Review: The Kite Runner

I suppose I should begin this book review by saying that prior to reading this novel I have also read another of Khaled Hosseini's works titled 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' which is an absolutely fantastic story - so I had high hopes for this one too.

Khaled Hosseini is an Afghan-born American novelist who was born in Kabul in Afghanistan, which is where the majority of this novel is set. Hosseini lived in Kabul for most of his childhood and then moved to France and shortly after seeked asylum in the United States, where he soon became a citizen. Therefore imaginably the setting, culture and lifestyle of this novel will have probably resembled the way of life he experienced living in Afghanistan, which means that the reader can grasp a vivid understanding and image of what it was like to live in Kabul during the late 1900's. 

The Kite Runner focuses on a young boy in the 1970's named Amir who is born into a fairly well-off family when considering Kabul's situation at the time. His mother died during his birth, therefore it is only him and his father - along with their servants Ali (his father, Baba's good friend) and Hassan (a Hazari who is looked down upon in society but despite this, is Amir's best friend). The novel looks at life in Kabul, how society dominates Afghanistan, good and bad relationships between the characters, the Taliban invasion and how drastically the country changes over the years. 

Amir wants nothing more than for his father to feel proud of him as a son and to love him how he loved his wife (Amir believes his father hates him for killing his wife during the birth but this is not the case). Baba is a good man who loves his son more than anything but is concerned that he is not like other young boys - Amir likes to read and write whereas most others enjoy more masculine activities. 

A large amount of the narrative spotlights the 'friendship' between Amir and Hassan and we watch their friendship deteriorate throughout the novel as a villainous boy Assef and his gang pick fights with Hassan over his Hazari background; but the plot thickens between these two characters. Despite Amir being his friend he struggles to defend Hassan and we see cowardice in every situation he is faced with, which leaves his father more concerned about his personality. As the old way of life in Kabul is destroyed as the Taliban roll up, Baba and Amir emigrate to the United States to build a better life for themselves away from the terrorism. Hosseini reflects back constantly to the friends both Amir and Baba make along the way and how each of them either develops or declines - Hassan, Rahim Khan (Baba's best friend), Soraya (Amir's wife) etc. 

One aspect of this book that I noticed instantly within the first few pages was Hosseini's incredible ability to set the scene and to describe both times and places. The author's in-depth descriptions allowed me to feel as though I was actually there in Kabul experiencing every event for myself - although thankfully not literally. I know myself that some books that try to set the scene and depict an atmospheric location can often focus too much on certain aspects and leave the reader quite bored and frustratingly waiting for some dialogue to get the narrative going. However Hosseini knew exactly how much description was just enough to create imagery and get the story off to a good start.

I love how this book is so emotive too, it had me feeling so many ways - happy, sad, relieved, content, panicked. The best way I can describe the story is one massive bumpy rollercoaster; one minute the story picks up and life is good and the next a turn of events causes a crumble in the narrative. I think it's always a good sign when a story can evoke so many different emotions. If I were to sit and read a book and feel absolutely nothing throughout I would find it to be an utter disappointment. I also found it admirable how Hosseini's character descriptions and portrayals successfully made me feel how I did towards each of them. For example, I despised Assef and his evil ways, I pitied Hassan to an unimaginable extent, I admired Baba for his generosity and genuine self etc. However the only character I didn't know how to consistently feel towards was Amir (once you read the book you'll understand why); sometimes I empathised with him and other times I didn't - but I think that was Hosseini's intention largely.

This truly was such a moving and equally devastating story that I couldn't have possibly enjoyed more than I did. If you like reading more non-fiction, real-life books I strongly recommend this.