– Khaled Hosseini
“There is a way to be good again.”
Is this declared a classic yet? Bestseller of course! I remember being lost for days after I read this book. I literally was.
A book full of love, innocence, friendship, jealousy, betrayal , lies, family, survivor’s guilt, racism, evil kids and a quest for redemption. The book is full of filmy twists that will make you jump in excitement and shed a few tears (many if you’re like me) As it begins, we see 3 major characters, Amir, Hassan and Baba. Who could’ve anticipated in the first 100 pages that the most important character would be played by something inanimate, no not the kite tournaments but Afghanistan itself. I was depressed while reading all that in a book, Story of war as the backdrop. Weren’t they parts of a newspaper or documentaries? All this sad stuff! I was indifferent the first time I read it, unable to understand the significance of society and its workings, but we’ll come back to it later in the text.
There’s a lot to say about Amir and Hassan’s friendship, a major theme throughout the book. The purest friendship with a dirty turn and a lot more. But I’d love everyone to explore it on their own.
This book takes me to the song ‘Allah Ke bande hasde’ by Kailash Kher every time I think about it, not that it is mentioned here or related anyhow, that’s just the vibe I get. I am reminded of another person too, Zakir Khan, too hard to believe though but that guy’s Father-son Analogies are so beautiful just as it is in this book. The Unforgettable Duo for me, Amir and his Baba. The relationship swindles between Amir and Baba throughout the book! I’ll try to show you the how it moulds from Afghanistan and in America after they arrive there as refugees through few excerpts from the book.
“Baba and I lived in the same house, but in different spheres of existence. Kites were the one paper-thin slice of intersection between these two spheres.” To another sweet illusion; “we’d actually deceived ourselves into thinking that a toy made of tissue paper, glue and bamboo could somehow close the chasm between us.” After taking refuge in America, “For me, America was a place to bury memories. For Baba, a place to mourn his.” “Lifting him from the certainty of turmoil and dropping him in a turmoil of uncertainty.”, this line alone is enough to show the plight of refugees.
“Wars had made fathers a rare commodity in Afghanistan.”; “There are a lot of children in Afghanistan but little childhood.” The Book shows in the most subtle sense how any writer would be more welcomed by his own countrymen if he wrote about them or the hometown. That’s one of the traits the author possesses himself, never forgetting his roots and talking about the good, the bad, everything about his native land.
The Kiterunner teaches me a lesson or two about forgiveness “ I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded, not with the fanfare of epiphany but with pain gathering its things, packing up , and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.”
And I’d very gladly end this chain of thoughts with one similar to Amir’s realization “But most important, forgive yourself.”
There’s also a little problem I’ve figured in most of the reviews and in general when I talk to people about this book.
Why do people hate Amir? Wasn’t he clear enough to tell what he felt or do you lack empathy and always preach righteousness over basic lying humans? I can’t believe you haven’t ever lied. People even consider Hassan as a ‘too good to be true’ person. But please tell me what exactly are your real intentions behind reading a text if you can not respect it’s underlying truth? Not everybody can be mediocre to make you feel like home, once in a blue moon, seriously talking about one’s vulnerabilities and virtues is required. There are 500 shades of grey in each one of us, if not black and pure white. Every behavior has multiple causes and we must embrace the complexity of such behaviors and not out rightly discard human as good or evil.
