This is the first novel by Khaled Hosseini, and I’d describe it as stunning. And I actually mean stunning – I’m not saying it for effect. Once in a while you read a novel where the prose is so clear, that each word has impact, and you can see the events unfolding before your eyes. The “Kite Runner” is one such. Hosseini’s language is not overtly florid, but he describes things very skillfully. The story ofcourse is compelling and the novel develops beautifully.

The story is told from the narrator, Amir’s point of view (first-person). Amir is the son of a rich merchant in Afghanistan, and good friends with Hassan, the son of their domestic servant, Ali. Amir is Pashtun (higher class) while Hassan is Hazara (lower class). Also Amir is Sunni while Hassan is a Shia. Both boys are motherless, and spend time playing and kite-flying, where Amir flies the kites, and Hassan is the “runner” (the one who runs to fetch kites which have been cut down in kite-duels). Hassan is a good and loyal friend, while Amir though good has a weak streak. Stiuations develop which test this friendship, and change it, and the story wends it’s way through Amir’s growing years, his journey to America, and his one final return to Kabul.

This is a story of fathers and sons, friendships, betrayal and redemption. The words stick in your head, and I found myself thinking about this novel many days after I’d read it. The only other novel which has had this effect on me is “The Chosen” by Chaim Potok, and I read that many years ago. “The Chosen” and “Kite Runner” are similar in that they both are stories of friendship between 2 boys. In “The Chosen” they are Jewish teen-aged kids, Danny and Reuven. Reuven is motherless, while Danny’s mom is not really mentioned much.

I guess a novel that moves you to this extent has many powerful events (and I don’t mean world events, wars etc.) describing people’s lives, and all the tumult and the pain these events bring. People with kids, please be warned that “Kite runner” has some passages which are heart-wrenching and saddening to read. Still, one of the best books I’ve read, I highly recommend it.