I picked up this book because after I finished A Thousand Splendid Suns I could not wait to get my hands on another one of Khaled Hosseini's writings. And once I began it, I fell in love again with Hosseini's modern story telling composed of his beautiful diction and simplistic syntax. This book often appears on the AP Literature free response exam. Now think about this, the Kite Runner was published in 2003. The majority of the books on this exam are from the 1800s or 1900s. No, not this one. 2003. That should tell you how literary acclaimed this book is. I simply can not praise it enough. When I go back and think about the events in the book I am at a loss for words. I cannot do this book justice.
This book is set in Afghanistan during the time period the Taliban ruled. Ultimately, this novel tells the tale of two boyhood friends who grew up together. One was a servant, the other the servant's master. They shared a bond that could not be broken. The story is told from the view point of Amir, the master of the servant. Naturally, one would think that it would be hard for the boys to have such a special friendship due to the fact that their societal statuses are at complete different ends of the spectrum. It would also be easy to assume that Hassan, the servant to Amir would be jealous towards Amir's extravagant life. However, it is the other way around. Amir never says he is jealous, but it is inferred through his dynamic character.
Anyway, Hassan always seems to be sticking up for Amir. He often says for you Amir, "a thousand times over." Until one day when Amir witnesses something being done to Hassan that is detestable, but Amir does not swoop in and try to save Hassan. Here, the guilt sets in. Amir becomes an insomniac. He has this huge surge of guilt for a friend that was so loyal to him and he could not even step in and stand up for Hassan who has always been there for Amir. This causes a life of guilt. Until Amir learns how to be good again. There is always a way to be good again. This story is not about being a "perfect" person because no one is perfect and no one is good 24 hours a day, seven says a week, 52 weeks out of the year. This story is about loyalty to true friends, how special bonds are never broken no matter the distance between them, and how no matter the circumstances, there is a way to be good again. You just have to find it.
Some of my favorite quotes from The Kite Runner :
“There is a way to be good again...”
― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
"Not a word passes between us, not because we have nothing to say, but because we don't have to say anything”
― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
“I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975. I remember the precise moment, crouching behind a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek. That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years.”
― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
“And this is what I want you to understand, that good, real good, was born out of your father's remorse. Sometimes, I thing everything he did, feeding the poor on the streets, building the orphanage, giving money to friends in need, it was all his way of redeeming himself. And that, I believe, is what true redemption is, Amir jan, when guilt leads to good.”
― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
“He knew I'd seen everything in that alley, that I'd stood there and done nothing. He knew that I'd betrayed him and yet he was rescuing me once again, maybe for the last time. ”
― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
“She said, 'I'm so afraid.' And I said, 'why?,' and she said, 'Because I'm so profoundly happy, Dr. Rasul. Happiness like this is frightening.' I asked her why and she said, 'They only let you be this happy if they're preparing to take something from you.”
― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
“For you, a thousand times over”
― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
This book is set in Afghanistan during the time period the Taliban ruled. Ultimately, this novel tells the tale of two boyhood friends who grew up together. One was a servant, the other the servant's master. They shared a bond that could not be broken. The story is told from the view point of Amir, the master of the servant. Naturally, one would think that it would be hard for the boys to have such a special friendship due to the fact that their societal statuses are at complete different ends of the spectrum. It would also be easy to assume that Hassan, the servant to Amir would be jealous towards Amir's extravagant life. However, it is the other way around. Amir never says he is jealous, but it is inferred through his dynamic character.
Anyway, Hassan always seems to be sticking up for Amir. He often says for you Amir, "a thousand times over." Until one day when Amir witnesses something being done to Hassan that is detestable, but Amir does not swoop in and try to save Hassan. Here, the guilt sets in. Amir becomes an insomniac. He has this huge surge of guilt for a friend that was so loyal to him and he could not even step in and stand up for Hassan who has always been there for Amir. This causes a life of guilt. Until Amir learns how to be good again. There is always a way to be good again. This story is not about being a "perfect" person because no one is perfect and no one is good 24 hours a day, seven says a week, 52 weeks out of the year. This story is about loyalty to true friends, how special bonds are never broken no matter the distance between them, and how no matter the circumstances, there is a way to be good again. You just have to find it.
Some of my favorite quotes from The Kite Runner :
“There is a way to be good again...”
― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
"Not a word passes between us, not because we have nothing to say, but because we don't have to say anything”
― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
“I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975. I remember the precise moment, crouching behind a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek. That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years.”
― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
“And this is what I want you to understand, that good, real good, was born out of your father's remorse. Sometimes, I thing everything he did, feeding the poor on the streets, building the orphanage, giving money to friends in need, it was all his way of redeeming himself. And that, I believe, is what true redemption is, Amir jan, when guilt leads to good.”
― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
“He knew I'd seen everything in that alley, that I'd stood there and done nothing. He knew that I'd betrayed him and yet he was rescuing me once again, maybe for the last time. ”
― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
“She said, 'I'm so afraid.' And I said, 'why?,' and she said, 'Because I'm so profoundly happy, Dr. Rasul. Happiness like this is frightening.' I asked her why and she said, 'They only let you be this happy if they're preparing to take something from you.”
― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
“For you, a thousand times over”
― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
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