September 05, 2006

Finished reading The Kite Runner. Excellent book. I'd heard really good things about it but was a little wary of reading it, what with a lot of the story being set in Afghanistan. With hearing about Afghanistan in the news every day, depressing stories about scary religious regimes, death, and destruction, I wasn't sure I wanted to enmesh myself in a book about Afghanistan as well, but the setting actually turned out to be one of the best parts of the book.

The story centers around Amir, the son of a wealthy Kabul business man in the 1970s, before the Soviets and Taliban have torn the country apart and its still a safe and peaceful place. Amir grows up side by side with Hassan, the son of his father's servant, and the two boys are the best of friends, just like brothers, until a horrid event comes between them, changing their relationship and lives forever. Eventually, when the Soviets invade, Amir and his father flee to America, leaving behind their country and friends, including Hassan, and Amir must struggle to deal with and come to terms with the awful event that tore he and Hassan apart, which is a struggle that eventually leads him back to current day Afghanistan.

The book is difficult and sad in many places and, at times, hard to take, but it's a very human and humane look at how we deal with events and mistakes that change our lives forever, how we deal with flaws within ourselves and those we love, and how we strive to overcome and make amends with those we hurt and the past, and also with ourselves. It's not what you'd call a happy story, but its one of great beauty, compassion and redemption that ultimately offers a great deal of hope. And a realistic story of hope and redemption is far better, at least in my opinion, than far fetched tales of happily ever after.

Aside from the story itself, one other enthralling aspect about this book is the perspective it offers on Afghanistan. We hear about Afghanistan everyday in the news. It's part of the "war on terror" and we're constantly hearing about Afghanistan in terms of war, terrorists, death, and destruction, but we rarely hear about Afghanistan's history, people or culture. We don't hear much about how Afghanistan used to be, before it was a violent and war torn place. We don't hear about the people and how much they love their country or how much they hate what its become. The "war on terror" has done a potent job of dehumanizing Afghanistan and it was a very moving, eye opening experience to read about how this country used to be and how many of its people actually feel. They've been robbed of their country and of themselves, and this book helps you to feel for and comprehend that in a way the news never could.

Which is why I think The Kite Runner would make for good required reading - because it helps you to understand a situation, a country, a people, and a war that's been greatly skewed and distorted. The government and news make it sound like Afghanistan is a primative place whose people are less important or evolved, but once you start reading about it, you realize there's a lot more to it and that, hey, these people are just like you and me and maybe its not such a good idea that we randomly blow them up. True, Afghanistan is a country where religious extremists control part of the government, but if that's the standard we have set for bombing countries, we might as well bomb ourselves.

listening: snow patrol . reading: --

walk: 50 minutes . weight lost: 6 pounds

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