Summer Reading: The Kite Runner

This summer I read: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger, and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I would have to say, that without any exaggeration, The Kite Runner was both the most mind-blowing reading experience and the most emotionally taxing novel I have read thus far. I have never been overcome with both sadness and happiness in one sitting until I read Hosseini’s powerful novel.  Not only did I grow emotionally, but I also learned about a distant culture which kept me in a trance for three days-all it took me to read this novel. Further, in present times with a war in Iraq now and an Afghani war previously, this novel became more realistic and harder to read, in that many times, I wanted to stop and hide from what is presently a threatening and inevitable truth. As the novel is set in Afghanistan predominantly, the novel walks the reader through a war that ultimately ruins the lives of its inhabitants and creates heart-wrenching situations that are hard for the eyes to read. However, I made it through and ended up having a different perspective on our position now and about life itself.

As many suspect, the Middle Eastern family is one of the dearest gifts that life has to offer. In many cases, this is accurate; but Hosseini helps break down a misconception by introducing the family of Baba, Hassan, Ali, and the narrator, Amir. First off, it is thought to many that male children are put first and are treasured by a Middle Eastern family. However, in this novel, the father Baba is resentful and does not particularly care for Amir, his son. Instead, Baba is more affectionate to Hassan, the hare lipped “son” of Ali, the servant. Not only does Hosseini present the reader with an idea contrary to modern perceptions but he also goes on to reveal that Baba had an affair with another woman and in effect, Ali is actually Baba’s son. Overall, Hosseini helps subdue the American misconception that Middle Eastern people are so innocent and pure.  I particularly liked what Hosseini did in that it made the novel more relatable and took Middle Eastern people and their beliefs out of the limelight and created a more level relationship to people of other origins. Not only was I impressed with the authors ability to reveal the truth of what one would think a traditional family, but his ideas on life lessons also pulled me in.

Most likely the most reoccurring theme in this novel is the idea of guilt and what it is truly like to live with the demon. The author colorfully reveals the pain and suffering that Amir experiences, in a way that makes the reader feel as they had committed the same mistake as Amir. In the beginning of the novel, Hosseini introduces a few characters who make up the bullies in Hassan and Amir’s world. One day, these characters brutally beat Hassan while Amir is looking on from afar. Instead of helping Hassan, who is like his brother, he returns home and does not say anything to his father or anyone else. Throughout the rest of the novel, every action that Amir must do or think seriously about relates back to Hassan and the guilt he feels for allowing him to be violated. For example, once Amir moves to San Francisco and establishes a new life he learns from a close family friend that he should go back to Kabul, Afghanistan to help Sohrab, Hassan’s son. At the time that this is occurring, Afghanistan is in the middle a war, so Amir travelling there was most definitely a risk to his safety. Despite the fact that his wife, Soraya, is against it, Amir cannot handle the guilt he feels and so he must travel into the most war-ridden area of the Middle East of the time. This is not the only example of Amir making decisions based on his shame, but it makes one’s heart ache when reading the particular passage. Furthermore, I came to realize that I should not take life for granted and rather, should make decisions that will keep those both close and far from me safe. This way I will never have to deal with guilt, as I have learned from Hosseini that it consumes you and essentially has dominance over you for eternity.

After reading The Kite Runner, I have come to realize the power a novel has to change one’s thoughts on life and worldly situations.  Furthermore, I recognize how much I take the privilege of living in America for granted as Amir and eventually Sohrab taught me that freedom is not granted to everyone and so, we must use our freedom rationally and with purpose. In closing, the relaxed atmosphere that America offers is represented when at the end of the novel, Amir hands Sohrab the kite string and for the first time the young boy smiles. However miniscule a smile may seem, a life with protection and support in America can change people; something, I take for granted everyday. America became an oasis for Amir and Sohrab and the young boy’s smile proves the power our country has to put people from elsewhere at ease as “when spring comes, it melts the snow one flake at a time, and maybe Sohrab’s smile was the first flake melting.” (915)