Wednesday, April 12, 2006

The Kite Runner

Written by Khaled Hosseini, spread over a span of 35 years, The Kite Runner is about the life of Amir, a young Afghan. Young, motherless Amir longs for his father's affection. In an attempt to finally win his father's approval, he enters a kite-flying contest. Aided by his Hazara friend, Hasan, Amir wins. But that day is the day when Amir and Hassan's lives are to change forever. For that is the day when they comes face to face with evil, and leave childhood behind.
The Russians invade Afghanistan and Amir and his father flee to America. But the memory of what occured on that fateful day continues to haunt Amir untill he returns to Afghanistan to face his fears.

Through the eyes of a spectator, Hosseini tells a tale of betrayal, guilt, love and redemption. He strikes a perfect balance between fact and emotion. He describes the socio-economic conditions in Afghanistan by example rather than directly. I admire his direct approach to the ugly side of human nature. I especially liked his interpretation of the Taliban - the fanatics and extreme patriots.

An awesome book - a real page turner. While reading it one experiences a depth of emotion similar to that felt while watching RDB. It will bring a lump to your throat, tears to your eyes, and a smile to your face. A tremendous story.

2 comments:

Pranav Ravikumar said...

decent post....very wel reviewed

shraddha said...

wow girl!! you seem to be a die hard fan of rang de basanti... this book seems to be great..will read...thanks for the reveiw