On to Number 2..

One of my favorite books that I have read is called "The Kite Runner," by Khaled Hosseini. It's an interesting plot, and takes place in two countries throughout many periods. It starts off in post-monarchy Afghanistan, goes through the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and then shifts to the United States around the time that the Taliban begins to rise in Afghanistan.

 

The story focus's around four characters; Amir, a Pashtun, his father, whom he refers to as Baba, his friend Hassan, of the less wealthy Hazara tribe, and Hassan's father, the friend and servant of Amir's father. Amir thirsts for his fathers love and appreciation while his father feels that he is not much of a man. His father sees these qualities in Hassan, which in turn makes Amir jealous of him.  Hassan stands up for Amir when another boy, Assef, teases him and threatens to hurt him for hanging around with a Hazara boy. He wards him off courageously, but this later bites him in butt. After winning a Kite Fighting competition, Amir asks Hassan to fetch his kite so that he can show his dad, Hassan chases after it and runs into Assef, who beats him up and brutally rapes him. Amir is witness to all this but is too much of a coward to stand up for his friend, so he runs away. On top of that, jealous of Hassan's bravery and his lack thereof, he plants his watch and some money under Hassan's pillow in order to frame him for stealing, one of the biggest crimes in the eye's of Amir's dad. When questioned, Hassan falsely admits to stealing it in order to save the pride of his friend. This great shame forces Hassan and his dad to move away. 

 As the Soviets invade Afghanistan, Amir and his father escape to Pakistan, where they stay temporarily before moving to California. There, Amir and his father sell goods at the market, where they end up meeting a former Afghani general and his daughter, who Amir has feelings for. As time progresses, Amir's father becomes very ill. Before his death, he asks the General for Amir to have his daughter's hand in marriage, and he agrees. All is going well for Amir as he becomes a novelist. At this time, one of his father's long time friends, Rahim Khan, calls Amir and asks for him to come visit in Pakistan.

The book was fun to read up until this point, but here is where it got interesting. Upon arriving in Pakistan, Rahim tells Amir about Ali and Hassan. As it turns out, Ali was killed by a land mine, and Hassan and his wife are killed by the Taliban after caring for and refusing to leave Amir's house as instructed. He also learns that Ali is not Hassan's true father, but that his very on Baba was a sperm donor, making Hassan his half-brother. He learns that Hassan has left behind an orphan son, Sohrab, who Amir adopts and brings back to America.

 I don't know what I can say about the book, other than the fact that I absolutely loved it. Few works of literature can really play with my emotions, but I have to say this book really hit home. I absolutely loved the story. It brought out so many emotions and gave nearly a first hand look at life during Soviet-occupied Aghanistan, and life currently in Taliban dominated Afghanistan. It is a book that I would definitely recommend to nearly everyone, with the exception of younger children or teens under the age of 15. This book may be one of the only books I have read that kept me interested from front to back, literally not wanting to put it down for even a moment. It brings out all aspects of human nature and character, and gives you a broad look on life from the other side of the planet as well as an outlook on the world from a Middle Easterner's point of view.