Book 23 The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini fulfilled the “Book that is a bildungsroman” category for the PopSugar 2020 Reading Challenge. A bildungsroman is a coming-of-age book. It focuses on the spiritual, moral, and/or psychological growth of a person. The Kite Runner is an excellent example of this genre.

The novel takes place in Afghanistan in the late 1970s. Many cultural and sociological factors play into the book, creating greater conflict. Amir, our protagonist, is a young man of a wealthy family. He and his father live in a nice house with two servants. Hassan, the younger servant, is about the same age as Amir, and they are inseparable. As they get older, their social status drives them apart.

The inciting event of the novel happens when Amir witnesses a horrific act against his servant and best friend. Amir cannot process the horror. He fails to put himself in his friend’s place. He uses all the excuses of a young child trying to grasp something he does not understand. To his discredit, he shames his friend and then tries to drive the boy and his father away. Here is the low point where Amir starts his journey of redemption.

I had a hard time with this book. The topic was difficult but relevant. Bullying, racism (of a type), and classism are all topics applicable today and especially in June 2020. The author did an excellent job explaining the culture of Afghanistan, the political situation, and the socio-economic dynamics. He brilliantly wove together these elements to give us the entire picture. Even those of us culturally ignorant of most things Afghani (me) understood. I’m glad I listened to the audio, read by the author. It gave an even deeper understanding to hear him tell the tale.

But the bullying, the violent acts against the repressed classes, and the political upheaval were not the things that stayed with me the most. They marked me, educated me, and gave me a new perspective about the universe. But it was Amir’s failure to act and his subsequent horrific behavior that will make me remember this story for a long time.

I understood how it was hard for Amir to help Hassan when he was attacked. But Amir’s actions afterward made me hate him. Really hate him. I considered not finishing the book. His friend had been assaulted and not only did Amir turn his back, not comfort his friend, he outright rejected the boy after years of friendship. Amir could not do enough to redeem himself after that, in my opinion.

The rest of the book shows Amir working to survive, life, and recover from all he’d been through. He tried to make up for what he had done as a child. (Yes, I know he was a kid, but dammit, he should have known better.) I don’t feel he redeemed himself as a character. I still don’t like him, don’t sympathize with him, and don’t care what happened to him.

Redemption is a tough storyline. Did Amir grow and change over the book to be a better person? Kinda. Others may believe he completed the great journey. I don’t. Sometimes the sins are too deep. For all the beauty of the descriptions in the novel, for all I learned about Afghanistan and their culture, I never forgave Amir.

     With that, I give The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini only Three Fighting Kites.