The Kite Runner. Review on Kite Runner, The - Khaled Hosseni

“The kite runner” bailed me out from an imminent and almost certain perpetual loss of interest in books. Having chucked half a dozen of them in various stages of incompletion I was sure of never finishing a book. Some tormented me for my limited comprehension skills; others tested my numerical abilities with the Geometric rise and fall in number   Characters and the complexities that followed .And another 300 pages … that was a bit too much .Nevertheless I borrowed this one from a colleague  alleged for his fine taste of  books . I was glad it worked rather it saved me from the sorry glances of abandoned books lying carelessly on my table.

The story** moves around a motherless Amir aged ten growing up in the shadow and awe of his Successful father. His only wish is to win his fathers love but he never really strikes a chord with him except his kite flying ways. Baba’s coldness is always replaced by unwavering loyalty and camaraderie of Hassan, his low caste hazzara servant and constant companion. But Amir rarely acknowledges his angelic love and is conceitedly distanced from him for his superior caste and racial affiliation. He is rather jealous of the place Hassan holds in his baba‘s heart for his audacity, Sporty instincts and for reason more covert. It is the local kite flying competition where Amir comes full circle, wins it. He does become a momentary hero in the eyes of baba .but he could never see Hassan in his eye again. His heart bloated with shame and guilt and life long remorse of not heeding to the painful grunts of Haassan who ran his kite that night.

Russian Invasion of Afghanistan Forces baba and Amir to flee to more secure America. It is here Amir completes his first novel, marries his wife Soraya and finally buries his dead father. Life goes on but he never reconciles with his conscience, his loss of Hassan. The more he snubs his Coward, selfish Self the more perturbed he becomes

He never attempts to trace his old life until a phone call from Rahim khan brings him back to his own land…

Is this Phone call an insinuation for Amir to make mends with his life, to seek redemption?  His eventful homecoming, revelations of his lost life Hassan, Sohrab and baba and his tryst with staggering experiences are these leading him to something he yearned for all his life?

Kite runner is a beautiful medley of myriad human emotions. The unadulterated, guileless devotion of Hassan in face of every in insult and rebuke, and betrayal he endures for his master hits one to the core.

But what really takes the cake is the quest for redemption. Redemption is the final dictum of human existence. It is the ultimate cleansing of one soul’s, the most celebrated concept in most Philosophies of the world. The emotional chaos and throes of guilt that Amir subsides time and again before overcoming it is so true of our every days struggle for making amends with our life, to set everything right that went awry.

However the book suffers from some certain flaws that sagged it s intensity towards the later chapter. It seems the author was fatigued till the end; he lost the intensity and fervor on which he built the Amir Hassan, amir- baba relationships. The same intensity was amiss in Amir –Sohrab connect, may be it was intentional, but it could have definitely been better .Secondly there are too many coincidences in the plot. Sanaubar coming back to Hassan, Sohrab rescuing Amir from Assef with the same Slingshot prowess as his father, Assef turning up again with his brass Knuckles is all too dramatic. All these instances do maintain the emotional drive of the book but somewhere compromises creative instincts of author.

But the book is remarkable for the ways it uses of turbulent socio political conditions in Afghanistan to create upheaval in lives of Characters and Amir’s moving out to America. To that extent the story draws a lot from Amir’s American experiences. This is where a western audience can really identify with the protagonist and the contradictions of his life in his own country and amercian ways.

There are so many things I can rave about but the sheer honesty, heart and love the Author put in the characters is all overpowering.  A wonderful Story of silent selfless dedication and Lifelong struggle for redemption.  These are Some Excepts that will tempt you to read this one for Sure.

“No matter what the mullah teaches, there is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft. ….

When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal his wife’s right to a husband; rob his children of a father. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness. Do you see**?” -

“Hassan reply was a single word, delivered in a thin Raspy voice: “Yes” .I flinched, like I had been slapped. My heart Sank and I almost blurted the truth .Then I understood: This was Hassan’s final sacrifice for me.” -*

*“Hassan milled about the periphery of my life after that. I made sure our paths crossed as little as possible, planned my day that way .Because when he was around, the oxygen, seeped out of my room. my chest tightened and I couldn’t draw enough air, I’ll stand there gasping in my own little airless bubble of atmosphere. But when he wasn’t around, he was…………….”

*Hassan and I fed from the same breasts. We took our first steps on the same lawn in the same yard. And, under the same roof, we spoke our first words. Mine was Baba.

His was Amir…. My name. ” -