Paper and Glue
Reviewed by Katherine Lee
January 7, 2008
“There’s no such thing as an atheist in a fox hole,” or so the saying goes. The Kite Runner tells a story of an atheist who found God in one of the deadliest fox holes on Earth. Told through the eyes of Amir, the son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, The Kite Runner weaves together numerous themes: faith, prejudice, fear, guilt, and love.
Who knew that a little toy made out of “tissue paper, glue, and bamboo” could bring people together and tear people apart? Kites may not mean much in our American society, but in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, these kites can close chasms between characters and rip friendships apart.
Hassan’s father, Ali, and Amir’s father, Baba, grew up together like brothers. After Ali was orphaned, Baba’s father adopted him and treated him like a son. Decades later, Hassan and Amir share the same brotherhood that their fathers did. Amir and Hassan were both fed from the same breast; both grew up in the same house; both never met their mothers. There’s just one catch; Amir and Baba are Pushtans, and Hassan and Ali are Hazaras in Afghanistan’s ethnically prejudiced society. Can Amir and Hassan be “friends”? Or is Hassan simply Amir’s Hazara servant? The Kite Runner leads us through Amir’s childhood, his battle between societal norms and his friendship with Hassan, his struggle for his father’s love, and his doubts about God.
All this leads up to the winter of 1975 and the kite flying tournament. School ends for the snowy season, and Amir and Hassan get to spend their days training for the tournament. Amir feels that this tournament might be able to melt the ice between his father and himself, perhaps make his father proud of him.
The tournament turns out to give Amir more than he bargained for. One friendship in exchange for another.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan is changing. The monarchy is overthrown. The Taliban takes power. Amir and his father escape to Pakistan, and from there, to the United States. In America, Amir and his father find refuge from their past sins, but in the end, Amir finds that though he can run, he cannot hide from his guilt for what happened the winter of 1975. His past returns to bring him back to Afghanistan, back to Kabul, and back to the people he left. There, Amir finally finds redemption, God, and peace.
The Kite Runner made a lasting impression on me, and I would recommend it to anyone. In many ways it shocked me to learn that such racial prejudice still exists in the world, yet I appreciate how Hosseini paints Afghanistan just the way it is. His use of irony and suspense thrills the reader, and the characters Hosseini creates are passionate and real.
In many ways, Amir’s father, Baba, reminds me of Ernest Hemingway’s “code hero.” Baba is a strong self-made man, who defies religion when he sees fit and drinks alcohol freely. He faces death many times throughout the novel, yet is never killed by another person. He enjoys earthly pleasures and has an affair. Baba values men of action as opposed to men with words, which is one of the reasons why there was always a rift between Amir and Baba. Amir once overheard Baba complain to his friend, Rahim Khan, that Amir could not stand up for himself, saying “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything.”
The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, is a fascinating book that I believe should be taught in high school. Not many high school students have studied the history, culture, or politics of Afghanistan, and this book truly gives the reader a more open mind. I believe that the book is worth analyzing and discussing for all of the thought put into it.
It’s not everyday that lives are changed over a little toy made out of “tissue paper, glue, and bamboo”; and it’s not everyday that lives are changed over a little book made out of paper, glue, and ink.
For another perspective on The Kite Runner, see Navneet’s or Raheem’s review.
