Thursday, April 19, 2007

The Kite Runner




"For you a thousand times over!"

We won! We won! was all I could say.

"I know", he said. "Inshallah, we'll celebrate later. Right now I am going to run that blue kite for you", he said.
"Hassan!" I called. "Come back with it!"

"For you a thousand times over!" he said.

I got a chance to read this book quite late. Maybe because I never had set my heart on it. Now that I have read it, I feel, a few words over it are necessary, especially because this book has made it to my list of favourites. There's something about this book that stays, lingers on, haunts. Its like living amidst Amir, Hassan and the streets of Kabul. Its like weaving in and out of a dream, with big poplar trees, shady alleyways, warm sunlight over the hills on a winter afternoon and knee deep snow. It echoes. It is set against the backdrop of the life and times of the country itself. Another line that hits me hard is, "there are a lot of children in Afghanistan but little childhood."
It is the story of 2 little boys in Afghanistan who grow up together. One was the master and the other his playmate, ready to sacrifice everything for his friend. It is the story of the varied faces of human nature...It seamlessly dwells on the realms of honour, love, betrayal, fear, struggle, remorse, redemption and passion.
I have just put it down, but feel like reading it all over again.

A very honest book and I love it.

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