The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

In his first historical fiction novel, Khaled Hosseini tells the story of a young boy growing up in Afghanistan. The Kite Runner is the story of Amir, the young boy, and the path his life takes because of the decisions he makes when he is a young child. Forgiveness is woven throughout the book as it takes Amir to places he might not have gone if he hadn’t been able to forgive.

Amir was haunted with demons from his childhood for his whole life. The one demon that stuck with him the most was the fact that he stood by and watched as his best friend and servant, Hassan, was raped by a boy named Assef. Hassan and Amir had known each other since birth and, “A kinship exists between people who’ve fed from the same breast” (pg. 320). Even the major fact of Russia invading Afghanistan could not get his mind off the horror that he stood by and watched happen. Even him living in America for the remainder of his life did not distract him from knowing that he was the reason his best friend was sexually abused. He is haunted until the very end of the book when he goes back to Afghanistan to face ...