The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

This is one of those novels that has stayed in my mind long after I finished reading it. Set in Afghanistan and the US it tells the story of Amir, a young boy from Kabul who befriends Hassan, the son of his father's servant. Hassan and Amir are best friends, despite the fact that they come from different socio-economic backgrounds. This friendship is tested, however, when Hassan is horrifically attacked by a sadistic, older boy while defending Amir. Amir, in response, runs away and later betrays his friend.

Years later, when Amir is a teenager, Afghanistan is attacked by the Soviet Union and Amir and his father flee to the US where they start a new and very different life. Amir's once affluent father is now forced to work in a gas station while Amir attends community college in the hopes of becoming a writer and eventually marries. As an adult, Amir gets a phone call from an old friend in Afghanistan telling him about the fate of Hassan and his family. It's here that Amir has the opportunity to redeem himself for the betrayal of his best friend all those years ago.

I loved this book for many reasons. It provides a great personal narrative of life in war-torn Afghanistan and the plight of refugees. Watching Amir's father go from a well-respected man of society in Afghanistan to a struggling non-English speaking gas station attendant in an English speaking country is heart breaking, in a sense, and makes me wonder about the stories of some of the refugees in our own Australian society - who were they and what was their life like before they arrived?

I also loved the personal nature of it. Humans have faults - we can be jealous, afraid, bitter and mean-spirited. Amir and his father encompass all of these traits, but they also hold within them the ability to feel guilt and exercise kindness. It is these raw human emotions that drive them both toward atonement. It's a slightly alternative lesson that I'll never forget.

I've often found it frustrating to read books with central characters that are, in a sense, perfect. They don't feel hatred or jealousy and they never hurt anyone. These books, to me, are just unrealistic. The Kite Runnner represents the good and bad in humans and this is why I feel it's worth reading. Highly recommended.

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini