A Thousand Times Over!

SIN. SACRIFICE. REDEMPTION. Lots of novels incorporate all of the above. In the context of Khaled Hosseini’s novel, I had to give them capital letters. I wanted to warn you that reading this novel is heart-breaking but that term is not strong enough. It is heart-shattering. The author Khaled Hosseini sweetly enhances the story and sweeps the reader comfortably from the present into the past and into another land far away. The story is about the life of two boys in Afghanistan, and is told through the eyes of Amir and what happened to him throughout in his life because of this bond with his friend in Afghanistan named Hassan. This is not the type of story I would have chosen on purpose. What I mean is, that I usually scan the library for something familiar, more in touch with what I think I would like to read. The Afghanistan of today is not a place I would care to venture my curiousity. But from the eyes of Amir, a child in the Afghanistan of yesterday, this seemed a very special place, the Afghanistan of the past. Many times, I wanted to put the book down and walk away so I would not have to witness what was coming next. In the end, I could not do it. These characters have so much at stake. You can’t just close the book in the middle and leave them where they are with only your bookmark to clutch. Khaled Hosseini creates characters that we can cry for, and cry with, but also gives us a glimpse of a world far from ours. Hosseini doesn’t give you the nightly news account version, nor does he give you a map at the front of the book. He just grabs your hand and takes you into Afghanistan, whether you’re ready to go or not. Hosseini includes small details throughout the novel to make you feel like you are in the streets of Kabul or Peshawar with Amir. The pride in his country and its people shines throughout the story. This story was so captivating, haunting and heartbreaking, I sobbed over many passages and thought I really knew the feelings and situations of these boys. Afghanistan is a character in this book as well as the people but Amir and his family experience as much or more turbulence in their individual lives as the country faces with the Soviet and Taliban occupations. I do not, however, want to give the impression that the entire story is under a veil of tragedy. There are beautiful, bright moments of pure joy and love throughout as well. The first trip into Kabul in the early 1970s is wonderful - be it the description of Amir's palatial abode, the picturesque hill, the pomegranate tree or the engraving on the bark: "Amir and Hassan are the sultans of Kabul". In my mind the author and reader was Amir, and this was his story. I was grateful for the discovery that the story was a work of fiction. Still, I know in a way, it is real. I am completely impressed by this book and I recommend it. The quote on the front cover from The New York Times Book Review simply says: “Powerful… Haunting.” That last word is quite accurate. I finished the book a couple of weeks ago but have not been able to put it out of my mind since then; all the protagonists - from Baba to Sanauber and from Amir to Sohrab, are completely etched on my mind. “Kite Runner” also showed me a span of life, of people in a world today I did not want to know anything about. Now I am changed, by a work of fiction!