The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.
New York: The Berkley Publishing Group, 2004. $14 (paperback) — 371 pp.

Many writers believe that the history of Afghanistan may be the cruelest in the world. Certainly, James Michener’s Caravans and Philip Hensher’s The Mulberry Empire provide plenty of examples of suffering and injustice — ample proof that the chronicles of this battered and bloodstained country are profoundly tragic. From the epic slaughters of Genghis Khan to the brutal occupation of Russian forces and the current excesses of the Taliban, the recorded history of this country resonates to a singular theme: unrelenting strife.

Khaled Hosseini’s popular novel, The Kite Runner (two years on the New York Times bestseller list) owes much of its narrative power to a kind of literary alchemy. As Hossemi’s tale of devotion and courage unwinds in the midst of unremitting violence, the lives of the central characters undergo a magical change — a transmutation whereby despair gradually evolves into hope; profound guilt changes to courage and prolonged suffering produces redemption.

Amir, the narrator of The Kite Runner, is the privileged son of Baba, a powerful and respected village lord in Kabul. Hassan, the son of a servant and a Hazara, is considered Amir’s ethnic inferior — yet, the two boys become playmates and “best friends.” As the years pass, the bond grows stronger despite the fact that Amir is occasionally jealous of his father’s attention to Hassan. Eventually, Amir’s resentment hardens into a misguided belief that Hassan has usurped his place in Baba’s affections. Amir begins to brood over imagined wrongs. Finally, he fabricates a theft and hides personal items under the unsuspecting Hassan’s bed. Only after Hassan and his father leave Baba’s household does Amir realize that he had destroyed a friendship that his father had compared to the devotion found in the beloved Persian tale of “Sohrab and Rostam.”

To Amir, his betrayal is unforgivable and the consequences poison his life. Incapable of acknowledging his crime, he grows to adulthood haunted by his shame. In the meanwhile, Afghanistan is shattered by a series of wars and invasions that force Baba and Amir to flee. Eventually, the two come to America and become part of a thriving Afghan community in San Francisco. Amir marries and becomes a successful teacher and writer. However, darkness and guilt still taints his existence. At one point, his ailing father tells him that Hassan is, in fact, his half-brother. This knowledge only deepens Amir’s sense of shame.

When Amir receives a phone call from Afghanistan, he realizes that he is being afforded an opportunity to redeem himself. In the words of the caller — an old family friend who knows the truth about Hassan’s “theft” — “There is a way to be good again.” Amir decides to go back to Afghanistan, fully realizing that he may not return. For Amir, redemption is worth any price — even death. His mission is a harrowing one. He is searching not for Hassen, but for his son — a boy named Sohrab.

It is a terrifying journey, and Amir finds himself confronting a host of familiar demons and old enemies, including a neo-Nazi who presides at a surreal soccer game in which the Taliban executes adulterers at a “half-time show.” The country of his childhood has been reduced to a land of rubble and beggars. Yet, there is hope that Sohrab is alive ....

The Kite Runner was originally published in 2003 and immediately became a bestseller. Now in its second year, the novel has acquired an amazing record. This late increase in sales is partially due to the book’s late arrival in American bookstores. At present, there are hundreds of library-based readers’ groups (called Community Reads) that are devoted to discussions of The Kite Runner.

In addition, a number of North Carolina libraries have launched one of the state’s most successful Community Read programs in the country. Not surprisingly, The Kite Runner is largely responsible for this success. Chatham County’s program eventually escalated into a festival that featured discussions at dinners where Afghan food is served. In addition, there are lectures, kite flying contests, Afghan art exhibits and music. The festival (which spread to several adjoining counties) culminated with a visit from Khaled Hosseini, who talked about how he came to write the novel.

Hosseini said that the idea for the novel came in 1994 when he read that the Taliban had banned “kite fighting” in his native country. He explained that kite fighting was a national sport in his childhood, and evoked as much excitement as football does in America. The kites were equipped with razor-sharp strings and competing towns fought aerial duels until only one kite was left in the sky. When the losing kites fell, the victor would send a runner to retrieve the kite as a trophy.

And so begins Hosseini’s novel about a kite fighter named Amir who has a devoted friend named Hassan — a friend who is Amir’s “kite runner.”

Read this one! It is that rare thing in modern literature — a story about hope and redemption.

(Gary Carden is a writer, storyteller and lecturer whose book, Mason Jars in the Flood, was recently named Book of the Year by the Appalachian Writers Association. He can be reached at gcarden498@aol.com.)