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43.4%ANMag Issue 18 Entertainment
The Kite Runner
By Shrief Fadl, Contributing writer
Beirut, Lebanon - The Kite Runner is a story that grips the reader in many strange and wondrous ways. It grips one’s heart as each page turns and each chapter ends, until it finally releases its grip at the last page of the last chapter of the book. The first novel by Afghan-American Khaled Hosseini, the book is essentially split into two portions, one consisting of a kind of flash back to the protagonist’s (Amir) childhood set in Afghanistan during the 1970s, and one set in the present where Amir, who is now in the United States, goes back to Afghanistan to meet face to face with many of his childhood demons.
The Kite Runner manages to both shock and inspire the reader; moments of absolute horror are coupled with moments where there is but a glimmer of hope, to create an astounding effect. Hosseini demonstrates this amazing power, hope, possesses its mere whisper, makes the hearts of broken men beat with vigor and vitality once more. The story for all intents and purposes is a story about hope and redemption. The main character’s journey throughout the book, from reliving painful childhood memories to dealing with issues so many years later, captivates the reader. It is because of this that one is amazed that this is Hosseini’s first novel. He has in fact achieved what so many writers attempt to achieve through their entire careers, and some never do. He was able to truly engulf the reader into the world he has created with nothing else but words. Often times whilst reading the story, for some reason be it shock, amazement, or empathy for the characters, one is forced to put down the book and think. Think as though what one has just read actually occurred. And that is one of the greatest achievements one can ever hope to attain in literature.
Although it has several themes, the Kite Runner’s central theme, the one that holds all the strands of the story together and weaves them into what it is now, is redemption. It follows Amir throughout the second portion of the story. Amir, despite having done some things which are abhorrently wrong, is able to find redemption and finally solace. He does this in a very symmetrical way so to speak. The acts of redemption are in many ways the antithesis of the wrong acts that he has done and they occur under circumstances that mirror those of the original wrong act. It is as though Amir has brought himself back to that place in time, that crossroad where he has to choose how to act and what to do, and this time, he actually does the right thing and continues to do the right thing until he deservedly achieves redemption.
Another point that should be made about the Kite Runner is that although some characters are clearly good and others clearly evil, the rest of the characters are in this gray area, where they demonstrate a kind of noble self at one point, but then demonstrate the complete opposite at another. This, if nothing else, proves that they are truly human; Hosseini undoubtedly grasps, and attempts to convey the fact that being human means being in a constant conflict, with only one possible outcome: good or evil. Despite it being a relatively short novel, Hosseini is able to fully develop the characters, so that even the characters that the reader did not really identify with in the beginning are finally seen from a different aspect or perspective, which invariably leads to empathy for that character. This goes even for the protagonist, Amir; throughout the beginning of the story, one is more likely to have a slight feeling of disdain for him than anything else. However, as the story progresses and expands, the reader finds themselves rooting for him, and in the end, one sees him in a new light altogether.
The Kite Runner also manages to continuously surprise the reader; at the end of almost every chapter, there is a cliff hanger. This is not however achieved at the cost of realism. On the contrary, the twists and turns in the story were created in such a way as to have a certain degree of believability in them, making the story all the more rewarding. Together with Hosseini’s subliminal use of imagery and symbolism in the story, the contents of the story itself are what make the Kite Runner such a special find.
In the end, the Kite Runner is a book which has got to be in every book-lover’s collection. Its story is rich, original and entrancing, its language beautiful and filled to the brim with imagery and symbolism that is an absolute treat to read. Despite the many depressing moments where the unspeakable often happens, the book is also a source of inspiration − with just the right amount of hope present to keep the readers’ spirits lifted high.