Dear Students in Todd Seale’s Class,Hello!
Thank you for an opportunity to recommend a book to you that I read several years ago, but which left a lasting and indelible impression on me. The Kite Runner offers readers a glimpse into a world of pain, hope, friendship, family loyalty and Middle East trauma that I would never have known otherwise. I highly recommend it.
Before reading this novel I knew only headline news about the situation in Afghanistan currently or back in the 1980’s. In other words, I knew very little. Yet the novel, without alienating me for lack of historic knowledge, offers a window through which to view a world in tumult. At the center of this world is Amir, the protagonist and narrator of the novel. We follow Amir through his childhood in Afghanistan, where he spends his days with a bestfriend Hassan, the son of his father’s servant.
The two boys “kite fight” together and Hassan knows where the kite will land without even seeing it. Eventually Hassan follows a fallen kite to a place where he is brutally attacked by boys from Amir’s economic and social class. Amir witnesses Hassan’s victimization but does nothing to stop it. The scene forms an early turning point in the book, as Amir’s ensuing guilt and pain follow him for the rest of his life as he seeks atonement for not helping his friend.
Though The Kite Runner challenges readers to make sense of complex emotions and competing loyalties among characters, it never feels forced or inconsistent. We relate to Amir’s guilt and pain. We understand the complexities of his friendship with Hassan and his need to please and reject his demanding father. At its core The Kite Runner is about love, real, honest, hopeful, painful, redemptive love. I highly recommend you pick up a copy.
Happy Reading!
LucyLines
