Book Review: “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini

“The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini (2004)

Genre: Fiction, Contemporary

Page Length: 372 pages (paperback edition)

Synopsis:

Growing up in the city of Kabul in the early 1970s, Hassan was narrator Amir’s closest friend even though the loyal 11-year-old with “a face like a Chinese doll” was the son of Amir’s father’s servant and a member of Afghanistan’s despised Hazara minority.

But in 1975, on the day of Kabul’s annual kite-fighting tournament, something unspeakable happened between the two boys.

Review:

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini tells the story of two young boys Amir, a Pashtun Muslim, and his best friend Hassan, a Hazara servant, in Kabul, Afghanistan. Both boys grow up in a somewhat turbulent Afghanistan and spend their days running kites and telling each other stories. After a horrific incident their friendship falls apart and soon after Amir and his father are forced to flee to the United States after the fall of Afghanistan’s monarchy through the Soviet military. We as readers get to see Amir grow up from a young boy to a man faces obstacles involving friendship, family, and what it truly means to be yourself.

This was my final assigned (reading) book for my human right literature class. It’s been sitting on my shelf for quite a while now, so reading it for my class finally gave a chance to finally read it and I absolutely enjoyed the book!  I washed I had picked up this novel sooner! I enjoy reading world literature so it was nice to read a human story out of my cultural knowings. The Kite Runner presents its audience with a coming of age story in the context of conflict so it makes for an interesting plotline. I love Hosseini’s detailed writing style as well as the depth and development of his characters over the entirety of the novel. The themes of redemption, guilt, friendship, and family connect Western readers to a foreign experience in a relatable way.

Final Verdict:

A must read for fans of fiction written in a cultural context with great characters and a very human story. 5 out of 5 stars!