The Kite Runner

[Izza]

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini tells the story of a young boy by the name of Amir and his life. The novel begins in the setting of Kabul, Afghanistan where Amir lives with his father, best friend, and his best friend’s father. The title of the book comes from the traditional kite flying contest in which the kids in Amir’s hometown are eager to participate. Throughout the beginning of the book, it is evident that Amir often competes with his best friend, Hassan, for his father’s attention and acceptance. The kite flying contest is significant to Amir because he perceives it as his opportunity to prove his worth to his father in order to finally gain a true relationship with him. Immediately following the kite flying contest, Amir witnesses a boy by the name of Assef sexually assault Hassan. Out of pure fear, he chooses not to take action to protect Hassan and the guilt follows him throughout the novel, into his adult life. This incident leaves Amir’s friendship with Hassan broken and Amir and his father move out of the country before he finds the courage to make amends. The two of them move to the United States to escape the war that is beginning to occur in Afghanistan but find it difficult to adapt to their new lives. The rest of the novel follows the effects of Amir’s consuming guilt on the rest of his life.
The Kite Runner is truly a page-turner as Hosseini reveals plot twist after plot twist that the reader never expects. While the details of the novel may be disturbing and difficult to understand for children, it truly does open the eyes of young adults and adults who choose to read it to the horrors of the real world. Hosseini also does a fantastic job of expressing the culture of the characters in the book with accuracy and in a way that is not difficult to comprehend. There are very few weaknesses but readers should be aware that the tragedies in the book are written with excruciating detail that may be disturbing to some. Additionally, Hosseini does tie up all the loose ends at the very end of the novel but it seemed rushed and was difficult to fully understand all at once. The loose ends focus on the end of the war and have a minimal effect on the actual plot of the novel, but it still seemed to be a poor attempt at offering closure. Lastly, the novel did not have any significant female characters but the lack of lead female roles did not negatively impact the plot in any way and after finishing the novel, I did not feel that there was a piece of the story that was missing as a result of it.
Overall, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a well-written and thrilling novel that keeps readers on their toes and desperate for more. I would recommend this book to all high school students as well as adults who are interested in eventful storylines about the ups and downs of life from such a unique perspective.