the kite runner :: khaled hosseini

Title: The Kite Runner
Author: Khaled Hosseini
Publisher: Riverhead (Penguin), 2003
Read: September 2009; NYC, Hartford
Format: trade paperback

Nutshell: In a cowardly move, 12-year-old Amir idly watches as his best friend and servant, Hassan, is brutally attacked. Racked with guilt, Amir can no longer face the angelic servant and drives Hassan and his family away. The shame of this two-fold treason haunts Amir's entire life - from his flight from the Afghani revolution to his life as an adult in California’s Bay Area. 20+ years after leaving Afghanistan, he is given the chance to atone. He returns to his homeland, but his path to redemption is not easy. It's unclear whether Amir is brave enough - even in his adulthood - to confront the perilous challenge.

Some thoughts:
- The novel is monotonously melancholic. Despite this, I was still riveted.
- There's an almost spoken quality about the way Amir recounts his story - it almost feels like the words are being read to, and not by, you.
- The sentimentality seems like it's aspiring to be poignant. It can feel a little heavy-handed.
- Amir's conflicted feelings for his father are more believable than the unresolved guilt he has about Hassan. Throughout his life, Amir fears and idolizes his father. He seeks approval and resents the fact that he must earn it. Hosseini does a good job of transferring this confusion onto the reader; I wasn't sure what to make of the father at first.
- I'm not sure what to make of Amir as a character. I feel that the shame that haunts him is a little overdone. I mean, I get that what he did was Not Cool, but he was like 12. His guilt comes off as whiney at times. Yet, at the same time, his love for Hassan is convincing. And, he seems to regret not being a better person. I go back and forth. Maybe that's the point.
- The backdrop of the Russian occupation and Afghani revolution provide rich context, but the political message is limited. Hosseini sets the scene with the gruesome reality of the time, but avoids the pitfall of preachy tangents.

Other thoughts (related to the book):
- I saw this movie on a plane like 3 years ago (I recommend it) so I knew what was going to happen. Obviously, this affected my reading. Still, I hung on the words, so that says something. That said, I think you can choose reading or seeing it. No need for both.
- While reading this, I was also watching HBO’s 2008 mini-series Generation Kill. It was a lot of war (different wars, I realize) to take in one sitting. Anyway, the combination really brought me down and probably tainted my overall experience.

I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about The Kite Runner. Mostly, I really enjoyed it. After all, it's well-written and emotional. But it's the emotion that gives me pause. Is Amir - and consequently the novel - too earnest? Maybe.

Touching, though possibly too sincere:
4 out of 5 stars.