I recently finished reading “The KIte Runner” by Khaled Hosseini. In a day. It must be said that it takes me forever to read anything, but not this book, because I just couldn’t put it down.
The story follows Amir, a well-to-do Pashtun boy, from his youth until adulthood. Throughout the plot, we learn about Amir’s relationships with his father and with Hassan, a Hazara and the son of Amir’s father’s servant.
Although the boys play well together and seemingly regard each other as best friends or even brothers, that class divide is still there and very evident. This is especially so in several passages where Amir is preparing for school and Hassan is making his bed, fixing his breakfast, etc.
Hassan repeatedly shows his loyalties to Amir - even when bullies threaten the two, Hassan stands up to fight for himself and for his friend. Amir, who seems to enjoy his time with Hassan, still regards himself as the superior person and one who, until later, will not return the favor.
Over the years, after the boys have grown apart and Amir has begun his career as a writer in America, he wonders whatever happened to Hassan. As Amir goes down his path to find out, readers learn a lot about modern-day Afghanistan and about the Taliban and about the realities and stark differences between life in America and over there.
A lot that I already didn’t know helped open my eyes to the Afgan culture and made me interested to learn more. I would suggest this book to just about anyone who appreciates the intricacies of relationships and is willing to step outside the realm of life as usual.
