The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

           What a horribly fascinating book. It has been quite a long time since I have read a novel in which the main character has real problems and defects within himself, not outside.  Most books out there, especially fiction, but other genera too, make the main characters so that they can do no wrong. Sure, they may make a wrong choice, but there is always an excuse that saves them from being bad. Amir, on the other hand, is given a choice, but fails (literally) miserably, which haunts him the rest of his life.

            What I really admire about the story is how Hosseini lures one into feeling for Amir. The perfectly timed phrases, like the reoccurring “a thousand times over,” bring memories of other characters, which in turn brings a sense of reality to the reader. Then there are the memories themselves, which collectively reveal the true nature of all the characters within the book. Finally, the descriptive nature of Hosseini’s style brings all the events into clear focus, moving the reality up one more notch, almost but-not-quite to sureality.

            The only thing that I found that I disliked was the lessening realism toward the end. Everything was flowing smoothly (as in it made sense, not that the events were smooth) until (spoiler alert!) Sohrab attempts suicide. From there, the main characters no longer seem as true within their nature. Sohrab, for example, goes from being able to take care of himself (nailing a thug in the eye) to a wisp of a person. To me, if this was how Sohrab responded to the orphanage news, then he would have committed suicide far earlier, at least when Assef got his hands on him. At first Sohrab is strong, but overnight becomes weak.

            On the whole I greatly…experienced (enjoy would not work for it was not full of joy, but pain and redemption) this book and would suggest it to anyone else for its richness in style and culture.