Book Review: The Kite Runner

Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2003), 371 pp.
Reviewed by Carleen Rodriquez, Los Osos High School, Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

The fictional novel, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini brings to the readers' attentions the effects of a strong friendship between two boys living in Kabul, Afghanistan in the 1980's. The author uses great amounts of detail and descriptive diction in order to portray the characters' lives to the audience and create a greater general effect by appealing to the reader's senses by describing the surroundings and what life was like living in Kabul. Although the author finds inspiration in structures and figures that he remembers while growing up in Kabul, he doesn't describe the city and his experiences while living there directly through the two boys, but instead takes parts and puts a twist on them to make the setting more original. The two boys, Amir, a wealthy, upper-class kid growing up with his dad, and Hassan, one of their servants at home, grow up together and learn from each others ways. While living in a harsh town, where people are competitive with each other and friendships may be difficult to find, the city adds to the plot of the story by proving the importance of close bonds with friends in order to learn from life in Kabul; without friends, the area would be more dangerous to live. However, although much of Afghanistan is not as lucky to be as wealthy as Amir's father, the amount of money someone has plays an important role in a person's social status, as the lower class people tended to hold on to their morals and value of respect tighter. The novel is greatly influenced by the value of money and how much is able to get people the level of respect they desire, also the difference between the personalities of the wealthy compared to the lower socio-economic classes.

Although Hosseini seems to make the novel seem somewhat realistic as the boys grow up together in Afghanistan, there are some aspects of the story that seem to be hyperbolic or a little too extreme to be unbelievable. The problems in society, such as criminal activity and financial conflicts amongst the people seem truly believable, however, when the author sometimes over-exaggerates events like Amir's father having so much more money than the average citizen of Kabul, as he traveled in his fancy cars and often went out to see movies compared to lower social class workers, he is treated like a man with all the answers to their questions. Furthermore, the economic competition and the aggressive battles amongst the people do seem plausible because in society there always seems to be some form of competition occuring. The author completely relies on coincidence up to a part in the story when Amir, as an adult living in San Francisco, California, hears word about his childhood friend Hassan still living in Afghanistan, has a child that had been abducted by talibans. The author creates small coincidences throughout the plot to propel it forward, such as cutting the strings on kites, the way the two boys separate and meet up with each other in casual ways, and even the role played by the young, neighborhood bully, that seem to allow the story to move forward.

The diction and ironic situations the author, Khaled Hosseini, creates while Amir and Hassan go on their adventures throughout Kabul, propel the story forward and continues to increase the interest of the audience to a climatic point. The descriptive scenes and specific details that the author shares prove that the story is fiction, however, nonetheless, they do add to the story's plot and continue the escalating excitement to know how the novel concludes.

What I Read Mattered

                Little did I know, my sophomore year in Mrs. Salvadore’s Honors English class was that I was going to read a novel that I truly enjoyed, and the best part was that it counted for a grade. As a class, we were reading The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, and although at the time I had firmly believed that reading check quizzes were a tedious way of making sure the students were keeping up every week with the scheduled chapters, reading a novel that I thought interested me, had me liking the class and the topics we were discussing as a group a lot more.

Many students realize that sophomore year is usually a time when they are exhausted of testing and school work after the wide variety of standardized tests they take throughout the year. However, after reading Steinbeck’s novel, I came to realize that the school year may have seemed like it was passing by slowly, but conveniently, my curiosity in the history behind the story about the effects of capitalism, the 1920’s Great Depression in the United States and the significance of the Dustbowl in the mid-western states kept my interests alive. I became more aggressive with my reading habits while reading The Grapes of Wrath, eventually elevating my grade In Salvadore’s class and helped the weeks in the school year proceed a little faster. In order to pass the time when I wasn’t occupied with class work, I would take out the novel and read in my other classes as well. I became more willing to read for my English classes over the years, as well as more diligent and productive with my time, in hopes to read another novel that would peak my interests in a way that I wasn’t left bored with a grade that was slowly decreasing.

After reading Steinbeck’s novel, I found myself paying more attention to descriptive details and references in the way I write as well as in the styles of other authors. Steinbeck used a great deal of creative words that seemed to flow into long sentences and made even the more simple objects, such as a glass vase, a more intriguing piece of work to look at, rather than its conveniences acting as ordinary. Like any novel, The Grapes of Wrath did have its moments when the chapters were really moving at a slow pace, however that forced me to pay closer attention to the author’s diction and comparisons. If I knew Steinbeck personally, I would say he was quite the gentleman with a way of words. It was unexpected that I would have truly enjoyed reading this novel, because of its length and simple cover, but I suppose that’s why the saying goes, “never judge a book by its cover”.

The Kite Runner

I recently started reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, a novel about the bond between two boys and their adventures together while growing up in Afghanistan. The story begins with the narrator, Amir, one of the boys as an adult living in San Francisco, sharing and reminiscing about his childhood living in the Middle East with a boy named Hassan, as Amir's father kept Hassan's father as a servant to take care of the house. The novel shows the importance of family, and the limits a person will push themselves to go in order to help their family members. Honor, pride, humility, and respect, are all important factors of family, and I'm curious if those factors hold greater meaning more so in other countries than the United States? In Afghanistan, Hassan, as a young servant, acts brotherly toward Amir, and helps him to learn the benefits of patience and how words can hold such a powerful meaning. Hassan's loyalty as a friend helps rescue Amir as the local neighborhood bullies instigate fights with them, and he helps to protect his friend. However, I wonder if the importance of family plays a greater role in lower social classes than in higher social classes? The amount of money a family has must come into effect with the opinion on the limits of how far a bond can stretch...whether or not money can buy families protection? Or is the family is strong enough, both physically and mentally, to protect each other? Amir's father is wealthy and well known throughout the city they live in, and having a great many friends, he is capable of doing almost anything for his family and home. He would buy himself cars, his son toys to play with, and he would also treat Hassan and his father with gifts and comforts that the average servant did not experience in Afghanistan. While reading this novel, I continue to grow curious in how loyalty to family has changed over the years, and how other countries perceive the idea of family.

The Age of Innocence

As I continue reading through "The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton, a nineteenth century novel about a power couple in upper class New York facing the pressures and expectations of society in the late 1800's, I realize how similar the social elements in that of two centuries ago are similar to those of today. May Welland and Newland Archer are engaged while living in New York, experiencing the high standards that society holds them up to in order to look presentable and better than the average person so that egos would be crushed and people wouldn't gossip. Image appears to be everything for the upper class families. The couple experience drama throughout the novel centered around how important their relationship is and how well the families would look, I'm currently reading about how they're announcing the big event to their friends and relatives, and how the two are trying to make everything according to perfection.

Although the story takes place more than two hundred years ago, the same societal rules still apply to present day. Each day at school, students are urged to look and act their best, or even differently than they're used to in order to attract people towards them. However, that is not always the case, there are some students prove to themselves and their peers that image isn't everything, and comfort is more of a preference for them. While reading the novel, I was reminded of a quote from the movie "Easy A", when the main character says, "People either blend in, or decide not to care." Although most people choose to care about their presence in front of others, I've learned that it's also important to pay attention to personal feelings and if I am okay with what I surround myself with.

As Archer and May spend their days in New York as a couple passing the days lovestruck, I'm curious to read what happens next in this dramatic novel.