Genre: Fiction: Family Drama
Publishing Info: 2003 by Bloomsbury Publishing, PLC
Film Adaptation: Yes, click here for info.
Overview:
The kite runner is the story of Amir, who grows up in Kabul, Afghanistan and immigrates to the United States with his father after the USSR's invasion of his home country in 1978. The book focuses on the relationships between Amir, his father "Baba" (dad or daddy) and Amir's best friend, Hassan as well as the events of his life in both Afghanistan and the US.
Points of Interest (Spoilers Inside!):
The book is what I would call a family drama in that it revolves around the external events, emotions, decisions and relationships of the members of a given family. Think, The Prince of Tides, by Pat Conroy. One of the thing that sets this book apart from many other similar titles (other than the fact that it is simply amazingly written) is the fact that it is about an Afghan family. This sounds a bit ridiculous I am sure, but raise your hand if you know of another English language family drama about an Afghan family.
This combined with the fact that it was published not long after the U.S. attacked Afghanistan lent the book a lot of weight. One of the the things I love most about this book is the educational and humanizing effect it had on me.
This book educated me about a part of the world and historical events that I did not know much about. Afghanistan had always been a very cloudy and vague notion in my mind prior to the war and this book, and in all honesty I would not have even been able to point it out on a world map. The invasion of Afghanistan by the USSR was something I knew of, that it had been a sort of Vietnam for the USSR, but not much beyond that.
The culture of these far off and hazy people was also a mystery to me. After the US attacked, the only notions I had in mind were the same as the majority of Americans: that Afghanistan was a country that harbored extreme religious and political views and sought to undermine our way of life for some reason that was not very clear. I was a victim of the propaganda machine I am not proud to admit, but no less so than most of my fellow countrymen and women.
This book revealed to me a truth that is easily forgotten: that people are people no matter where they live, what they look like or any other superficial variation. That is one of the most powerful aspects of a good book, its ability to transcend cultural differences to reveal basic human commonalities. This book does so in grand fashion. I felt that after reading this book I had a much deeper understanding of the tragic recent history of Afghanistan. This was no country of frothing mad suicidal terrorists, it was a country of people like me. People that went about their daily lives of trying to provide for their family, and find happiness.
Amir turns out to be a boy like many I have known here. He struggles for his father's approval and is met with constant disappointment when he does not receive it, as any son in the world can relate to in at least a small way. He often vents his frustration on his best friend, Hassan and despite the fact that some of his actions are despicable, you can not help but pity Amir as much as Hassan because you understand why he does what he does. The tragedy of this situation is made all the more powerful due to Hassan's unfailing loyalty to Amir. This is the hallmark of a talented writer in my eyes, the ability to depict characters that are morally complex and feel so incredibly real to the reader.
One thing that really pissed me off (yes pissed off, that is how I felt) in this novel, was that fact that Afghanistan is depicted as a country that was not politically or religiously extreme until after the USSR had attacked. With the power vacuum left after the withdrawal of the Soviets, the Taliban was able to rise to power and rule over the people with an iron fist, imposing extreme religious law. One of the principal characters, Assef represents the Taliban, its viciousness and hypocrisy. He is one of the most despicable characters I have ever read and what he and the Taliban do to Afghanistan should boil the blood of anyone who reads the book. It made me realize that had the USSR not invaded Afghanistan, it could have been a modernizing, moderate country. It is possible that there never would have been a reason for the U.S. to invade the country and further disrupt these people's lives. It was one more reason to loathe imperialism in all of its forms for me. It really made me think about my country's actions and the ethics and long term consequences of invading a country for any reason.
Hosseini wields incredible skill in describing the relationships between people. It truly beggared my imagination that this man was able to so vividly paint pictures of human beings and the emotions that drive their decision making, motivations and the impacts they have on themselves and those around them. The relationship between Amir and his father is heartbreaking because they both want a strong relationship, but are never able to because they are fundamentally different people. Had they not been related by blood and were to have met, they would not have been friends, which is a terrible truth of all parents and their children. A child is not a copy of the parent, for better or for worse.
Hassan is an amazing character and when the true nature of his relationship to Amir is revealed, I nearly got choked up! Hosseini does a wonderful job of weaving all of these characters together and enticing his reader to become emotionally involved with them. I felt truly happy at times, sad, angry and a million other emotions as I turned the pages. However, when Amir makes the decision to go back to Afghanistan and as his uncle tells him, to be good again, I was moved as much as I ever have been while reading a book. I got chills during the scene in which Amir finally stands up to Assef, where he finally learns to be courageous and selfless. It is the universal theme of redemption and although it is nothing new, Hosseini does such an amazing job in the telling that it seems as if it has never been done before. As the reader this book was so cathartic for me that I felt like I had just gone through an intense session of psychotherapy!
This book is a masterpiece in my eyes, pure and simple. Some would call it a sad book, but you know what, life often is sad and if you are looking for something that sings, that shows us the world and its inhabitants the way they actually are as opposed to how we wish they were, read this book. It does everything a great story should. The fact that this was Hosseini's first book blew my mind and turned me green with envy, but also happy beyond words that there are people like this in the world. Read this book! Read it even if you do not think you like family dramas, history, Afghanistan, people, children, puppies or anything at all. It's that good.
- Overall Impression: 3, Multiple Wordgasm!!One of the best books I have ever read.
- Povoc-O-Meter: 2, Woah! moments all over the place, this should provoke an emotional reaction in nearly everyone.
- Tylenol Rating: 1, Slight Tinglings, I learned a lot but nothing was too difficult to comprehend.
Recommended Titles if You Liked This:
- The Prince of Tides, by Pat Conroy
- The World According to Garp, by John Irving
- Virgins of Paradise, by Barbara Wood
- A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini.
