The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, reviewed by Ishita Naithani

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Reviewed by
Name: Ishita Naithani (13 years)
School: Holy Child Auxilium School

Khaled Hosseini is a writer who hypnotizes you from the very first sentence of the book and his magic continues till the last sentence of the book. The Kite Runner is written with such perfection that it seems surprising that it is Khaled Hosseini's first one. Khaled Hosseini is a wizard who magically embodies different emotions and feelings.
The story is set on the background of the city of Kabul in Afghanistan in the middle of 1970's. The story talks about the friendship and love between Amir,a rich pashtun and Hassan a poor Hazara boy who works along with his father Ali for Amir and his Baba. The friendship between Amir and Hassan is very strange as in those times it was very difficult to imagine such kind of relationship existing between a rich pashtun kid and a low-caste Hazara boy. The boys were complete contrast of each other. While Amir,a budding story-writer loved Hassan but was too ashamed of acknowledging in front of others,there was Hassan who loved Amir irrevocably.
Life seemed to be going smoothely for our two protagonists until the summer of 1975 during the annual Kite Running Tournament. Amir successfully wins the tournament by cutting the last kite in the air. He was only a kite away from winning his Baba's heart and making him proud. As Amir's opponents blue kite was cut by him so hundred's of people asked him that will Hassan be able to fetch the kite,here came Hassan's reply "FOR YOU A THOUSAND TIMES OVER,AMIR AGHA" But a tragedy struck when Hassan,while taking the kite back to Amir,encountered by Amir's long time enemy Assef who was also a hater of the Shi'a caste.Assef asked Hassan to give the kite to him,hence destroying Amir's victory. But Hassan wouldn't give me. So,he raped him. Amir was standing there in the alley,witnessing everything which was happening with Hassan,he wanted to go and stand up for Hassan,as Hassan always did for him,but did not as he wanted the kite to win his Baba's heart and ran like a coward did. And that was one incident which kept tormenting him for the rest of his life. After this incident things changed completely into their lives. After two or three months Ali got to know about this incident and thought that life now here is very difficult for them and decided to leave Kabul at once. After much pleading and crying from Amir's Baba they went. In the March of 1981 Amir and his Baba were off to California,America as Soviet Union's invasion took place in Kabul. Life was smoother and easier in America for Amir and his Baba. Amir soon married an Afghani woman named Soraya Taheri and became a renowned author. But on June 2001 Rahim Khan,his Baba's old friend,called him and said hat he was sick and soon was going to die. Amir immediately went to Pakistan and got to know the shocking truth of his life that Hassan was his real brother. Amir also got to know that Hassan on being a Hazara and saving his Baba's house was massacred by the Talibans with his wife Farzana. They also had a son Sohrab who now was in a orphanage in Karteh - Sheh. So as Rahim Khan put it "THERE IS A WAY TO BE GOOD AGAIN" ,it was the best opportinity for Amir to wash away his sins. After much hesitation Amir went to look for Sohrab. There he got to know that now he wasn't in some orphanage, some of the Talibanis took him. But when Amir went to the leader of the talibanis he got to know that the leader was Assef. Ater setting some unfinished business with him he took Sohrab with him to America as he thought that Kabul is now not safe for him and adopted him.
Thus he was able to escape the devils of his childhood events that had tormented him throughout his adult life. And now a bond of uncontionl love synonymous to the one that existing between Amir and Hassan was now between Amir and Sohrab. And now the story ends with Amir running a kite for Sohrab and thus,becoming a kite runner himself and saying the phase "FOR YOU A THOUSAND TIMES OVER, SOHRAB" to him. In short i would like to strongly recommend this book as it makes the reader go through different emotions and feelings like BRAVERY,BROTHERHOOD and PATRIOTISM.....