Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, was one of the most captivating pieces of work that I have ever read. It centers around the life of Amir, along with his childhood best friend, Hassan. Amir and Hassan’s friendship is divided by a social barrier, but despite that, they are still best friends.
During the annual “kite running” competition in their town, Amir witnesses a traumatizing event, in which Hassan was a part of. Amir keeps this a secret and pretends he didn’t see it, which eventually leads up to his separation with Hassan. After Hassan moves out of Amir’s house, Amir and his father move to America. While in America, Amir marries and goes further with a career in writing. Eventually, Amir returns to Afghanistan, which is now invaded by Russia. Hosseini paints a vivid picture in the reader’s mind during this part of the book. The reader can see the fallen houses and basically imagine Afghanistan torn apart by war.
The Kite Runner is not just about war or politics, but this novel is more about the people affected due to the issues that were happening in that time period. The Kite Runner really shows the struggles of life that many face, but aren’t recognized. This novel is also about friendship, since it mainly focused on Amir, and how he came back to Afghanistan to tie up some loose knots that were left with Hassan. The famous kite which is mentioned in the title of the book and a huge part of not just Amir’s childhood, but friendship with Hassan, reappears in the end of the book, and is a symbol of freedom. I thought that the kite being used at the end of the book was sort of a “cherry on top.”
Hosseini’s style of writing was very interesting and fascinating. This book was so well-written; the way the author wrote and described certain things did nothing but captivate you. As soon as one chapter was ended, there was no way I could put down the book without reading the next chapter. However, this book contains subjects of guilt and some mature events that occur may leave the reader speechless. Those warnings aside, The Kite Runner is an exceptional novel which will send you on an emotional rollercoaster. I would most definitely recommend this novel to others. The Kite Runner is definitely a must-read. It is definitely a book I will remember.