The Kite Runner

I probably wouldn't have read "The Kite Runner," if it hadn't been my book club's selection of the month. However, one of the reasons I joined a book club is to step out of my comfort zone. It isn't just about the wine, people. We really do talk about the book, for awhile.

In all fairness to, Khaled Hosseini, the author, he weaves a great tale. "The Kite Runner," is a story of friendship, devotion, loyalty and of course, the opposite of those things, abandonment and betrayal.

But ultimately, it's a story about forgiveness, redemption, and telling the truth. How speaking the truth, truly does set a person free, even though it doesn't change the tragic course of events that transpire.

That being said the backdrop for the story takes place, first, in pre-Taliban Afghanistan. The main character, Amir, eventually flees his lavish life in his homeland, for the United States. He returns to a war torn Afghanistan, 20 years later, to face the ghosts of his past. His homeland, has been raped, plundered and pillaged by the Taliban. Afghanistan had become a country "full of children, without a childhood."

In Afghanistan, children are left fatherless because their fathers have been murdered. Mothers, who aren't allowed to work, are often forced to turn their children over to orphanages, because they cannot provide for their children.

Yes, it's a story that shows both the capacity of humans for cruelty, juxtaposed against our capacity for compassion, loyalty, healing and forgiveness.

"The Kite Runner," is a powerful, tragic story. It was a hard read for me, but one I will never forget.


I heard the book is better than the movie.