The Kite Runner!

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, a book I have been reading in break time for the last two weeks, has left its mark forever. Initially I was skeptical of picking up a book of 340 pages, as it had been a long time since I was in a reading slumber but to break that I read a short book and felt it was quite shallow and that made me crave for a book that is deep, and when my best friend suggested this one, I picked it up. Initially I was tasting its flavor like you taste something you've never had before and soon before I realized I was devouring it. It is literally 340 pages of emotion, friendship, brotherhood and love that transcends boundaries.

 

This was my first time reading a book written by an Afghan- American novelist. I read the foreword at first, and just read it like that and then read it after completing the book and it made so much more sense than the previous time I read it. For the first 130 pages there is no female protagonist and yet there is so much love between the characters that you don't miss the female protagonist. But then after a couple of chapters you realize it's not about the conventional love story, it is a love story of brotherhood that transcends over generations.

 

It makes me appreciate the peace and security of the country I live in, with the war in the backdrop of the book and the part set in Afghanistan in the second half makes me realize what was the situation then and what would be the situation of the countries at war at present, it is really heart wrenching. The first half of the book shows a country at peace and the protagonist too and the second half shows the country in turmoil and the protagonist on a guilt trip, the backdrop of the country is beautifully intertwined with the protagonists emotions.

 

The protagonist Amir and his friend Hassan are the center point of this novel. The writing is so beautiful that you feel like you are in Afghanistan with them. Amir is reciting his story in the entire course of the book. I won't give any spoilers because this book is to experience his story by reading it. The most alluring thing about the book is that every character, be it main, side and cameo is described so much in detail that you can literally imagine that person and also the places are beautifully expressed so much so that you feel like you are there, I really felt like I was traveling to Afghanistan, US and Pakistan.

 

It kept me hooked till the last line, in fact when I was left with just the last 100 pages I slowed down my speed, reading less in a day just so that I can be with characters involved in the story for a few more days. Just like we save our favorite chocolate from abroad as we know we won't get another soon and eat it just one piece a day so as to indulge and yet save it for one more day. This book was like that favorite sweet for me, after a long time a fictional book has touched me so much, as now I am done reading this gem I will miss it, but I am sure it will stay with me for years to come and it's lines that touched me, mentioning some of them below in case you get motivated to read after reading any of these lines, it will be great!

 

• Children aren't coloring books. You don't get to fill them with your favorite colors.

• And that's the thing about people who mean everything they say. They think everyone else does too.

• But better to get hurt by the truth than be comforted with a lie.

• It always hurts more to have and lose than to not have in the first place.

• Time can be a greedy thing-sometimes it steals all the details for itself.

• What a true redemption is when a guilt leads to good.

• A man who has no conscience, no goodness, does not suffer.

• For you a thousand times over

 

A big thanks to Khaled Hosseini for writing this gem and all these lines that will stay with his reader's for years to come.

 

Happy Reading,

 

Siddhi Bhosale.