The Kite Runner - A Beautiful, Wounded Smile

There are stories that remain with me weeks after I've read them, haunting me, as it were. The Kite Runner is one of such.

Amir grows up in an Afghanistan of the 70's alongside his childhood friend Hassan, who is the son to his father's servant. They fire slingshots at unsuspecting victims and sit in the shade of a pomegranate tree, where Amir reads stories to the illiterate Hassan from a book of old Persian tales. And in the winter, they fly and run kites on the streets of Kabul. Yet, one seemingly auspicious winter brings with it victory that ends up being completely overshadowed by a life-shattering event. It scars Amir for life and haunts him until, years later, a phone call from an old friend presents Amir with a chance to redeem himself.

'There is a way to be good again.'

This is a heartwrenching story, full of the kind of pain that 'hurts good.' Hosseini writes with the poise of an ancient Persian poet, and his prose and descriptions come in dainty morsels of a choice and stately meal. For instance, he chooses these words to describe our hero's encounter with a 'slim-hipped beauty': 'She had thick black eyebrows that touched in the middle like the arched wings of a flying bird...Her eyes, walnut brown and shaded by fanned eyelashes, met mine. Held for a moment. Flew away.'

What remains with me till now, and perhaps for a long time to come, is the description of the relationship between Amir and Hassan, as well as the angelic character of Hassan. It is something so beautiful, almost holy, meant to be preserved and cherished. But it is abused,ravaged. And such blatant injustice, for me, is what gives heart and soul to The Kite Runner. Perhaps the same is true of all the real-life injustices that enrage our hearts. In a sense, they help us rediscover our humanity and help us to feel the pain and sorrow of others, give us a voice to speak out on behalf of those who have no voice - because they are injustices characterised by one essential thing, which is the desecration of humanity.

Hosseini clearly has a deep love for his homeland. It shows in his writing, which truly is an expression of who he is. From his style, to his subject matter, to his content. There may be Afghans out there that consider him a non-Afghan, 'a tourist in his own country', as someone describes Amir in the book. But it is only too evident that a man who can write about his homeland with such passion and honesty after being away from it for so long is one that carries a great piece of that homeland with him wherever he goes. Khaled Hosseini, in my opinion, is an Afghan in the truest sense, fighting the good fight in the best way he knows how.

The generosity of this story more than makes up for its two or three unlikely coincidences, which may or may not bother you as a reader. Personally, I have chosen to overlook them.

The Kite Runner is a new addition to my list of favourites. The story of a deeply wounded heart. A heart that smiles nonetheless.