![]() I also loved Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns.īut I was young and immune to the flaws of religious extremism, cliched writing, and author privilege. I’ll be honest: I loved The Kite Runner so much I read it 3 times. When the whole story is narrated from a “master’s” point of view, the reader witnesses the servant class being the happiest when it is serving its master’s needs - often at the cost of subjugating their own needs.Īnd that is wrong on so many levels and projects (and slightly encourages) a prejudice of deep layers. This privileged, flawed, and “human” character is seen to be drab. Lastly, Amir is a character that is largely debated for and against. You can likely see the “coincidence” coming 4-5 chapters before it has happened. This does make the writing easy to read and the story easy to follow, but it also leaves the opportunity of being a good challenge for the readers.Īnd it is not just the writing style that is unchallenging, the plot is also considered to be too predictable, contrived, and unsurprising. While rarely anyone denies that Khaled Hosseini is a good writer, many deny he is excellent.įor instance, there are too many uses of cliches. The critics of this book feel their criticisms strongly. So I won’t deny it is interesting enough to keep you hooked. Amir’s unlikable character reminded me of Emma and the power such characters have in reading. The Kite Runner moves fast enough so that you hardly have a dull moment when you read it.įun Fact: I finished this book’s 300+ pages in under 2 days. The storytelling is compelling enough to be unforgettable. It is insightful and shocking for outsiders in the West. He takes you from the Kabul pre-Russian occupation to the worn-torn country it became. ![]() Khaled Hosseini is a brilliant storyteller. Many readers continue to debate whether the book ends with a happy or sad ending. The ending doesn’t give away much and is vague enough to be left to interpretation. “ I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.” What follows is a terrifying tale of Amir’s redemption and adoption of Hassan’s son. He learns that Hassan has been executed and his son Sohrab needs to be rescued (from Aseef no less). “ It’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. He is struggling with having a child of his own when a phone call brings him back to Pakistan and then Afghanistan. He gets further education, he marries, his father dies of cancer. Amir moves to the US, leaving Hassan and his father (who belong in the Hazara community) behind.įor Amir, life moves on without a breath. The landscape changes further when Afghanistan becomes a Taliban-controlled state and an “ethnic cleansing of Hazaras” is begun. The rest of my life might have turned out differently if I had. “ I opened my mouth, almost said something. He doesn’t say anything when Aseef rapes Hassan. He becomes selfish, arrogant, and hungry for his father’s validation. Hassan brings him back the kite that he won from.īut Amir turns his back when Hassan needs his help. He wins the tournament and finally receives the love he expects from his father. “ It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime.” It is the best and worst day of Amir’s life. The day that changes everything is the day of the kite tournament. Hassan is the one that stands up for Amir when neighborhood boys like Aseef bully him. He becomes an attached playmate to Hassan and the friendship blooms in isolation. He gets competitive and petty - often bullying Hassan in front of other boys, calling him “just a Hazara.”īut when those walls fade, so does Amir’s rage. But when he sees Hassan getting pats on the back or tiny scraps of love, his heart burns green. “ There are a lot of children in Afghanistan, but little childhood.”Īmir’s mother died giving birth to him, so the only parental affection he craves was from his father. This means Amir has all the privileges Hassan can only dream of - a fine house, elite education, and a discrimination-free childhood. Hassan, on the other hand, is the son of Ali, a servant employed in Amir’s household. The backdrop is of a 1970s Kabul and Amir is the son of a wealthy Pashtun businessman. Amir is the unlikable narrator of this story and Hassan is his servant’s son. Or it may irritate you so much that your head hurts. The painful tale may leave you sobbing on your pillow till your eyes are dry like Sahara. Khaled Hosseini’s debut novel is a melancholic tale on friendship and forgiveness. If you have read The Kite Runner, these lines are etched in your brain.
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