'Kite Runner' an engaging tale of old Kabul

By Diane Struzzi
Hartford (Conn.) Courant

"The Kite Runner," by Khaled Hosseini; Riverhead Books, hardback, $24.95 The Honolulu Advertiser Book Club Good-Read Guide This month's selection: "Middle Son" by Deborah Iida; Berkley, paper, $12.95 Next book to be announced: July 6 To post a comment or read others' comments: Go to "Talk Back" link on www.honoluluadvertiser.com To suggest a book: Go to "Talk Back" link on www.honoluluadvertiser.com. Write a mini-review of the book, or just a paragraph or two offering your reasons for suggesting it. That way, even if we don't choose the title, others can take your suggestion. If you aren't on the Web, write: Wanda Adams, The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802, or fax 525-8055. Listen: To the "Sandwich Islands Literary Circle" at 9:30 tonight, KHPR 88.1 FM, KKUA 90.7 FM Maui, KANO 91.1 FM Hilo; or hear the program online, starting tomorrow.

But "The Kite Runner," Hosseini's first novel, is more than just good writing. It is also a wonderfully conjured story that offers a glimpse into an Afghanistan most Americans have never seen and depicts a side of humanity rarely revealed.

The reader first meets the main character and narrator, Amir, in the opening chapter, as he remembers his childhood in 1970s Kabul and hints at a life-changing moment that has taunted him since boyhood. The tactic of beginning at the end and looking back could have been trite, but not in "The Kite Runner," where Amir's musings leave the reader wanting more.

Amir is a boy who craves his father's love and is also molded by his connection to another boy, Hassan. Through Amir and Hassan, we learn about the legacy of transgressions and the selfish actions that can destroy relationships.

But what saves Hosseini's novel from becoming a mere tale of right and wrong is Amir, a man whose emotional journey inspires the plot. We relate to Amir as a self-centered little boy — and later as a soul-searching adult — because he never stops learning about himself and his tether to the past. Although it is the past that has created Amir's burden, it also provides him a road to redemption.

The author, who was born in Afghanistan and whose family found political asylum in the United States, uses the explosive and rich history of his native country as a backdrop for his sweeping story. The reader discovers not the bleak country that Americans came to know after 9-11, but a place where traditions are cherished, parents worry about their children and boys look forward to flying kites.

The novel's title is a reference to the boys who would run after kites during kite-flying tournaments, intense competitions that Hosseini calls a winter pastime in Kabul.

The games of childhood shift dramatically for Amir, along with the volatile political climate of Afghanistan. Hosseini deftly weaves historical elements into the story, describing the cultural death of Kabul through the eyes of Amir.

Amir and his father flee their home in an affluent neighborhood, make their way to Pakistan and eventually settle in the United States. Yet even as Amir finds a new life, he still carries a searing memory from his homeland and finally tests himself to face it.

Amir is the voice in all of us that warns us to stay safe and protected rather than venture out. But he is also an example of what happens when we don't listen to that voice and go with our gut.

There are many reasons to read "The Kite Runner," but above all it offers a chance to revel in the art of good storytelling and to peer into the heart of a young boy and discover how he becomes a man.