since ‘The Book Thief’ has a book drawn me in like this one did. I didn’t think this book was perfect, but overall I couldn’t put it down. 4/5

Quote:

“It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime...”