Wow. In all honesty, I am sad to say
that this is my final formal discussion of The
Kite Runner. Unlike Ayn Rand’s Atlas
Shrugged, this book hardly dragged on and was a pleasure to read. Thank you
Shap for the lighter read this quarter! At first, I struggled with the fact
that I had previously read the story and could recall most of the plot (or so I
thought), which I believed would ruin any suspense or interest in it. That
preconception could not have been further from the truth. Khaled Hosseini drew
me right in with his masterful implementation of imagery and successful use of
metaphor, among other things.
One aspect of Hosseini’s style of
writing that I admire is his ability to make me swap opinions of his characters
so cleanly. At one point in the story, I found myself greatly disliking Amir. I
thought he was weak, inconsiderate and selfish. Not until I read several
chapters further did I remember he was only a young boy. To that same end, I
find it ironic how upset we, as readers, get with him for doing something that
I believe unfortunately most would do. Due to the tone and fast-pace of the
book, I kept sinking back into the story and forgetting details other than
those relevant in that moment- a testament to Hosseini’s skill as a writer.
Speaking of fast-pace, I think the
author did a great job switching back and forth between 1976 and 2001. The
story flowed well and rarely became boring. I was really only disinterested in
one part: the longevity of Amir and Sohrab’s stay in Peshawar awaiting the approval
of Sohrab’s adoption. While I appreciate the author’s realistic description of
how the series of events took place, I do not think it was necessary to add so
many pages of filler. In my opinion, the author spent too much time describing
Amir’s troubles returning Sohrab to the United States. I believe it ended up
taking away from the story’s central focus of redemption and new beginnings,
with both being impeded by these troubles.
Contrastingly, I was impressed by
Hosseini’s ability to recite such events with such realism, like the way Sohrab
slowly grew accustomed to Amir, only to lose complete trust in him when Amir
broke his promise to him. The scene where Sohrab attempted to commit suicide
was very powerful and felt like such a sophisticated action for a boy as young
as he. It set a very somber tone and helped to emphasize the severity of his
abuse under Assef. Also, when I look back through the story after learning the
truth of Hassan’s relationship to Baba, I now pick up on small hints across the
story that pointed towards that outcome- something I find very cool.
Did anyone else think that Assef’s
birthday gift to Amir being a biography of Hitler to be more than a simple
observation from his childhood? I think that Hosseini’s use of such a notorious
dictator was very telling not only of Assef’s personality, but looking back,
that was a clear indicator of his eventual involvement with an evil
organization. Also, did anyone else find it interesting that the pomegranate
tree grew and died with the “Sultans of Kabul’s” friendship? While the two were
young boys, the tree grew and produced fruit normally. Their friendship was
linked to the tree, again, when Amir threw fruit at Hassan, marking the “end”
of their direct friendship. By the time Hassan wrote his letter to Amir, he
says that the tree no longer produces any fruit.
All in all, The Kite Runner was an emotional and straightforward novel. I
enjoyed nearly every moment of it, and appreciated its overall brevity compared
to our first quarter book, Atlas Shrugged.
I was drawn in from the beginning when
the rape occurred, and found the tangled web of travel, family dynamics, guilt
and surprise greatly interesting. The book was quite powerful and to me, was a
very explicit example of the cruel reality of war with a subplot focusing on
the power and range of emotions of familial love. The ending, where Amir
discovers that Hassan was actually his brother was definitely shocking, but
looking back, I think that the writer left subtle hints about the relationship.
I would and will recommend this novel to anyone looking for an interesting and
moving book that is full of suspense and unexpected twists. It was a great
choice for the second quarter.
Ryan Pearson
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