Book Review: The Kite Runner

For starters, “The Kite Runner” is simply brilliant and what makes it even more special is the fact that it is Khaled Hosseini’s maiden effort as a writer! I don’t think there has been any other writer in the history of modern English literature (the history that I know of!) who has come up with such a marvelous first time effort! A story of friendship, brotherhood, betrayal, cowardice and redemption, Khaled has succeeded like no one else in portraying the complex character of Ameer brilliantly! You immediately identify with him, his insecurities, his inferiority complex and the pressure he takes upon himself to live up to his father’s expectations; the emotions taking a toll on his young and weak mind which eventually starts conspiring against his best friend Hassan. On one side, you have Ameer migrating to the land of opportunities (read USA) with his ailing father and at every turn, his conscience pricks him for what he did to Hassan. On the other side, you have the author describing the sorry state of affairs in Afghanistan after the Taliban taking over the country and reducing it to hell in the name of religious extremism. Khaled’s success as a writer is in drawing up this world of extremes so very well- on one side you have the prosperity and optimism of Ameer’s life in the US; on the other you have Hassan’s struggles as a Hazara under Taliban regime struggling to protect himself and his family all the while trying to serve his master’s abode even in his absence! The narrative gets powerful and emotional as it progresses with Ameer’s dad’s friend, Rahim Khan giving him a call from Peshawar and asking him to take responsibility for Sohrab, Hassan’s orphaned son who is being tortured by Ameer’s childhood enemy- turned Taliban leader, Assef. If it is Hassan who saves Ameer from Assef in his childhood, it is the turn of Sohrab to save him during his youth. Throughout the story, you have the kite flying festival running as a metaphor. The kite flying festival which makes Ameer a hero in his father’s eyes, the kite flying festival during which Hassan makes the ultimate sacrifice for Ameer by getting himself molested by Assef and the same kite flying festival that finally brings back peace and happiness to Sohrab’s life! It is very rarely that one comes across a story teller of this standard and as the Daily Telegraph rightly pointed out this one is “A devastating, masterful and painfully honest story.” It is Khaled’s honesty as a writer that comes through to the forefront and it is his highly personal account of life in Kabul during its good times that makes you, the reader, pray in silence for the well being of what was once a heaven called Afghanisthan! The Kite Runner is realistic, powerful, engaging, inspiring and though provoking- all at the same time and will surely be counted as one of the masterpieces of Modern English Fiction! This one is worth a read- that too, at least a twenty times…

PS: Click here if you want to know what Jams thought about the movie