2 juli, 2016
The Kite Runner *****
Posted in : Reviews in english on by : Lotte Tags: 5 stars, Afghanistan, Kabul, Khaled Hosseini, The kite runner
“There are a lot of children in Afghanistan, but little childhood.”
This is the first book by Khaled Hosseini, a MD and very gifted writer, born in Afghanistan and now living in the US.
Amir is the son of a wealthy Kabul merchant, a member of the ruling caste of Pashtuns. Hassan, his servant and constant companion, is a Hazara, a despised and impoverished caste. Their uncommon bond is torn by Amir’s choice to abandon his friend amidst the increasing ethnic, religious, and political tensions of the dying years of the Afghan monarchy, wrenching them far apart. But so strong is the bond between the two boys that Amir journeys back to a distant world, to try to right past wrongs against the only true friend he ever had.
The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption; and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.
A sweeping story of family, love, and friendship told against the devastating backdrop of the history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful novel that has become a beloved, one-of-a-kind classic. (Goodreads).
Now, this is not a book I would recommend to everyone, but if you are ready to read something full of substance and maybe a few lessons to be learned, then this is for you.
Amir and Hassan are friends until the tensions of Afghanistan i 1975 makes Amir take a choice, that will impact the rest of his life. This choice really shapes Amir’s journey from Afghanistan to the US and his constant hunt for redemption.
Khaled Hosseini writes in a way that makes you feel like you are in the middle of Kabul before the country and the people are torn apart in political conflict and ethnic struggles. This book really takes you to another place and time.
You will go through a range of feelings as the story unfolds and you will feel so sad about this beautiful country and the people in it, who all fell victims of the development of the middle east in the 1970’s.