Publisher’s
write-up:
‘Afghanistan, 1975: Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the local kite-fighting tournament and his loyal friend Hassan promises to help him. But neither of the boys can foresee what will happen to Hassan that afternoon, an event that it to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realises that one day he must return to Afghanistan under Taliban rule to find the one thing that his new world cannot grant him: redemption.’
This was a book
suggested to me by a friend of mine seven years ago because of my ‘far from
mainstream’ taste. It is also to do with the fact that the story was based out
of Afghanistan, a place that most of us know more through international media
than stories from the locals.
Coming to the
plot, it was about the Afghan past catching up to now successful US based writer,
Amir. He grew up in Kabul before the Soviet invasion, with his father and his
best friend, Hassan, the son of his father’s domestic help, Ali (of Hazara
ethnicity). Unlike the traditional Pashtuns, Amir was more interested in
writing and storytelling. It was Hassan who particularly enjoyed Amir’s stories
as the former was illiterate. Amir’s father was not encouraging of this hobby
but was encouraged by his business partner, Rahim Khan. The big event in Kabul
for young boys was the Kite flying festival – where one flies the kite and the
other retrieves a kite that falls (known as The
Kite Runner) lending the book its
title. While Amir and his father moved to the United States after the Soviet
Invasion, he had left behind a past in Afghanistan which he did not want to be
reminded of, until one day, he is summoned by Rahim Khan to visit him in
Pakistan.
This is the
second book that I am reading from an author with a Pashtun background and
similar to the previous (I am Malala), the book brings out the gradual change
in the society over time. Amir grew up during times of relative peace and his
father while not rejecting religion, rejects fundamentalist notions and
believes ‘mullahs’ to be the biggest threat to peace. At the beginning of the
plot, it was normal for them to watch films in Farsi or Hindi, in Tehran or
Peshawar. However, this eventually changed with time with the Soviet invasion
followed by the Taliban takeover and this change was brought out well and in
detail.
The character of
Amir was interesting, considering he was not the normal superhero protagonist. He had no extraordinary abilities and his
expertise in the kite flying festival was also largely attributed to Hassan. He
is also not someone who faces his problems and prefers to stay away from them
as much as possible. These traits make it difficult for any reader to develop a
particular sympathy for Amir. However, the author was successful in keeping the
reader engaged with Amir till the end of the story.
I also
appreciate the author taking you through different timelines, the plot grows
with Amir; who happens to be growing up when Afghanistan’s fortunes were going
downhill. If the reader is not from South Asia, The Kite Runner is not just an amazing story told to you but also a
book that gives you a glimpse of Afghanistan’s history, the divisions in the
society and the culture at large.
The plot had
however slowed down when Amir and his father moved to the United States and
remains so till one gets to the final third. The final third, while it was
interesting with Amir’s convictions and memories challenged at every moment,
parts of the action sequences could be equated with an Alistair MacLean novel –
unbelievable and sometimes, beyond logic.
There were
instances were Pashto was used for an entire phrase (though the author provided
translations in most cases). Since I speak a closely related language, it was
substantially intelligible but it could have been difficult for other readers,
at times, even annoying.
On the whole, I
would say that The Kite Runner is a
book that I decided to read long ago, but waited for long. Notwithstanding
that, I would say that it was worth the wait – it was a complete package, the
story of a boy growing up, amidst crisis, get of it and then the past comes
back to get you.
Considering
that, I would award the book a rating of nine on ten.
Rating
– 9/10
Have
a nice day,
Andy
Andy
