Kontan.

I just finished The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I started it weeks ago but life kept getting in the way of finishing it. Today, in my effort to procrastinate my final grading before progress reports have to be posted, I curled up and could not put it down. I read over half of it this afternoon. Amazing writing, but such a sad story all the way through.

We Americans live in our own little bubble. We know that there is suffering in this world and many seek to ease that suffering. Regardless of this realization, I don’t think we can truly comprehend the devastation that some face on a daily basis. Hosseini brings to life the glory and devastation of Afghanistan. Reading The Kite Runner propels the reader through the emotions of childhood love, friendship and jealousy, to betrayal, shame, change and frustration, to remorse, sacrifice, forgiveness and devotion. As one reads the heart aches for Amir who is so sensitive and seeks the approval of his father, then burns with shame at the betrayal of a selfish young man. The heart then yields sadness for the unwavering devotion of Hassan who accepts his friend, with all his faults, and sacrifices the life he knew for him. His father Ali doing the same.

The trials and tribulations Hosseini describes are heart wrenching. The resolution, warming.

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