Tuesday 20 September 2016

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

After hearing some great things about this book, I gave it a shot and finished reading this absolutely touching tale by Khaled Hosseini. I know it's little late to talk about this book, but still I have to write about it.



The story starts with Amir, currently in US, getting a call from Rahim Khan, Pakistan, asking him to take a trip to Pakistan. Rahim Khan says, "There is a way to be good again" to Amir. So what wrong did Amir do and whether he was able to do the good again is the story of this book.

Now the story goes back to Afghanistan when the times were good. Amir was living with his father and his father's servant Ali's and his son Hassan. Amir's father, Baba, treats them with respect and Hassan gets special care from Amir's father, which sometimes irritates Amir. Baba was a businessman who doesn't believe in religious sentiments. And, this part tells Amir's story as boy, his friendship with Hassan, his liking to write stories which his father didn't like much. Rahim Khan, Baba's friend was supportive of Amir's writings.

Hassan was Amir's most loyal childhood friend.  An incident which takes right after Amir winning the kite festival changed things between Amir and Hassan which eventually leads to Ali and Hassan leaving Amir's place even after Baba's protest. Amir has to live with this guilt.

In the next part, Amir and his Baba escapes to Peshawar then to California after Soviet Union military intervention in Afghan. Baba starts working in gas station, Amir joins school, gets married to another refugee Soraya. He becomes a writer and things goes well until the call from Rahim Khan.

In the next part, Amir leaves to Pakistan to meet Rahim Khan. He gets to know about Hassan and his family. And, Rahim Khan requests him to travel to Afghan to do a task which will make up for the wrong Amir did and also he reveals some shocking truth about his father. Amir's task is to save Hassan's son Shorab from Afghan. His struggles to get Shorab back to US and their life after he reaches US.

This book was fantastic, lived upto the expectation and the hype created. And, I got to know a lot about the troubled country Afghanistan. Soviet's intervention, Taliban's rise in Afghan etc,. And, also how they treat a certain class of people called Hazara. The author gives a clear picture of Afghan's state thorough the eyes of the characters. I really like Amir's father Baba, one of my favorite characters in this book, Amir's role model of course.

The book has all the emotions especially Hassan's love towards Amir, when he says "For you, a thousand times over", before he runs to catch the kite.

The book gives a satisfying feel once we close it. A truly touching experience and a must read. For the feel it gives I can read it a thousand times over.

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