Author: Khaleed Hosseini
http://www.khaledhosseini.com/
I am glad the Kite Runner is a book of fiction. I know of at least 3 persons who have shed tears over the book. I’m one of them.
Since this is a fiction, I will not commit the sin of Spoiling the End (pg 357). I will let you find out the many twists and turns of this anecdote on your own, set from Afghanistan to California, from state of affairs like Taliban to adoption.
I do, however, would like to point out certain things here:-
1./ The passage of time was not clear in this book. When I moved on to Chapter 10, it was not apparent that I had already moved on to another timeframe. The subtitle ‘March 1981’ was not evident and I had to make my own assumption of Amir’s age at that time. Similarly, throughout the story, Amir’s age was not stated clearly. It would certainly help readers to know the narrator’s age so as to better understand his train of thoughts at that point of time.
Since this is a fiction, I will not commit the sin of Spoiling the End (pg 357). I will let you find out the many twists and turns of this anecdote on your own, set from Afghanistan to California, from state of affairs like Taliban to adoption.
I do, however, would like to point out certain things here:-
1./ The passage of time was not clear in this book. When I moved on to Chapter 10, it was not apparent that I had already moved on to another timeframe. The subtitle ‘March 1981’ was not evident and I had to make my own assumption of Amir’s age at that time. Similarly, throughout the story, Amir’s age was not stated clearly. It would certainly help readers to know the narrator’s age so as to better understand his train of thoughts at that point of time.
2./ Despite of what happened to Hassan, due to Amir’s cowardice, Amir still lived on to live a life full of blessings, in certain aspects. He was away from the chaos in Afghanistan, was successful in his career of choice and his partner in life was remarkably kind and understanding. At times, I do not know whether to sympathize with him (his burden of guilt) or to despise him (his easy carefree life as compared to Hassan’s).
3./ I may be wrong to assume this but when I read that Hassan wanted a son to ‘carry on my father’s name’ (pg 206), I’d imagine Hassan’s unborn child would be his father’s namesake. However, this was not the case (pg 211). I was confused.
4./ I thoroughly like the metaphors and descriptives used in this book. An excellent example was the following sentence on page 197: ‘Then, a thing made of skin and bones pretending to be Rahim Khan opened the door.’ And on page 185, the difference between a man’s and a woman’s reproductive system (plumbing system) is very humorously detailed.
5./ My favourite part is when Amir was waiting at the hospital for news on Sohrab after his (Sohrab's) incident. Amir was at a loss, he didn't know what to do for very long minutes. Suddenly, it dawned to him that that was the time he should be facing west and pleading to God, begging Him. The author did such a fine work in reflecting Amir's desperation and his eventual realisation to God's existence - I could not resist reading those paragraphs again and again. As a Muslim, I can identify with Amir's source of solace in his hour of need.
THE TRUIzM
If there is one last book that you have to read to close off this Roman year, I’ll highly recommend the Kite Runner. The strong story with its many plots and twists will ensure a thrilling roller-coaster ride, and will make you appreciate and embrace life and last but not least, the existence of God.
