Others Will Seem Bland

The Kite Runner (2005)
Hosseini, Khaled
Historical Fiction
4/5
Count as 2 Books
Warning: Graphic Scenes (Rape)


In this story Amir, the main character, recalls an event that happened when he was a child on Afghanistan. He says that it makes him who he is, the man today. Before the event he gives a back story of living o a nice home in Afghanistan. He lives with his father, Baba, and his two servants, Ali and his son, Hassan, who are Hazaras, an ethnic minority. The king is overthrown and things begin to change. One day Amir and Hassan are playing and these three boys come up and assault Walt and Kamel. Assef threatens Amir for playing with Hazara; Hassan protects him with a sling shot, to stop Assef. The story goes on to a kite fighting tournament, where the boys take kite strings and cover them with glass to see who can cut down each other first. And when the other kite falls the other guys go and retrieve it, this is called Kite Running. Hassan is a kite runner for Amir. So when Amir won Hassan went and chased after it. After a while Amir starts to look for him and finds him in an alley surrounded by Assef, Wali, and Kamal. As Amir watches Hassan gets beaten up and raped by Assef. Amir wants to help but the approval of his father and getting the losing kite overpowers him and he steps back and waits. After he pretends like he didn’t see anything. Amir starts to feel really guilty and he wants Hassan to leave so he put valuables under Hassan’s bed and accuses him of stealing. When Hassan admits to it Baba, Amir’s father, forgives Hassan. Shortly after Hassan and his dad leave from the house. And then the story goes on from there about how Amir tries to repay Hassan, for not helping him in the time that he probably needed him the most.
The main theme in this book is redemption. First, it is of his father but then after the event he tries to redeem himself to Hassan. The main portion of the book is about the redemption to Hassan, although it also shows themes of love, honor, guilt, and fear in the novel also. Love is trying to be found through Amir and his Father, honor is also with him and his father, guilt is from Amir not helping Hassan, and fear is from Amir  in his days.
In the book it is basically a journal of Amir telling about the journey of the redemption to Hassan. So therefore the writing is in first person, having Amir telling it. It is a easier read then normal books so that is helpful to be understood in the book. It is very good he really helps you feel like you are there with him.
I think the intended audience is about the age 17 and up, but if you are more mature you can probably handle the reading. It is just that there are rape scenes it in so it isn’t appropriate for younger audiences, but it would be good to read as an adult. It isn't hard to read you can understand what he is talking about when you are reading so the level of reading isn't bad.
I would recommend this book even though it is kind of graphic. I would just have to make sure that they knew that before hand that it is graphic. And to make sure that they would be fine with that. It is a really good book. It also shows you what it would be like in Afghanistan and how it would be to live there. "It is so powerful that for a long time everything I read seemed bland." (Isabel Allende) "This is one of those unforgettable stories that stays with you for years. All the great themes of literature and of life are the fabric of this Extraordinary novel: love, honor, guilt, fear, redemption." (Isabel Allende) "A moving portrait of modern Afghanistan." (Entertainment Weekly)