This is the review of the book The Kite Runner written by Khalid Hosseini the Afghan – American bestseller novelist. The author, Khalid Hosseini, was born in 1965 in Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, then moved to America with his family. The Book, Kite Runner, is his first novel which was published in 2003, also it is one of his famous novels with its captivating narration which attracts the reader’s attention like a magnet. And it has been sold worldwide.
Well, it’s an emotional and sensitive novel that explores the themes of honor, guts, sin, and sensitivity. It also represents the lives of Afghanis before their land was occupied by the Russian military. The book contains 25 chapters, and some attractive characters like Amir, Hassan, Ali, Agha Sahib, and Rahim Khan. As Amir is the narrator of the novel (the main character). Hassan is the soulmate friend and illegitimate brother of Amir, but they both are unaware of this sour truth because of the “Nang Namoos” (honor and pride). (Spolier alert) The time comes when Amir knows the truth when Hassan is no more.
Besides, Hassan is the servant of Amir and a steely suit who always stands for him and protects him like a sword. In addition, they walk sides of the peaceful streets, watch movies in the theater, and run kites above the bright sky of Kabul with the breathtaking air of Afghanistan. They eat nuts, climb on trees, play with Hassan’s slingshot, and imagine Amir’s stories. They enjoy their sorrowful lives in the mountains of Afghanistan. Amir reads for Hassan and sometimes pranks. However, a stormy moment comes and destroys their childhood as Hassan moves to Hazarajat with Ali his rearers father, and after the situation in Afghanistan, the battle forced Amir and his baba to leave their land. Therefore, they move to America.
As years pass, Amir misses his childhood days which he spends with Hassan in the calm streets of Kabul. Furthermore, one day he receives a call from Rahim Khan to Pakistan. Rahim Khan is Amir’s father’s business partner and a good friend of Amir. The message from Rahim Khan compels Amir to get back to his land (Afghanistan) and to take Sohrab, Hassan’s only remaining son, to America with him. Moreover, with the difficulty, he takes Sohrab with him from Afghanistan to America.
The novel is touchy and sensitive. After reading the novel, I fell into deep thinking that how they separated, two soulmates brother more than a friend, and two friends more than a brother. The separation was a hard moment for Agha Sahib and Ali too. It forced me to think if in real life something happens like this, how the hardest moment would be in the life. While reading this book, I felt that it’s not just a novel there is a reality in the book which is connected to the author’s personal life.
By the way, the book is amazing with its fantastic narration, and it’s one of the most unforgettable books that you never forget in your life once you read it. And there is a premonition to Amir from his baba that “There is only one sin, and that is theft.” When you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right to the truth, when you cheat, you steal the right.” And that time Amir is immature and can not get that, but when the time comes the truth comes in front of him, and he realizes there is no worse thief than him and his father. The novel ends with running a Kite, a grown man in the crowd of America runs a kite and does not care what the people think. To the point, my favorite phrase which I like the most in the novel is “zindagi migzara” meaning, life goes on.
About the Author:
Nigar Razzaq Zamurani
Contributor at SIT Ink & InsightNigar Razzaq is an alumni of School of Intensive Teaching. She is currently a member staff at SIT Hub.