Recently I got a chance to read "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. And I must say the book is brilliant. A very good book in a long time.
The story is set in the pre-Talibani Afghanistan and touches many issues together. It gives a glimpse of the Afghani culture in their happy days, the invasion of Soviet, the Taliban rule and also a very personal and emotional issue of friednship. The Taliban attrocities will surely make you scream with frustration.
The story of two friends Aamir and Hassan is very moving. The undying love of Hassan for his friend makes me cry. Hassan there is so innocent and pure that he actually presents you with an aspect of uncoditional love which I find hard to imagine. Then the redemption of Amir for his sins is also very touching. It actually presents the meaning of commitment in a new light. Unconditional commitment...pure 100% love. Makes me feel very small for the level of my love and commitment.
There is a very good conversation of Amir and his father(Baba) about sin which gives us some food for thought. I couldn't resist putting it down for long keeps:
Baba said, "No matter what the mullah teaches, there is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft. do you understand that?"
"When you kill a man, you steal a life, You steal his wife's right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness."
" There is no act more wretched than stealing, Amir," Baba said. A man who takes what's not his to take, be it a life or a loaf of naan...I .....".
As my husband also says that taking more than your rightful share is a sin and multiplies and comes back to us. Maybe it needs a deeper pondering afterall!
If it is actually fiction then it is the work of a genius. But even if a small percentage of it is true then it is very moving. A must read book.
1 comment:
I haven't read the book but saw the movie recently. Its well done, but it misses the poignancy of the written words. The words you quoted were the same that I also remember so clearly from this story. Khaled Hosseini's writing is so fluid that you cannot just put the book down. Read the second book also, A thousand splendid sun, similar setting but different story.
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