City News

What is the biggest sacrifice that you have ever made? Who do you think of when you hear the word betrayal? Who have you left behind in your childhood? These questions all are pertinent to the story of The Kite Runner. This story is written by Khaled Hosseni about the story of Amir and Hassan who are the closest of friends, just like brothers. Amir is the son of a local rich man, while Hassan is the son of the household’s servant. The town that they lived in was called Kabulm the capital of Afghanistan. The beginning of the story starts before the war broke out and reigned devastation upon multiple families. In this town every year, there is a yearly kite competition. Kids would come out and chase the kites in the sky, thus the title of the story. Amir hopes to win this competition in attempts to garner his father’s love. Hassan is devoted to helping Amir. Sadly, in the process something devastating happens to him. Amir witnesses this situation. But in the whir of the moment Amir turns from his friend in order to bring the award winning kite to his father. Through the corner of his eyes, Hassan witnesses his friend abandoning him. The whole neighborhood is celebrating Amir’s win and his father finally recognizes him.While all of this is happening, Hassan is hurt both physically and mentally. The betrayal shook both of the young boys and their relationship was never the same. Time passes and the war shakes the nation of Afghanistan. Amir’s father takes his son away to America to be safe, while Hassan stays back. The story of the tangled in the friendship, betrayal, and the redemption of Amir and Hassan continues for years. 

I cried when the story was over. It was not just tears but waves of tears washing down my face. But it was not only cries of tears, but also of happiness. The ending was in a way bittersweet ending from the ups and downs of the plot. There is something more than just the story to takeaway from The Kite Runner. A lesson can be taken away about the concepts of justice and fate. It allows you, as the reader, to ponder these moral lessons. I realized that you really begin to look into your own relationships with your friends and your own actions. The self reflection part that I took away from the story was perhaps the most meaningful. I really hope that other readers were able to do so as well. The rating that I give this book is 9.5 out of 10. The high rating reflects the pure astounding writing. There is also a movie remake of the book that I do recommend to future readers. Even though some elements of the plot are different it is nice to see the characters on the screen. I also think that it can be a way to reflect one more time about the story. The age recommendation that I would place on the book is pg-13. I think that if you read it multiple times in your life, you would be able to find more points of reflection. But there is no extremely inappropriate part of the story that would be unfit for a younger reader. I want to urge the readers to read into the book and not only skim over the plot. 

Checkout The Kite Runner at the Newport Beach Public Library.