The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Amy    

historical fiction

In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, Amir was a child of privilege in Afghanistan before he and his father fled Russian occupation to the safety of the United States in the 1980s with nothing more than their lives. His best friend in Afghanistan, Hassan, was the son of Amir’s father’s servant until, through his own cruel behavior, Amir drove them away. The guilt Amir always felt over his mistreatment of Hassan led him to take meaningful action as an adult in an attempt at atonement.

I had always heard this was a great story but never got around to reading it until now. I really enjoyed this look into Afghanistan’s history, culture, and people. It was a very well-written first-person account of Amir’s life…his childhood experiences, his family life, his victories, his shames, his immigration to the United States, beginning anew under diminished circumstances, dealing with loss, and achieving professional success before finally doing something truly good and important for someone other than himself.

Hosseini usually gave warnings of what was to come except for one glaring exception when he made the reader wonder, for a time, what specific tragedy had transpired. This novel contained many tragedies but also kindnesses and hope. 

This was a story of Afghanistan, perseverance, and redemption. Interestingly, I noticed some similarities between this novel and the much more recent The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali (even though it is about Iran instead of Afghanistan). I wonder if she was inspired a little bit by The Kite Runner. I don’t want to specify so as not to ruin any surprises.

The audiobook was narrated by the author himself and he did a terrific job! I love a good author narration. I’ll give him an A-.