THE KITE RUNNER

Recently, I came through a very amazing story of two boys by Khaled Hosseini. He is an immigrant Afghani writer. He started his writing career with this heart touching book. Khaled Hosseini is recognized as one of the bestselling author of all times. His books, the kite runner, a thousand splendid suns and the mountain echoed, has been published in over seventy countries.

This is an unforgettable and heartbreaking story about two boys, Amir and Hassan and the unlikely friendship between them too. Amir was the son of a wealthy businessman and Hassan was his servant, but they were more like friends. Amir's mother died in childbirth. Hassan lives with his father in the same house. Like them Amir and Hassan's father were also friends when they were young.

The boys played endlessly as their fathers did. The only discrimination between them was that Amir was a Pashtun, one of an ethnic majority in Afghanistan and Hassan was a Hazara, who had suffered discrimination and persecution for generations. The story twirls around the two boys and the unequal friendship they share.

Before the fall of Afghanistan monarchy, there were good days in Afghanistan. Amir and Hassan played together. Amir read Hassan books under their favorite pomegranate tree. They fly kites together. Amir's father love both the boys. He buy both the boys the same things, despite of Amir's annoyance.

Amir's father was rather critical of him considering him weak and lacking in courage. Amir finds a fatherly figure in Rahim Khan, his father's closet friend, who understands him and supports his interest in writing. Hassan is a successful kite runner for Amir, he knows where the kite will land without watching it.

Here the heart breaking part come in the novel, when there held a kite running tiurnament in Kabul. This is my favorite scene as I imagined the beautiful kites of different colors flying over the blue sky. The view of kites would be like sky lanterns on a dark sky. The ritual of kite running, the shredding of blood from hands, I leave this conversation for you to read. 

The day of kite tournament, something bad happened to Hassan that shatters both their lives. Amir witnessed what happened to Hassan but he had no courage to save his friend and after many years he regret that. The one thing that Amir couldn't grant was redemption. Assef act in the whole story as villain, he hated Hassan because he was a Hazara and what happened to Hassan that day was done by Assef.

Amir wins the kite tournament that day and earns his father's praise but he lost his friend, who was always there for him and who defended him when Assef threatened them and later Assef took revenge on Hassan. Hassan ran after the last cut kite, saying Amir: "For you, a thousand times over." After finding the kite he had an encounter with Assef, who took his revenge.

Amir witnessed every thing but because of his cowardice act he didn't tell anyone about that incident and his guilt prevent him from interacting with Hassan. Amir believes that his life would be much easier without Hassan so, he made Hassan and his father leave by putting a false act. 

Soon the soviet union military intervention made many Afghan's to escape Pakistan and United States. Both Amir and his father migrate to Pakistan and then to America. During their stay in California Amir studied his writing skills, while his father worked at a gas station.

In California Amir meet his fellow refugee Soraya Taheri and her family. They fall in love and get married. Amir and Soraya were happy with their marriage, but to their sorrow they found that they cannot have children. Amir's father was diagnosed with terminal cancer and after months of treatment he died. 

Here a turning point comes in the novel when Rahim Khan called Amir one day. He was ill and he wanted Amir to visit him in Peshawar. Later he told Amir that Hassan and his wife had died. The main reason to call Amir was that' Rahim Khan wanted Amir to rescue Hassan's son, who was in an orphanage.

The rescue of Hassan lead him once again to the roads of his country, Afghanistan. The streets of Kabul reminds Amir of the old days when he and Hassan run after each other, fly kites and the pomegranate tree, under its shelter Amir told stories to Hassan and Hassan had told Amir that one day he will be a greater writer.

I really wanted to write more about Sohrab, Hassan's son but I wanted you all to read it by yourself. Don't think of this book as an old fashioned one because the story really caught you when you started reading it and I truly believed that Khaled Hosseini is one the best story tellers who beautifully portrays what he and other Afghan's had faced. 

The story too has a beautiful ending but endings portrays different pictures in every one's mind. Some found it happy and some sad. If you really wanted to find what happens in the end do add this amazing novel in your reading list.

I found it recently that a movie is made in 2007, covering the story of Amir and Hassan also add that in your watching list. I don't know how it would be because books are always better that movies. Here is a picture from the movie "THE KITE RUNNER." 

Stay tuned for the next review.....