Friendship, Loyalty, Love and Redemption in The Kite Runner

Over the last couple of months I've had many customers and co-workers telling me that I had to read The Kite Runner, so I finally took their advice and read the book while I was on tour with Shining Light last week. I'm really glad I did because I think this is one of the best modern fiction novels I've read in a long time.

The Kite Runner is the first novel written by Khaled Hosseini, but you would never know it as you're reading the book. Hosseini's writing style draws you in and keeps you hooked until the last page. The story is powerful and haunting and amazingly well-written. I was hooked after reading the very first paragraph:

"I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975. I remember the precise moment, crouching behind a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek. That was a long time ago, but it's wrong what they say about the past, I've learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years."

If that paragraph doesn't draw you in and make you want to read the rest of the story to find out what the narrator is talking about then I don't know what will.

The story opens in Afghanistan in the late sixties and tells the story of Amir, a young boy growing up in Kabul and his friendship with Hassan, the son of his family's servant. We then follow Amir through his life, the ups and downs, including what happened in that alleyway and how it impacted the rest of his life. It also discusses the Russian occupation of Afghanistan and Afghanistan under the oppressive Taliban control. This book shows us an Afghanistan many Americans are not aware of; we meet the proud people who have suffered, not the terrorists and bin Ladens that most Americans now associate with Afghanistan. This is a very real and human portrait of Afghanistan and it's people.

I won't tell you that this book is easy to read. On the contrary, there are some portions of it that are extremely difficult to read, but it's those portions of the book that make the overall story so powerful and moving. Hosseini's style of writing makes the difficult parts all the more raw and haunting. This isn't a book that you can just set down and walk away from, you'll be thinking about it until you're finished reading, and even after.

Last week while I was reading the book a friend of mine kept asking me what why I liked the book so much and what could I possibly gain from reading it. At the time I was just amused by his arguments, but I've been thinking about it a lot since I got home and finally figured out how I would respond. I think what appealed to me most about this book was that, while it's a beautifully told story of Afghanistan and it's people, it's themes are universal. This is a story of friendship, loyalty, love and in the end, redemption. I also loved that Hosseini's writing style is very straightforward and honest, which lended well to the overall tone of the novel.

I would highly reccommend this book to anyone, whether or not you're interested in modern history or current events. The events in Afghanistan are only the backdrop for this story. This is really a story about the people, not the country.