The Kite Runner is a heart wrenching story of friendship, betrayal, guilt and redemption between two boys Amir and Hassan from Afghanistan. Amir is a wealthy Pashtun, and Hassan, his servant, is a Hazara . The story revolves around Amir who is haunted by the guilt of betraying his childhood friend Hassan. Amir's close friendship and lifelong shame is at the heart of the book. It is a relationship that haunts Amir from Kabul to California, where Amir and his father move after the Soviets invade Afghanistan. When Amir receives a call from his father's business partner Rahim Khan, he sees it as a chance to redeem himself from the secrets that have always shadowed his mind.
The story clearly shows Amir’s privileged child hood where he is the kite fighter who rules the skies while his kite-running partner Hasan races down streets to own all their opponents' unmoored, sinking trophies. Towards the end of the novel when Amir leaves to Kabul in search of Hassan's lost son, the contrast with his sheltered kite-flying youth could scarcely be more pronounced. The book shows how Amir, who grew up being served, had learned how to serve others. He knew that the mistakes he made in the past had been forgiven, and that allows him to be able to forgive himself.
Another interesting point to note is that Amir felt ashamed that he did not stand up for his friend Hasan but in order not to be constantly reminded of his shameful act, he further wrongs him by falsely blaming him for a theft! Call it child psychology, hunger for his father’s love or plain jealousy ( as his father seems to like Hasan more than Amir) but it does give you an insight into the workings of human psychology! The book also brings to light the rich culture and history of Afghan and the oppression of the Hazaras by the Pashtun and then in the hands of the Taliban.
To sum up my experience reading this book, i could feel every emotion that Amir and Hassan experienced as my personal experience. The decisions that each of them had to make, I felt that I had to make. This is especially true for the character of Amir, as the story has been narated from his point of view. I could literally feel every emotion that he described.
Kite runner makes you search yourself, and ask yourself what kind of person you are? Would you do the same in Amir or Hassan's place?
And finally the line ‘For you a thousand times over’ … sigh, read it u will know what I mean!
Update did some research on Hazaras :
Hazāras are people residing in the central region of Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They are predominantly Shia Muslims and are said to have Mongolian descent. They are found in large numbers in neighboring Iran, primarily as refugees, and as diaspora around the world.
In their modern history, Hazaras have faced several wars and forced displacements. Since the beginnings of modern Afghanistan in the mid 18th century, Hazaras have faced persecution from the Pashtuns and have been forced to flee from many parts of today's Afghanistan to Hazarajat.
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, an international coalition intervened in Afghanistan and removed the Taliban from power and effectively saved the Hazaras from ethnic cleansing at the hands of the Taliban. Since then, the situation for Hazaras in Afghanistan has changed but how much …?
