The Kite Runner: a review
It is rare to have a book change you as profoundly as this one did. The Kite Runner was a roller coaster, a turbulent, tragic story that impacts you on so many levels. I wont give a summary or a description- it is something that has to be experienced, something to cry over, something to feel so much emotion over that you don’t know what to do. But it brings with it a quiet hope as well.
It is not a happy story. The characters are not perfect and it is broken and messed up and there’s no fairy tale ending, but that’s okay. Because that’s real life, and in places like Afghanistan, a lot of the things that seem absolutely unimaginable in the story, are true. There’s no happily-ever-after, because there’s a lot more to go, a lot more hardship and pain and realisation. It ends with hope, though- a full circle. And that’s what’s important.
This book brings with it something profoundly human. The guilt, the pain, the anger, the regret. The hope. The moments that are the most important- the ones where we learn to lean on people, to look forward, to dream. We need them to survive. We need to believe that things will get better, even if circumstances have changed, even if it seems like there’s no way out.
So we read, and we hope, and we live- despite everything.
Today, Afghanistan is being torn apart once more. With the US pulling it’s troops out and the Taliban takeover of the country in 2021, it seems like history is repeating itself. It’s a humanitarian crisis- one that requires attention. This isn’t a political article, so I won’t be getting into my thoughts on the matter, but a book like The Kite Runner seems all the more relevant in a time like this. The events in the book aren’t just fantasy, they’re real life. And the world needs to take notice.
I’ve attached some links to information about Afghanistan, but these are by no means exhaustive. They’re just the ones that called to me- but there is a wealth of information on the internet and social media platforms, if you’re interested:)