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Alison's Reviews > The Kite Runner
The Kite Runner
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"And that, I believe, is what true redemption is, Amir jan, when guilt leads to good."
What is there to say about this novel, 2006's reading group book of the year, that hasn't already been said?
The Kite Runner is a wonderful story. It's captivating, it's far-reaching, and it covers innumerable themes: guilt, family, friendship, atonement...the list could go on and on. Outside of being an interesting narrative and a pretty good piece of literature...here's why it was important to me.
First...it's difficult for me to read, at length, about the history and current state of political turmoil in other countries (I am ashamed to say). It's not that I'm not interested or empathetic, or just too selfish to keep myself up-to-date...I truly want to be an informed, involved "citizen of the world". But for some reason...possibly because of how complex situations can be, requiring knowledge and back-knowledge of places and events...I'm just not naturally drawn to reading and retaining this particular type of information (again--shameful).
But stories like "The Kite Runner", where the author actually puts a name and a face to some of the injustices being carried out world-wide...they really make me more interested and inspired to educate myself on past and current situations i.e. life in Afgahnistan pre and post-Russian invasion and how the Taliban came to gain power there, as well as the class struggle that exists between different races--and how groups like the Shia Hazaras have come to be persecuted.
Books like this are also important in that they put my day to day worries and frustrations into perspective. They remind me of the way of life that I take for granted, and make me want to complain of absolutely nothing. Khaled Hosseini has written a fabulous tribute to his country and people, and a touching reminder to men and women world-wide of just how horrific life under an extremist regime can be.
What is there to say about this novel, 2006's reading group book of the year, that hasn't already been said?
The Kite Runner is a wonderful story. It's captivating, it's far-reaching, and it covers innumerable themes: guilt, family, friendship, atonement...the list could go on and on. Outside of being an interesting narrative and a pretty good piece of literature...here's why it was important to me.
First...it's difficult for me to read, at length, about the history and current state of political turmoil in other countries (I am ashamed to say). It's not that I'm not interested or empathetic, or just too selfish to keep myself up-to-date...I truly want to be an informed, involved "citizen of the world". But for some reason...possibly because of how complex situations can be, requiring knowledge and back-knowledge of places and events...I'm just not naturally drawn to reading and retaining this particular type of information (again--shameful).
But stories like "The Kite Runner", where the author actually puts a name and a face to some of the injustices being carried out world-wide...they really make me more interested and inspired to educate myself on past and current situations i.e. life in Afgahnistan pre and post-Russian invasion and how the Taliban came to gain power there, as well as the class struggle that exists between different races--and how groups like the Shia Hazaras have come to be persecuted.
Books like this are also important in that they put my day to day worries and frustrations into perspective. They remind me of the way of life that I take for granted, and make me want to complain of absolutely nothing. Khaled Hosseini has written a fabulous tribute to his country and people, and a touching reminder to men and women world-wide of just how horrific life under an extremist regime can be.
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Reading Progress
August 5, 2007
– Shelved
Started Reading
July 7, 2008
–
Finished Reading
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message 1:
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Alison
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rated it 3 stars
Jul 06, 2008 04:53PM
Hi, Amy. Thanks for the comments. I am about 80 pages in. I can already see that it is a sad story. I was wondering...why did I pick this? But SO many people have said such good things about it...I feel like there will be some redemption ultimately.
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Alison, I liked your trivia question on Portrait of a Lady, since I knew the answer, LOL.... which took me to your profile, which took me to your books list, which took me to this review. I don't give a damn about The Kite Runner, which I've started twice and never got past the third page. And I'm not apologizing for it, neither! It sounds to me like you had to work pretty hard at liking this one.
All Amir wanted to do when he went back to Afghanistan was to redeem himself. His redemption was to father Hassan's son and treat him like he is his own child. Hassan passed away. Hassan's wife gave birth to a beautiful and brilliant child. He is taken by the Taliban and also raped their. It was really sad how children so young Afghanistan were victim of cruelty.
