In "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini, readers are first introduced to an anonymous narrator who implies that he has gone through a catastrophic experience. Even though this experience is not named initially, the imagery in the novel evokes danger. The narrator details about how it is possible to repress the past even though others say it is not. I do not completely agree with this. I believe that it is possible but only to a certain extent. One can try to forget about an event in their lives for a temporary period of time but the memories will flood back eventually. The narrator shows this by receiving a call from Rahim Khan and believing that it was not just him calling but also his sins. He is beginning to address the anxiety he has been having over this traumatic experience. At this point in time, the beginning of the novel, readers had not been exposed to the sins Amir ends up committing throughout his lifetime. Therefore, the readers could not anticipate the magnitude of his remorse.
I think that this novel sets itself apart with a sense of suspense that draws the reader in. The flow and sequence of events was enthralling. One could read about a certain event and think of it as a minute detail but oftentimes, this same detail would come back later on in the novel having been augmented as a central part of the story. We are not told the entire story, so to speak, and for me, that makes it interesting. Another aspect of the novel that peaks my interest is the relationship between Amir, Baba, and Hassan. Baba, Amir's father, verges on abusive. Baba does not show much interest in his son which was horrifying to read. It seems that he does not believe that the two share much in common. Towards the end of the novel, readers are shown the reason why Baba showed indifference towards Amir in the beginning parts. Readers are later told that Baba is the father of not only Amir, but also Hassan. This revelation shocked me beyond belief. I could have never anticipated it but once it was revealed, it made sense since Hassan and Amir were always described as having a natural sense of brotherhood. Little did we know that this is due to their actual brotherhood. One other instance that seemed like a minute detail came back full throttle towards the end of the novel. This is the scene where Amir wants to take Sohrab and discovers that Assef is the member of the Taliban that Amir has to rescue Sohrab from. This was yet another plot twist that I did not see coming. Khaled Hosseini has a way of keeping readers on their toes.
I think that Amir's character truly comes full circle. He goes from being immature to being completely independent and successful. He has certainly come a long way from where he was as a child when Hassan was in need. At that point in time, Amir did not help Hassan for plenty of selfish reasons. One of them could have been pure fear but I believe that the real reason has a lot to do with Baba and the lack of a true father figure in Amir's life. I think that it is possible that Amir wanted to inflict the pain he felt when being "tossed aside" for Hassan on Hassan by letting this horrible circumstance occur. Either way, I do not believe it is justified. Hassan had to live with that trauma for the rest of his life. However, Amir matures and experiences remorse for the rest of his life. He cries when Farid says to him "For you, a thousand times over" since that was Hassan's catchphrase. He helps Hassan's son Sohrab as a sort of redemption for his lack of action. In the rescuing of Sohrab, Amir also comes full circle with another aspect of the story. This aspect would be Assef. Ironically enough, Assef is holding Sohrab hostage. He almost "kills two birds with one stone" as they say by taking Hassan and defeating Assef all at the same time.
Another scenario having to do with Amir and Hassan that resonated with me concerned the pomegranate tree. Hassan and Amir would play in front of this tree and even inscribed their names on it. Towards the end of the novel, Hassan writes to Amir saying that the tree has not borne fruit in years. I believe that he is speaking to the progression of their friendship. He is trying to say that their friendship has not grown over the years. It was a really symbolic part of this novel.
Finally, the main reason I truly appreciate this novel is because it is a third of the size of Atlas Shrugged.
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