The Kite Runner
Author: Khaled HosseiniFirst published in: 2003
Slader Book Club Says:
We're still reading this book. Maybe we'll like it, maybe we won't, but rest assured, we'll have something to say.
Because The Kite Runner has been on the New York Times bestseller list for more than 189 weeks!
The Kite Runner tells a beautiful and heartbreaking story that is simply put, unforgettable. In terms of language, this novel is an easy read, although the material can be pretty heavy at times, so it is definitely not meant for the faint of heart!
In Afghanistan, there is a tradition of kite-fighting tournaments. Children fly their kites in the air with their spools of glass string, and try to cut each other’s kites down, and the kite runners run in search of these falling kites. Khaled Hosseini makes great use of this tradition in his novel, as evident by his title, The Kite Runner, and he uses kite-fighting to bookend two of the most important scenes in his novel: one of these scenes is in the streets of Afghanistan and the other scene is twenty-six years later in a park in San Francisco.
This novel follows Amir's journey to adulthood, as he encounters guilt, war, poverty, love, and betrayal. One of the most important things that Amir learns is the necessity of finding redemption and making peace with oneself for as he says, "Afghans like to say: Life goes on, unmindful of beginning, end … crisis or catharsis, moving forward like a slow, dusty caravan" (357). Since life moves forward, one must learn to face and confront their demons, so that they too can move forward.
The Kite runner is an excelent novel by Mr Khaled. This title of the novel represents a class of people in the society which exists not only in Afganistan but in each and every countyr. Children fly their kites in the air with their spools of glass string, and try to cut each other’s kites down, and the kite runners are those who run in search of these falling kites. While other childrens are busy trying to fly their kites higher than others kite runners will be searching for kites so they can see their own kites dancing in the wind . This signifies how the loss of one is gain of other. kite runners are those people who are dependent on others to fulfill their dreams . The book pictures the culture of Afganistan , but tells a story which can not be bound by telling its about one country.