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Book Review - The Kite Runner


A fascinating, emotional, and well-constructed blend of imagination and reality has been delineated by the bestselling Afghan author Khaled Hosseini in his remarkable and most read book, The Kite Runner. The book consists of the overall classification of the Pashtun and Hazara communities, which build up and complete the Afghani society. Further, it depicted the universal tale of friendship amid two kids who were more than brothers—Amir and Hassan—living a profuse lifestyle in the rich district of Kabul and side by side vindication, cataclysm, social and political upheaval, complex and overlapping relationships that entangled them in the intricate connections, and most importantly, an intense hope. The kite festival, which is a tradition of Afghani culture, used to take place each year, and a single victor used to come up from the hundreds and thousands. There were those who were kite runners and others who fought the kites. Hassan and Amir are the main characters of the book; one was the incredible kite runner while the other was the finest kite flyer.

Once during the festival, when Amir defeated the kite to win the victory, Hassan vowed to get the kite for his friend, and for that, he disappeared in the noisy streets of Kabul. When Amir came up looking for his friend, he uncovered the reality of seeing his friend being abused and raped by the other boys because of the community he represents—Hazara—but Amir’s cowardice made him stop assisting his friend and keeping him secure from disdainful acts during his most awful time of life. His guilt made him the man that he has been exploring in the novel later.

Additionally, it illustrated the whole heart-rending scenario of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, which became the war zone as it was invaded by the Soviet Communist bloc to expand its sphere of influence to this most complicated and significant region along the Silk Road, which connects it to the diverse cultures of the Middle East and some other parts of Asia. Moreover, the lethal Soviet invasion also gave rise to the Taliban, which worsened the crisis with time even more and forced indigenous people to make greater sacrifices and escape in order to survive.

The novel leads the reader to ride out through continents and decades to delve into the horrific incidents that the natives of that state underwent to forget their horrific past memories while the world seemed so unperturbed that it didn’t bother their sufferings and intense sorrows, and they kept on aching and died thousands of deaths inside every time they saw their loved ones dying in front of their eyes.

Moreover, Amir goes back to his country after ages of leaving it and trying to elude appalling memories of the past and tries to fix and eradicate his guilt by saving Hassan’s son from the merciless occupiers of his land.

Hosseini’s powerful writing has maintained a well-balanced view between all his characters and their past and present memories, which take a reader to the times of the war zone in Afghanistan and provoke everything to feel the sufferings of the neighbourhood.

The book leaves an everlasting impact on our lives and introduces us to the poor and strange lives of people of Afghanistan who maintained a good and healthy lifestyle until and unless the Soviets came to conquer and rule over them. They lived and died every minute. Besides, it familiarises us with the faith, fate, and justice that prevail in the world. It makes us believe that we can only find stability and mental peace and set things straight in line by correcting our past mistakes and stop being cowards in a world ruled by monsters. We need to fight with them in order to secure and be secured. Lastly, the book also gives us a message to be mindful of the wounds, pain, and agony of our brothers and remain optimistic and develop a positive sense regarding the war-torn Afghanistan.



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