Some might question whether Afghanistan counts as South Asia. Geopolitically, it makes sense to see the country more as a hinge between western Asia (i.e., Iran, Iraq, and Turkey), and South Asia, than as decisively belonging to either region. There are certainly strong cultural ties between especially the northwestern (Pashtun-dominated) part of Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. And they listen to Hindi film songs and ghazals, and through Persian, use words like Zindagi, naan, pakora, mard, etc. On the other hand, while there are some good historical connections to the Indian subcontinent (i.e., through the the British Raj), geographically Afghanistan is cut off from it by mountains so… take your pick. There is a discussion of the question here.
Whether or not it’s certifiably ‘Sepia’, The Kite Runner does feel desi — or Watani — and it’s likely to be a book many of the readers of this blog will enjoy. Besides the (primary) story about a pair of friends growing up in idyllic, pre-1973 Afghanistan, there is an interesting consideration of life in the Afghan neighborhood in the Bay Area, “Little Kabul” in Fremont (a town which also has a large Indian population, incidentally).
Fremont is where author Khaled Hosseini grew up after his folks left Afghanistan in 1980. It’s interesting to me that in real life Hosseini is a practicing physician (age 38), while he makes the protagonist in his somewhat autobiographical book a professional writer. That Amir’s father in the novel accepts his son’s unconventional choice of profession without a fight — which no South Asian parent would ever do! — might be the only thing that really doesn’t ring true for me in terms of the immigrant experience reflected in The Kite Runner. It’s hard to say exactly why The Kite Runner has become such a big hit. According to one recent USA Today article, it’s sold more than 1.4 million copies and had 17 printings, which makes it a certifiable phenomenon for a first-time author in today’s anemic book market. (Other tidbits: it’s currently ranked #9 at Amazon, and hit #1 on the New York Times paperback bestseller list this spring.) It’s almost entirely a word-of-mouth phenomenon, which makes it even more impressive. Americans want to read this book — by an unknown Afghan who happens to have a name that’s not so different from “Hussein.” That’s something.
And most people I’ve talked to — including several of my colleagues in the English department — seem to really like the story. It clicks; it strikes a nerve; it does something. There are also doubters, such as this Slate writer, who found the book’s psychological focus on redemption a little too pat — almost programmed to appeal to western readers. (Hm, she may have a point there.)
In my view, though it’s not quite a literary masterpiece, The Kite Runner does do some interesting things narratively, and is a nicely paced and carefully written story.
The most intriguing element for me is the allusion to the 9th century Persian epic the Shahnamah (sometimes spelled Shahnameh or Shahnama), by the Persian writer Firdawsi. The particular chapter of the Shahnamah that is singled out in The Kite Runner (and it has resonance in more than one way in the story, but I won’t give away exactly how) is the story of Rostam and Sohrab. Rostam is a king and a brave fighter who has a rival named Sohrab. After a series of skirmishes, Rostam mortally wounds Sohrab. In the conversation the two of them have after the battle, as Sohrab is dying, it becomes clear that Sohrab is in fact Rostam’s long-lost son. Here’s the paragraph quoted in the novel:
If thou art indeed my father, then hast thou stained thy sword in the life-blood of thy son. And thou didst it of thine obstinancy. For I sought to turn thee unto love, and I implored of thee thy name, for I thought to behold in thee the tokens recounted of my mother. But I appealed unto thy heart in vain, and now is the time gone for meeting…
Ah yes, fathers, sons, and a scene of primeval violence. It’s the kind of thing that only really happens in heatbreaking medieval epics and melodramatic Hindi films, but it gets me every time. It’s important in the beginning of the novel — as the protagonist feels neglected by his father — and it becomes important again at the end, in an interesting way. If you don’t stop to notice the connection, you might miss it.
(Incidentally, check out illustrations from different early manuscripts of the Shahnamah at the Shahnama Project at SOAS. Beautiful… And here is a translation of just the Rostam and Sohrab chapter of the Shahnamah).
The other thing I like in The Kite Runner is the way Hosseini goes easy on the ethnography. You don’t hear long lectures on Burqas, or Pashtun marriage rituals, or inter-ethnic rivalries in Afghan society. There is a little on each of the above in the novel — you might learn a couple of things about relations between Pashtuns and Hazaras — and that’s undoubtedly part of its appeal for some people. But Hosseini doesn’t hit the reader over the head with it, the way Asne Seierstad does in The Bookseller of Kabul — the “other” book on Afghanistan everyone is talking about.
(On the other hand, Seierstad’s book is an explicitly feminist account of how Afghani customs are oppressive to women. This is something Hosseini’s book doesn’t really get into much. His next book, he says, will deal with gender issues in Afghan culture much more directly.)
Hosseini avoids excessive explanation and historical context; perhaps he realized while writing it in 2001-2002 that everyone would already know the story of the exile of King Zahir Shah in 1973, of the Soviet invasion and the devastating civil war that followed, and the rise of the Taliban (see Wikipedia for a brief primer on modern Afghani history).
With cultural context and historical explanation at a minimum, Hosseini is free to jump right into the story.
man if any body has anythin too say come say to an afghan face n watch u ugly paki desy’s haha i love kite runner i think its the best i aint use to hear bad things about ma country and if i se one i will beat da shitt out of da person and send them back to thier desy county aighh…. don make comments dat make ppl mad n if u do, if u have gutts come say it infront an afghan don be a wosy… aighh…. i adore kite runner and khalid housaine… n Manish Vij who da hell r u i bet ur sooo ugly n ya don make comments dat make other ppl mad aighhhnd and if u have anythin to say wosss email aighh…. ill come n rip u ride there man u stink fix ur name first dan talk… kkk, lolzz haha peace and salam u have to have a hert to understand the novel aighhh…
hey- wowww i really liked the kite runner, i had to read it for my english class, since im afghan and the story was said in afghanistan, that really made me excited about reading the book.
Though i know there were some bad and horrible things that happened and its really sad. This book that me a lot more about my country, culture and traditions, even though i am half pashtun and farsi. I think that Amir, is one of the cowardice character’s in this book, knowing that he is also the protagonist, one of the reasons is when Hassan was being raped, Amir was watching, he could’ve helped and fight Assef, or even so call for help- he had options, but he was too weak to do so.
I really liked Sohrab, the way they describe his appearance in the book i think hes really cute =) But i wasnt’ very satisfied after reading the ending, because it said: ” I ran. ” THE END. lol i think since the story itsself was great, the authot could’ve had made an interesting enging or even with a advice, or question to let the reader guess and think about it.
P.S. afgunz – i myself im afghan too, but the way you speak of and offend other ethnic countries, i don’t think thats a good thing. I know they might have said something about our Afghanistan Jaan, but let they say what ever they want, after all they’re words dont make that happend rite? And plus, They say if you try to take revenge from someone else, then wat is the DIFFERENCE between you and that person? THINK ABOUT IT PPL ‘
LIke RAHIM KHan said. THERE IS A WAY TO BE GOOD AGAIN – ppll learn something from the book that you read.. !!
I liked the Kite Runner. The story was sad, very sad and the ending was really clueless b/c you wonder whether Sohrab ever speaks again or becomes happy again. The author might have used a rape to emotionally jar us but when you think about it aren’t the events closest to home that really get our attention? I felt that in the end that Amir really doesn’t prove himself worthy for Hassan’s rape that he allegedly let take place. He got beat the fuck up that’s about it. I must say that I did learn more about pre- and post- Afghanistan from this book. Funny thing is that Assef wasn’t full blood Afghan, but he picks on Hassan who is probably more Afghan than he is. But overall I enjoyed this book overall more than all the other books I’ve read from Freshman to Junior english. It’s raw, gritty, and necessarily doesn’t have a happy ending either. It’s not too far fetched like say A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens or say emotionally filled that it’s pathetic like The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne. Life went on.
I really don’t know how this boring book, the kite runner, was once the best selling book in the United States. It is one of the most boring books I have ever come across.
enjoyed the first part of the book..than began to feel manipulated.. the writing began to feel like a harry potter book..when assef and amir meet with sohrab …was like that guy in harry potter who had something hidden in his turban… it was ridiulous…(the assef part i mean)…and how amir and sohrab escaped..so very raiders of the lost ark..ridiulous… did anyONE..think of putting sohrab in therapy..hello PTSD! anyone…you dont let a child be raped..dressed up as a monkey with bells, treated as a slave and than hes going to be okay with time..no..hes got ptsd..he needs therapy… i jsut didnt see how amirs wife a teacher wouldnt know that…i couldnt get past that… and really being beaten with the brass knuckles wouldnt handicap amir but the slingshot would render assef helpess?i dont think so.. please smeone ..get sohrab some help!
54 · Afghan said
because it fed into the notions of exoticism for all non-afghans.
The kite runner never included (nor cared to include) Afghans in its audience.
what if race or setting wasnt the focus. it shouldnt speak to one race or perspective it speaks to people. it is a raw look at relationships and asks the question Am i my brothers keeper. he excludes no perspective there are ties to judaism, christianaity, and islam. I dont think you need to belong to a specific cultural group to identify with the themes of betrayal, guilt, and redemption presented in this great novel. its not boring, its facinating!
I have just read this yawn of a book and it has to be one of the most trite books that I have ever read!!
I hated the way the premise of karma and redemption was handled in this book – the protagonist is not redeemed at all.
Furthermore it was overblown, overdramatic and completely bloody predictable. If you had given me the first half of the book and told me to write the second half in the most predictable manner possible I would have written it verbatim.
These are the sort of books that I abhor reading – there is absolutely no thinking required. Furthermore the high predictability factor made me laugh out loud on several occassions. Not a tear in the house!!
I must be one of the minority that did not like this book obviously. I can tell you one thing, I will not see the film because I could not sit through more hours of frustration again.