THE KITE RUNNER - KHALED HOSSEINI

*TRIGGER WARNING ADVISORY

For you a thousand times over". The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini follows the emotionally devastating story of Amir, a young boy from Kabul, and his closest childhood friend Hassan living in Afghanistan before the Soviet invasion, and future violence that terrorized once peaceful Afghanistan. Amir is an educated Pashtun and the rich son of a wealthy man. Hassan is an illiterate badly treated Hazara, one of the weakest and poorest ethnicities in Afghanistan, and a servant in the house Amir and Hassan both live in together. Despite the societal difference the two share, the young boys spend day in and day out at each other's side playing together and walking the hill to their favorite tree where Amir reads to Hassan. The two boys also cherish kite running, a popular Afghani tradition in which Hassan especially excels at. Their friendship is inseparable until a traumatic event reveals itself and changes the trajectory of Hassan and Amir's relationship. The trauma, pain, and guilt initiated from this event remains implanted in Amir and shatters his life. The Kite Runner takes the reader along Amir's journey from his young age of 12, filled with guilt and agony, to his adulthood and focuses on his character growth throughout the novel. Narrated by Amir, this novel sets up and follows the two vastly different lives Amir and Hassan grow up to live. While this book was extremely emotionally tolling, this book carries an immense amount of power in the story it illustrates. It tells a beautiful heartbreaking tale and has several moving themes. Hosseini's writing makes this book truly exceptional and adds an extra special layer to this moving story. His characterization in this book is especially strong which helps further strengthen Amir's character development, a crucial factor in the plot of this book which I loved reading. Amir's character is hard to stand at first, but his growth is one worth reading. While this book was written in 2003, I think this book covers a lot of important current-day issues such as societal issues, the rise of the Taliban, being a bystander, and many other serious issues. I highly recommend this book, although I do recommend searching up TW surrounding some of the more serious issues this book brings up. I strongly recommend The kite runner to anyone who enjoys reading more recent historical fiction, and books that remain in your mind for days after finishing them. If you've read A thousand splendid suns, a different novel by Khaled Hosseini, I also highly suggest this novel!