Kite Runner

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini Review                   A lot has happened in Afghanistan over the past fifty years.  It has changed hands several times.  A King, The Soviets.  The Talliban.  And others in-between.  This is not that story.  It is the story of a boy growing up and becoming a man during this time and with the political landscape of Afghanistan in the background.                 Amir is a Pashtun, the favored clan in Afghanistan, and his father is quite wealthy.  They employ a servant and his son who are Hazaras, the often mistreated cultural minority.  The various takeovers of Afghanistan play a role in triggering events, but the story is really about Amir, about his relationship with his father, and primarily his relationship with Hassan, the Hazara boy who lives with them because his father is their servant.                  It is a very character driven story, a story of humanity in all of its sinfulness.  But most of all it is a story of redemption.  "There is a way to be good again."  One of the characters says to Amir.  And that is what Amir must do.  As a boy, he didn't always treat Hassan very well, and a particularly tragic incident in which Amir betrayed Hassan led to a strain in their friendship, and Amir conspiring to get him and his father kicked out of their house.  Many years later, Amir, who is living in America now, must return to Afghanistan to find a way to redeem himself for everything he did.                 The book is written in first person, and at times it felt like reading someone's autobiography.  It felt very real, like it could be a true story.  It was only those times, necessary in fiction, when a strange coincidence or contrived event doesn't seem so because it was properly set up and foreshadowed, that it didn't seem like a true story.                 One thing I was impressed by was the fact that the author weaves historical and cultural information about Afghanistan into the narrative without being heavy handed.  Although it contains a plethora of information about Afghanistan, it is all relevant to the characters, the story, and the particular scenes in which it is disseminated.                 There was one plot device that the author employed that I wasn't sure about.  In some of the most intense scenes right before the intense action is about to happen, the author would present memories, flashbacks to events that the point of view character found relevant to what is currently happening.  You can decide for yourself, but in this case I think it actually worked.  Rather than detract from the impact of the scene, I think it increased it.                 Another thing I'm on the fence on is the fact that the point of view character is a writer.  My first impulse is to declare this a cop out, to accuse the author of making his protagonist a writer because that is what he knows and it will be easy.  But in this case, again, I think it works.  His occupation is woven into the narrative so well that if it was changed, it would be a completely different story.                 If you enjoy first person drama, if you like stories of fall and redemption, and if you want to learn a few things about a country where  thousands of American troops are fighting right now, then you should read this book. ____________________________ Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum, Paul A. Myers