The Kite Runner

Author: Khaled Hosseini
Rating: ****

There are two reasons to love this book: A beautifully-told, heart-rending fictional story, and the true background story of the history of Afghanistan from the 1970's to the present day.

Spoilers Ahead:

The story begins in the 1970's with Amir and his friend, Hassan, adolescent boys in Afghanistan. Amir lives a privileged life while Hassan and his father are servants in Amir's household. Their world changes first through a terrible, traumatic incident, and then the Russion invasion of Afghanistan and ensuing decades of war and devastation.

Amir and his father emigrate to the U.S. and lose contact with Hassam. In America, life is very different: Amir's father, a former wealthy businessman, supports the two of them by hard days spent working at a gas station.

The story tells so well the impact of traditions and religion on modern Afghans. Their lives are further complicated and even traumatized by the lifetime secrets eventually revealed.

The book reflects life's reality in the gamut from beauty to horror, and I was pleased the author didn't attempt to tie up all the loose ends perfectly in the end. We are left not knowing some outcomes -- just as it should be, just as it is in life.