The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

The grim realities of the Afghan War are perfectly captured in the individual stories of the characters who are forced to start their lives over in different ways.

The Kite Runner has been on my tbr for a long while now. As I’ve been binging epic Fantasy for months now, I thought it wouldn’t be bad to switch genres for a bit, so I decided to start this.

It’s such a sad, sad book. I haven’t researched the background to the book (as at the time of writing this review), but it’s obvious it’s based on a true-life story. A story of an Afghan family with shady roots that gradually come to light after a national war rips reality apart.

It’s so, so sad. The grim realities of the Afghan War are perfectly captured in the individual stories of the characters who are forced to start their lives over in different ways. While they struggle physically, they are confronted with the implications of choices and decisions made in the past. The cyclic nature of life once again makes itself known as lives once again intertwine in unprecedented ways. Revenge and redemption are equally sought, and each one of the characters is drawn right back to where it started, made to face down old sentiments with sanity, forgiveness, and life or death as the prize.

It’s a superb read, highly recommended to any human with a shred of humanity in them. It’s the Afghan version of Mr. Trevor’s Born A Crime, only this time, the vices are much more pronounced in a variety of shades darker than apartheid.

I didn’t cry, thankfully. I cannot guarantee that you won’t, however.