The Kite Runner

Rating: ****

"Amir is the son of a wealthy Kabul merchant, a member of the ruling caste of Pashums. Hassan, his servant and constant companion, is a Hazara, a despised and impoverished caste. Their uncommon bond is torn by Amir's choice to abandon his friend amidst the increasing ethnic, religious, and political tensions of the dying years of the Afghan monarchy, wrenching them far apart. But so strong is the bond between the two boys that Amir journeys back to a distant world, to try to right past wrongs against the only true friend he ever had.

The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption; and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.

A sweeping story of family, love, and friendship told against the devastating backdrop of the history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful novel that has become a beloved, one-of-a-kind classic."

The first thing appealing in this book is the fact that Khaled Hosseini deals with a life problem dominating Afghanistan. It is an experience of how loyal friends can be and how close a family can become. Though destruction and war surge into the world of Afghanistan, the redemption still exists. 

The childish version of the male character was a pain in the butt. His voice was very strong and very reflective of credible life examples but I still didn't like him. And though he was my least favorite character, I thought that his presence was mandatory to differentiate between him and the other young male. 

The time line in this book is very fast and it holds a lot of memories. It is actually based on memories told by the main character while he was being phoned from an old friend. After the young part of his life passed throughout the book, the adult main character - a writer - ventures back into Afghanistan from America. At that point of the book, I was very surprised to be attached to the idea very much! Emotions start to serf and  passionate details overcome the second part. 

We get to know the true loyalty of a friend, the care and tender of a father and the respect and defiance of those you have been deprived of their own country. Thus, the beginning was slow but the end swept my mind away. 

"This is a great novel by Khalid Hosseini, a mixture of hope and envy."