“For you, a thousand times over” – the assurance given by Hassan to Amir symbolizes the book – The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini. Hassan, a hazara (low caste) childhood playmate of Amir and his father serve Amir’s family based in Peshawar. Hassan is always willing to consecrate his entire being on Amir. Amir grew up with his baba and did not have the strength of character as his baba would want. He would throw up due to motion sickness and lacked natural toughness. To gain respect in front of baba’s eyes, Amir tries to win a kite flying competition. He manages to win the kite flying competition but loses the biggest thing – self-respect. Hassan gets sodomized by a bully Assef as he runs to get a kite for Amir who turns his back to Hassan. Amir lives with the guilt of deceitfulness through his life for lack of courage.Amir and his baba flee to US for a comfortable life, as political unrest engulfs Afghanistan. Amir gets married to an Afghani girl Soraya before baba’s cancer stops his wanderings on earth. Years after, Amir’s guilt takes him back to Afghanistan where he faces the utter truth that Hassan was related to Amir as brother. He further gets to know that Hassan has passed away in an atrocity by the Taliban who usurped the rein of the country and Hassan’s son Sohrab is living in an orphanage where the caretaker is trading children to run the expenses. Amir determines to overcome his guilt by safeguarding Sohrab. But, as the luck would have it, Amir runs into Assef again who is now a part of the Taliban and has the custody of Sohrab. They both engage in a duel when eventually Sohrab uses his slingshot to poke out one eye of Assef. Amir eventually takes Sohrab back to US with him.
Verdict: The Kite Runner is a brutal story of a lifetime spend in difficulties, but a happy ending. Apart from occasional mullah naseeruddin jokes, its a serious read but keeps the reader glued to the book due to the interesting plot.
