The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

I just finished reading this incredible book! [Yeah, it's been out for a couple of years; just getting to it thanks to my sister-in-law (a newfound book supplier/fellow junkie!).] And it is not, at first glance, something I thought I'd be writing about in this blog, but, wow!, was it good! And so relevant for the time. Kite Runner gives amazing insight into the culture of Afghanistan over the past four decades along with the political and religious upheaval the citizens of the country have endured (a subject about which I've learned quite a bit over the last 4+ years, but of which I still know so little.). Though not containing a focus on spirituality, this book does raise a number of moral and ethical issues - certainly in the spiritual ball park!!

I would probably lump Kite Runner into historical fiction - though it is VERY recent history as it overs the last four decades of the 20th Century. Primarily set in Afghanistan, the story focuses on the life of Amir, born in the early 1960s, and his relationships with his father (Baba), Hassan (the servant's son, who is about the same age). When he is in his late teens, he and his father, under dark of night and with many bribes, emigrate to the United States, leaving behind the shambles of the country they have known and loved. But for the two of them and the other Afghan refugees, Afghanistan continues to be a vital part of their lives. It is truly an intense culture - full of customs and ritual - that they all keep very close.

The relationship of these three characters is probably best expressed by the author on page 11:
______________________________

Hassan and I fed from the same breasts. We took our first steps on the same lawn in the same yeard. And, under the sames roof, we spoke our first words. Mine was Baba. His was Amir. My name. Looking back on it now, I think the foundation for what happened in the winter of 1975 - and all that followed - was already laid in those first words.
______________________________

And this is so true! Baba is one of those bigger-than-life sort of men - great at everything, strong, athletic, successful. Amir wants, more than anything, to please his father, but, as an almost total opposite - awkward, fearful, bookish - never is able to achieve that goal. Hassan is a friend and companion for Amir - he is totally devoted to him and clings to his every word. Hassan is also a Shi'a, a Hazara, a member of the lowest social and religious class. Though he was truly a friend to Amir, Amir could not, would not acknowledge this fact - espcially publicly, yet not even privately to himself. He just could not find it in himself to say that word, no matter how true he knew it was. This moral dilema is a constant struggle for Amir and leads to the events of 1975 and beyond alluded to in the quote above (not going to tell you anything about them as they are pivotal! Read the book!) - events which totally change the lives of Hassan and his father and leave Amir emotionally scarred for the next 25 years. It is Amir's return to Afghanistan at the request of his father's closest and life-long friend that fully reopens these wounds for Amir and brings about healing for him and, essentially, for Hassan.

The ethical and moral issues abound - racial prejudice, religious bigotry, our relationship and responsibilities to our neighbors (i.e., brothers, sisters, friends, family, with all the etc.), standing up for what is right in tough situations - even in the face of possible death, and I am sure more just not coming to thought right now. Amir faces these - loses, deals with the repercussons, and, at the end, wins. Our actions truly do impact our lives - perhaps not openly, in a physical, for-all-the-world-to-see sort of way - but they do, maybe more than the lives of those who bare the obvious hurt. But there is hope of resolution and healing (always!). The end is sweet and satisfying as Amir reaches for this better goal of resolving his past mistakes. This would make Baba truly pleased with Amir!

I litterally could not put this book down! Except for some crucial points where I was just MAD at Amir (e.g., 1975) and then afraid for him (a few in his trip back t his homeland), the book was always at hand and I zipped through it - and I am an admittedly slow reader! I do hope you will read this book if you haven't. Will love to hear your take on it if you have read it or after you do!