The Kite Runner LRB 7

A general statement of the literary work’s content, a summary or a paraphrase

 

In the novel The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, Amir is the son of a very successful and wealthy father, Baba, in Kabul. The two live with servants, Ali and his son, Hassan. Hassan is both Amir’s’ age, best friend, and as we find out later in the novel his half-brother.

Although Amir and Hassan were practically inseparable, from Amir’s perspective things were far from perfect. Social class, tribe, and religion separated the two children. For such small children, this was a hard concept to grasp. However, Baba adored Hassan and regarded Ali as his best friend although they were Hazaras.

A critical point in the book is when Hassan is attacked by Assef and some of his friends while kite running for Amir - “for you a thousand times over”, Hassan said before taking off for the blue kite the two had defeated. Amir does not help Hassan while he was being attacked by the Pashtun boys and allows him to be abused in the most disturbing manner. Amir’s cowardly act was in part because of his jealousy which he has for Hassan.

Amir cannot control his emotions and mixed feelings of Hassan, so he feels the need to get rid of Hassan, which he does by setting Hassan and his father up by planting his new wristwatch under Hassan’s bed. Hassan and Ali knowing what Amir has done leaves the household and Baba is in despair. Amir’s actions did not end his shame or cure his cowardliness, but rather intensified his treachery.

War breaks out in Afghanistan and both Amir and his father flee Afghanistan to America.

Rahim Kahn, a dear friend of Amir and even closer friend of his father, contacts him to come back to Pakistan, and provokes him by saying, “There is a way to be good again.” Amir realizes Rahim knows about what he had done and decides to go back to redeem himself.

After some soul searching, Amir decides to retrieve Hassan’s child Sohrab, in which he finds that a Taliban leader has him. This leader turns out to be no other than Assef. The two quarrel for a while, with Amir getting pummeled into a pulp, when Sohrab grabs his slingshot and fatally damages Assef’s eye. This is ironic because earlier in the novel Hassan stood up for Amir in the same manner, by warning Assef by calling him “one-eyed Assef”. Sohrab decides to return to America with Amir, but they find trouble in that they are not allowed to adopt him and Sohrab tries to commit suicide. But in the end the two become closer and closer, while they fly their kite together and Amir runs down their fallen trophy.