A heart breaking story

This is my first attempt to do a Book Review. Kite Runner was an eye opener to me. It made me accept the fact that there were many a situation in life where you wouldn't want to accept the fact that what you did was wrong. Its hard to confess your mistake and its even more difficult to behave in the same way as before when you know what you did was wrong. Its worse when you know what the person in front of you has done is unpardonable , still you have to behave as if nothing has happened. Its as though living in another world where all your feelings - of indignation , displeasure has to be quelled and you are forced to put a plastic smile on your face just for the sake of keeping relations .. Huh what an irony.

Here is a small tribute to one of the heart aching stories I have ever read. Hope I have done justice to it.

Set against the backdrop of Afghanisthan, Kite Runner is the narration of his life by the protagonist – of his childhood, his friendship, betrayal and above all the greatest truth of his life. The book unfolds with the narrator receiving a letter from his father figure who expresses his desire to meet him once for the last time. As the author sets for the journey he rewinds all those years in Afghanistan- His Baba –One of the richest man the village had ever seen .Hassan – his friend whom he grew up with though they belonged to different social strata. He remembers those long walks and talks they had, the kite tournament, the kite runner and eventually the disaster- the betrayal, his unwillingness to confess.

The story then moves on through the Russian invasion, the narrators escape to California, his new life there, his marriage and his rise as a novelist. He then comes back to the present – meeting his father figure from whom he learns about the death of Hassan and his father, Hassan’s son and the greatest truth of his life. The author then takes us through present day Taliban controlled Afghanisthan where the protagonist finds Hassan’s son and his success in taking Hassan’s son along with him to California. The story ends with another kite tournament that unites the narrator with the child.

On the whole a very powerful story that takes you through all kind of emotions making you realise the importance of friendship, betrayal and the price you pay for loyalty.