A review by kimlizzya
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

5.0

Set over a lifetime, The Kite Runner explores how someone’s past can shape, and haunt, the present and how the countries we grow up in stay with us for the rest of our lives. Amir and Hassan, after nursing off the same woman as children, are told they have a bond and though they grow up in different circumstances, one rich one poor, they fulfill that prediction. But once an act of betrayal separates them, one must find his way to redemption.
Khaled Hosseini writes the majority of The Kite Runner in past tense but uses present tense during dramatic moments. It’s a technique that puts the reader in the character’s shoes and is the equivalent of a T.V. show slowing down the film and fading out all surrounding sounds. It often brings focus and power to the scene without becoming cheesy.
Many innocent places and events turn out to have a sinister quality to them in this book. Kite running, a day of fun and celebration, turns into a symbol of mistakes for one character while an orphanage, seemingly benevolent on the outside, sells children for money. Hosseini also returns to these subjects though and puts them back into their original light, further exemplifying this theme of redemption.
Are you interested in the events in Afghanistan? Did you have a rocky relationship with your childhood friend? Or do you just want to cry? All of the above? Then read this book. I didn’t cry, but there’s a good chance you will. This book could be enjoyed by anyone (at the right age) even if you just want to read it for writing style.