The kite runner

The kite runner is a famous book by the Afghani writer Khaled Hosseini. I am now at page 96 and have a feeling that this is a book I am going to cry a lot over. The reason I am reading this book is because it is a task we have gotten in our English class. Everyone I know who have read the kite runner has only praise for it, so why I haven't read it before is beyond me.

Since it is likely that whoever is reading this has read the book from before, I will say a little bit about what I have read so far. The main character in this book is called Amir. Amir is a boy who loves to read, and would rather do that than go out and play football with the other kids. Amir desperately wants to be acknowledged by his father Baba. Baba is Amir's great hero. Anything he tries succeeds and he is a man of great influence. The relationship between Amir and Baba is not too good. Amir believes that deep down Baba hates him for killing his mother in childbirth. Baba doesn't understand Amir and says that "If I hadn't seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, I'd never believe he's my son." The reason for this is that Amir doesn't stand up for himself and is constantly being pushed around. This is far off from what Baba is used to.

The one who stands up for Amir is Hassan. Hassan has been there for Amir his entire life and is his friend/servant. He is a very kind and pure person, who never lies and is always following one step behind Amir. What draws the line between Amir and Hassan is that Hassan is a Hazara, while Amir is a Pashtun. This means that Hassan is a Sunni Muslim and Amir is a Shi'a Muslim. History and religion is not easily overlooked, so Amir has never really looked at Hassan as a friend.

When Amir is twelve years old his entire world crumbles during a kite tournament. In a kite tournament there are people called kite runners. They try to catch the kites that have been cut down. When Amir wins the tournament, Hassan runs to go catch the last blue kite that has been cut down. It is a great honor to catch the last kite, and Hassan who is a great kite runner wants to catch it for Amir. When Hassan doesn't come back right away Amir runs after him. He finds Hassan together with some bullies and hides while watching Hassan being raped.

That day everything changed for Amir and Hassan. Amir is forced to live with his guilt and he does not take it very well. It goes as far as that he is not capable of being around Hassan, and instead of confessing to his crimes, he decides that both him and Hassan can not continue being in the same house. This ends with Hassan and his father Ali leaving.

This is as far as I have gotten. I am going to have to work on making shorter summaries, but in this book you have to have all the details to truly understand. I will probably write more when I have come further in the book.