Last night I finished reading the’ Kite Runner’. It had been on my mind space for a long time. I first saw the cover of the book lying in my colleagues’ apartment in US last year. Until then, I had no idea about the book or the author, but somehow it seemed that I had heard the word ‘Kite Runner’ somewhere, someplace before. Anyways, from that day until the day I finally got the book, I read numerous reviews and heard several things about it. The desire to read it multiplied and am glad that I could finish it the way I wanted to.
The front and the back of the book revealed the theme of the story, a ‘devastating, shattering’ tragedy. The funny thing about me, as a writer, is that am very fond of writing tragedies.This book being a bestseller proves the fact that people still love tragedies, universally. That they still have a Hassan and an Amir somewhere in their heart. That a plot set in the arid land of Afghanistan can break barriers across the seven seas.
Because, just because, “there is a way to be good again.”
It was so evident and inevitable from the very first page, the impending ‘shattering’ tragedy to occur, I knew what it was , but wanted to read ‘how’ the author spun it. He did a fairly good job, taking the reader upto the sequence and then leaving it there. The details, of course, cropped up several times later in the story. The shock and awe spread over the entire length of the book.
Personally, as a reader, I wanted the author to give me some light moments, take off the tense and grim underlying current. Well, the author did try to elevate the mood, initially through Amir and Hassan’s innocent mischief , interludes and the Kite running; and later through Baba and Amir’s coming to terms with the American life. The romance between Amir and Soraya served the necessary succor. There was a potential subplot lurking behind Soraya’s past, thankfully Khalid did away with that, on the night before her marriage with Amir. If it was me , I would have tried giving it another layer, making things complex for the reader.
Complexity of the plot, that is what appeals me. I was just going through the pages of most part of the book, like an ordinary reader.Until Amir returned to Rahim Khan in Pakistan. That is where the plot became thick, viscous and complex. With few chapters remaining, I felt I was writing along with Khalid, we had become one. The plot intensified the way I had perceived it, layered and interwoven.The grip was tight.
Sorhab‘s characterization was perfect, Amir’s dilemma subtle. The conversation between the two, in my opinion, was heartwarming and the best part of the story. Sohrab’s silence and Amir’s courage were the winning combination. I simply loved the author’s narrative in the last few sequences; the writing style was classic, maverick and eccentric.Amir’s wandering thoughts resonated back and forth, simply living upto the moment.
With few pages left, inching towards the end, I gave up my pen back to Khalid. I wanted to enjoy the moment. It was already past 2 am, in the dead silence of the night, I had deliberately tried to stay awake and read until the last page. And it was worth it. The Kites were flying again, this time in the San Francisco sky. And as Sohrab smiled, I did too…just like him, restrained.
My heart ran, and so did the real “Kite Runner”.
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In this May 2, 1945 file photo, Soviet soldiers hoist the red flag over the Reichstag in Berlin. For Russians, the Reichstag photo is as potent a symbol of victory as Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal’s shot of the U.S. flag being raised on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima is for Americans.
