A review by afroheaux
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Like a lot of people, I first read this book in high school and I don't think I fully appreciated it at the time. I was caught up in the wind of my own traumas and had better things to do than to read a book for class. However, after reading a Thousand Splendid Suns again, I wanted to check out more of Hosseini's books, so I went back to the beginning. And wow, did this book rock me.

One thing I love about Hosseini's books is how honest he is about trauma and how it manifests in your life. The pain is so palpable that sometimes I had to put the book down, overwhelmed by the amount of emotion being threaded into the page. It carries a weight in your heart that's not easily dislodged. The choices that Amir makes throughout the book will leave you aggravated.
His treatment of Hassan throughout their children is despicable and I'm not even referencing their shared trauma of the gang rape. I understand that he felt lesser to Hassan because he felt like Hassan should've been where he stood. That was no excuse to take out his pain on him. Throughout the book he references how he snaps at him or does something nasty towards and he's like, "But Hassan always understood." The cruelty he showed towards him so that he could get rid of his own feelings of inadequacy pissed me off. Amir saw the kindness in which his father gained people's respect. How could he not do the same with his own best friend? The one who did everything for him? He was his personal assistant and maid wrapped under the guise of a best friend and he couldn't at least treat him with dignity? That's my only complaint about the book. Amir was just a little bit too self involved sometimes, but he's human, as we all are, so I can't blame him for that necessarily, but it was annoying to read someone berate someone who loved them so. 


The poison does drip through and affects its victims in different ways. The relationship at the heart of the book, Amir & Hassan, is such a beautiful portrayal of love between men in a platonic way that surpasses what is traditionally allowed in American contexts and it's incredible to watch. Hosseini does a wonderful job of transporting you into the streets of Afghanistan prior to the revolution that kicked off a series of war crimes and misfortunes that tore apart a country with a rich history and culture. He gives humanity to a section of the world that many have cast aside as filled with murderous religious extremists which is an ignorant oversimplification and bigoted statement. Reading his works have made me interested in the history of the region at that time and why the Middle East turned into a battleground for Western interests.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings