'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini
- Polly
- Aug 13, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: Aug 18, 2021
FTC disclaimer: I was not sent this product. I am not affiliated with the companies mentioned. All opinions are my own.
Overall Rating: 10/10
Plot introduction written by me:
Amir is a twelve-year-old boy who lives in Kabul, Afghanistan. He spends his days writing stories, playing with his servant’s son, Hassan, and studying at the local school. Amir lives in luxury, but there’s one thing missing: approval from his father, Baba. Then, in the winter of 1975, the kite tournament rolls around. This day will set Amir’s life on a different course; can he ever be good again?
Brutally inhumane and disturbing images act as backdrop to Hosseini’s tale of betrayal and ultimately, redemption.
Such care was taken in conjuring up each city: the smells, the weather, each taxi driver or child on the street that Amir would pass by for only a fraction of a second. Hosseini mastered his protagonist’s voice as he aged from twelve year old boy to thirty-something year old man, and it was satisfying to see the ways Amir evolved, and the ways he did not. Most characters introduced at the beginning return later on; I enjoyed this tying up of loose ends.
Family dynamics (and lack thereof) were very much at the forefront of this tale, and the sad irony that wove its way through the book was catastrophic, and brought me close to tears.
We had action, betrayal, corruption, romance… and yet in many ways ‘The Kite Runner’ is a modest novel. It has no need to sell itself.
Quotations:
“Children aren’t coloring books. You don’t get to fill them with your favourite colors.”
“America was a river, roaring along, unmindful of the past. I could wade into this river, let my sins drown to the bottom, let the waters carry me someplace far. Someplace with no ghosts, no memories, and no sins. // If for nothing else, for that, I embraced America.”
“You’re gutless. It’s how you were made. And that’s not such a bad thing because your saving grace is that you’ve never lied to yourself about it. Not about that. Nothing wrong with cowardice as long as it comes with prudence. But when a coward stops remembering who he is… God help him.”
Review written on 11/08/2021
Book discovery: Recommended to me by an English teacher.
Author: https://khaledhosseini.com
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