Book Review : The Kite Runner .

The Kite Runner is a historical fiction book written by Khaled Hosseini. The Kite Runner tells the story of the narrator or protagonist, Amir. Amir is a boy from a rich family, who grew up with his father, Baba’s servant,  Hassan. Hassan is the son of Amir’s father's Hazara servant, Ali. The story was framed based on Amir and Hassan’s childhood’s friendship. In the beginning of the book,  Amir tells the reader how peaceful Afghanistan was to what happened through the Soviet’s invasion. Also, the mass emigration of refugees to Pakistan and to the United States, including Amir, himself left to the United States. In addition, the rise of the Taliban regime cast long shadows over Amir’s story.

There were many  occurrence in the story that shows Hassan’s loyalty towards Amir. For instance, after the championship of kite fighting, Hassan runs after the kite for Amir. Amir was worried why Hassan still hasn’t come back yet, so he searches for Hassan. When Amir finds Hassan, he sees Hassan holding the kite that he wanted, not only that but he also sees Assef, a neighborhood bully. Assef wants the kite that Hassan was holding too.  In front of Amir’s eyes, Amir witnessed Hassan getting rape, Amir does nothing to help out Hassan but instead he watched , and he just ran away.

Amir explains the reasons why he ran,  

“... The real reason I was running, was that Assef was right: Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb i had to slay to win Baba. Was it a fair price? The answer floated to my conscious mind before I could thwart it: He was just a Hazara, wasn’t he?” (page 77)

This demonstrates that although Amir feels guilty for not doing anything to save Hassan, and just ran away, but truly this was what he has to do to earn Baba’s love. To bring back that kite that he cutted down in the kite fighting to show Baba, to make Baba proud, but to sacrifice Hassan. But mainly, this shows Hassan’s loyalty to his friend, Amir. This is because if Hassan gives the kite to Assef then Amir will not earn Baba’s love, at last, Hassan chose to not give the kite to Assef, and ended up getting raped.

There was also a part that was a few weeks after the rape that shows how loyal Hassan is to Amir. This happened when Amir accused Hassan that Hassan stole his watch and his money gotten from his birthday. After Hassan admitted that he did steal it, even though he did not, Amir finally realized that he has done something wrong to Hassan again,

Amir realized what Hassan did for him once again, “ Then I understood: This was Hassan’s final sacrifice for me. If he’d said no, Baba would have believed him because we all knew Hassan never lied. If Baba believed him, then I’d be the accused.” (page 105)  
IN ADDITION, Amir also grasped,  “And that led to another understandings: Hassan knew. He knew I’d seen everything in that alley, that I’d stood there and done nothing. He knew I had betrayed him and yet he was rescuing me once again...” (page 105)
The occasion when Amir accused Hassan for stealing, it portrays that Hassan will sacrifice anything for Amir, because he is loyal. Hassan would never do something that would hurt Amir, and he knows Amir doesn’t want him to be around him anymore. Because Amir does not want to share his Baba’s love with Hassan. With Hassan being around it disrepairs Amir and his Baba’s relationship, Hassan understands. So Hassan untruthfully claimed that he stole it, for the reason that is he wants Baba to favor Amir more that he is right now.

I would say the moral or the purpose of The Kite Runner is forgiveness, and learning to forgive yourself,  After the instance when Hassan was accused for stealing Amir’s valuables, Hassan decided to leave with his father, Ali to Hazarajat. Soon, after Hassan and his father left, Amir and his Baba left Afghanistan too, because of the war going on. Amir and Baba took flights to America. Years later Amir is still plagued by his guilt about Hassan, and one day he receives a call from an old friend from Afghanistan. Rahim Khan is the one that called him, he called Amir because he wants Amir to come over there to visit him, Rahim Khan is afraid that he would leave any minute soon. From Rahim Khan’s words, Amir finds out that Hassan and his wife were shot and were dead. Amir is given the chance to rescue Hassan's son Sohrab from an orphanage, whom he brings to America and adopts. To give a chance for himself to forgive what he has done to Sohrab’s father, Hassan.

During Amir’s conversation with Rahim Khan, “... ‘I want you to go to Kabul. I want you to bring Sohrab here,’ he said...’ It has never been about money with me, you know that. And why you? I think we both know why it has to be you, don’t we?’ I didn’t want to understand that comment, but I did. I understood it all too well.”     (Page 220-221)
This demonstrates that Rahim Khan knew what happened, he knew that Amir saw Hassan getting rape, and did not to anything to prevent it from happening. Rahim Khan also knows that Amir accused Hassan for stealing. Rahim Khan knew, that is why he is giving Amir a chance to be good again, to do something good for Hassan. Plus in the beginning of the book, Amir tells the reader,
“... Almost as an after-though. There is a way to be good again. I looked up at those twin kites. I thought about Hassan.” (Page 2)
This shows that Amir is given the chance to be good again, that means to save Hassan’s son, Sohrab.

In conclusion, the book starts off with Amir telling the reader his present life. Then it flashes back into the times when he was a child, it flashes back into his childhood. And as the story builds up, he tells the readers what he had done that made him who he is in the ending of the story. The book starts out with him flying kites with his childhood best friend, Hassan. Where Hassan said “For you, a thousand times over,” and where Hassan chases the kite for Amir. Then, the story ends with Amir being in America, and flying a kite with Hassan’s son, Sohrab,  which Amir said to Sohrab, “ For you, a thousand times over.” And where he ran after the kite for Sohrab, just how Hassan did for Amir.