Book Review : Kite Runner

I finished reading Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini about a fortnight ago. To say in one word, the book was spellbinding. Shortly after, I made a note to self nudging myself to write a review on the book.

This has happened quite a few times in the past – I haven’t reviewed even my favorite books or movies often. Lazy me…! The truth is I have never had the patience to gather those thoughts back again to sit down and write a review. Something interesting would come up and soon the thought process would be shifted on those lines. As a matter of fact, I have seen half a dozen movies and am halfway through another book in the mean time. But, here is one book that has made me write a review even after such a long time. Therein lies the first success of the book! :-o)

The first thing that strikes even as you are only a few pages into the book is how well it is written for a first novel. Well, there can be a counter argument that the expectations are low when the author is novice. But, Hosseini has set the bar so high for himself! In fact, when the author describes the rich cultural heritage of the Afghans, I could picture how great the country would have been in those good old days…! As an after thought I exclaimed in Tamil, “Eppadi iruntha ooru, ippadi ayiduchu…” [What a sad end this city has met…].

The theme of the book is nothing new: familial relationships, particularly father and son; the price of disloyalty; the inhumanity of a rigid class system; and the horrific realities of war.

But more than being just a work of fiction, this book is intriguing and makes the reader wonder about the day to day life and sufferings of the people who live in this land. The world, the west in particular has been tricked into the notion that Muslims are terrorists’ notion big time. That is how the media showers its attention at them all the time. And unfortunately, this propaganda has gained so much momentum with most of the terror striking all around the world being linked some Jihadi group or another. But, what happens to the common man in the middle of everything? Does he approve of everything that is happening in his motherland?

It is into this dark area that Hosseini takes us for a ride. I can clearly recognize 4 different classes of people amongst the characters and what has happened to their lives over this period.

1. The wealthy – Amir and his family - who resisted to endorse the Taliban and are now scattered in all parts of the world.
2. The wealthy who tried to cash in at the moment and become the clerics - Aseef and his family. They have now become the face of Afgan and are in the middle of all the atrocities in the country.
3. The Poor – Hazaras (Hassan and family). Even when Kabul was flourishing, these people were treated only as slaves. Think of what would have happened to them in the times of war.
4. The common man – (The Taxi Driver Farid and his family). This is the en-masse whose life has been greatly affected by the military regime.

Although gore and violence is strictly not my cup of tea, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author has captured the culture and heritage of Kabul in great detail and complete contrast. As much as you enjoy the young Amir and Hassan flying kites and playing together in the Winter, it sends nerve wracking signals when he returns back and finds the country shattered. Well, when Peshawar and Karachi which can be regarded in the list of the most violent places on earth seems heaven to these folks, you can imagine the trauma that they go through, isn’t it?

Overall, the book was a simply stunning read and I would recommend it to anyone who hasn’t read it yet.