The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Book Review)

Can there be a man as loyal as Hasan? as guilt-ridden as Amir? as majestic as Baba? as submissive as Ali? as prodigious as Sohrab?  as wicked as Assef?

The Kite Runner deals with the lives of two Afghan boys - Amir and Hasan. The novel is in first person narrative from the point of view of Amir which enables us to view his guilt, longings, insecurities, anger and love in a vivid way. It's a mixture of friendship, loyalty and inevitably betrayal and guilt. 

Amir is the son of rich and well known Baba. Throughout his life he longs to gain his father's  love. When the novel begins, he is a motherless small boy. He and his servant Hasan are fed by the same nurse. Albeit being his master, he never treats hasan as his servant but as his friend perhaps as a brother. Hasan is the son of Ali who is the servant of Baba. Like Amir and Hasan, they both too share the bond of friendship as they both too were fed by the same nurse. Despite being Hasaras, Ali and his son are treated fairly by Baba. 

The first few chapters show us their bindaas, carefree winter days -Amir reading books to Hasan, perching on the branches of Poplar trees pelting stones using Hasan's slingshot, running kites, watching movies in nearby theatre.

In spite of all these, Amir longs to gain his father's love. His father always stays in his study - smoking and discussing his projects with his friends and business partners, the main being Rahim Khan. Whenever Amir approaches him, he just ignores him. He even overhears his father telling that he wants his son to be like Hasan - valiant and active. Not like what he is now - inactive, always reading books and writing stories. It's only Rahim Khan who motivates his writing talent.

Amir finally figures out a way to win his father's heart by winning the kite running tournament which is famous in Afghanistan. What happens next changes the lives of Amir and Hasan forever -- The episode of betrayal.

Amir fails to stand for Hasan when Assef assaults him, in front of his eyes while Hasan tries to protect the kite that Amir wins in the kite-running contest. This guilt haunts him through out the rest of his life. Even after emigrating to America, he can't silent his mind from replaying the harrowing incident. 

On the other hand he falls in love with an Afghan girl there and marries her. years pass; his father dies; he becomes a writer, publishes books; life goes well. It's at this point of time, he gets a call from Rahim Khan promising, "There is a way to be good again"   

Can he get rid of his guilt? Can he become good again? Can he gain his redemption for whatever he did? all these questions are answered gradually as chapters pass. 

It also projects the proud and prosperous lives of Afghans and how it is molested by the invaders and Taliban. On the whole, Khaled Hosseini has ingrained a new hope in readers minds-- though we can't undo what's done, "THERE IS ALWAYS A WAY TO BE GOOD AGAIN".

Lines close to my heart:

• “For you, a thousand times over”
• “There is only one sin. and that is theft... when you tell a lie, you steal someones right to the truth.”
• “And that's the thing about people who mean everything they say. They think everyone else does too.”
• “it always hurts more to have and lose than to not have in the first place.”
• “There are a lot of children in Afghanistan, but little childhood.”
• “A man who has no conscience, no goodness, does not suffer.”
• “Time can be a greedy thing-sometimes it steals the details for itself.”
• “It's wrong what they say about the past, I've learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out.”
• “Better to get hurt by the truth than comforted with a lie.”
• “some stories don't need telling”

PS:

I just love the book to the moon and back. It's what I've been searching for. Such a gripping, nail biting, deeply engrossed read filled with twists and turns. Could understood Afghan lifestyle and how it was collapsed after invasion.  Travelled along with Amir and longed to meet Hasan but satisfied with his son Sohrab. I personally loved Baba -- his majesty and valour. His attitude which is in sharp contrast with that of his son Amir.