The Kite Runner ~ two more reviews

Wendy reviewed The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini (2003) a couple of years ago.  I never wrote about it because I read the book years before I started reviewing books on my blog.  Joy Renee wrote a review of the book in 2008, and yesterday she had this to say about about book banning on her Joystory blog:

"I have learned from experience beginning in early grade-school that story was the most effective, the most powerful, the most immediate method for developing an understanding of a person, culture or event--even those seemingly too alien or incomprehensible and especially those triggering any anxiety, disgust or fear. This is why I am fiercely in favor of freedom of speech and thought.

"But I have not forgotten what it was like to be a fervidly puritanical fundamentalist and so I also understand that it is that very power of story to change minds that is at the root of the challenges so the necessity of staying vigilant and proactive on this task of defending the challenged books and the right to intellectual freedom will remain for generations to come. Thus the ALA and the other organizations dedicated to this service to democracy and liberty have my gratitude and admiration."

Now you should go read Joy Renee's review (she calls it a "musing") of The Kite Runner.  Read Sheila's review as well, since it was discovering Sheila's that convinced Joy Renee to write her own review.  Sheila of Book Journey, who is one of the contributors here on Banned Books, also has a SPOILER page, in case any readers want to discuss that defining moment in the book.  It's on a separate page, so the story won't be spoiled for anyone who has not yet read the book.

Joy Renee commented on Sheila's "spoiler" page about the family secret in The Kite Runner:  "It could be said that the secrecy was more damaging and thus more damning than the original ‘sin’."  I [Bonnie] agree that family secrets cause a lot of unintended harm.  Please share what you think, especially related to this book.

The Kite Runner - Wendy's Review

Hassan and I fed from the same breasts. We took our first steps on the same lawn in the same yard. And, under the same roof, we spoke our first words. Mine was Baba. His was Amir. My name. Looking back on it now, I think the foundations for what happened in the winters of 1975 - and all that followed - was already laid in those first words. -From The Kite Runner, page 11-

The Kite Runner is the story of two boys - Hassan a Shi’a, Amir a Sunni; one from wealth, the other a servant - who grow up in Afganistan the best of friends, until one fateful day when Amir is twelve in the winter of 1975. What Amir witnesses changes the boys’ friendship forever, and sets events in motion which will have lifelong consequences.

Khaled Hosseini begins his novel in Afganistan, then takes the reader across the ocean to San Francisco where Amir and his father begin a new life as immigrants. A telephone call one day from his father’s old friend summons Amir back to an Afganistan which has changed - a place where Taliban soldiers patrol, where people are hung in the street or stoned to death during an intermission at a soccer game, and where children are no longer children. It is here where Amir must face his demons and where lies, betrayal and secrets will be uncovered.

This is a novel which explores many themes: family loyalty, the rigidity of religious division, the cruel effects of war, and the power of love and redemption. Hosseini’s writing is simple and powerful; a no frills, spare style which stuns. Readers should be warned - there are graphic scenes which involve child rape and molestation. The violence in the book is painful to read…and heartbreaking.

Earlier this year I read Hosseini’s second novel A Thousand Splendid Suns (reviewed here), and so comparisons between the two novels was inevitable. I thought Hosseini’s writing matured from the first book to the second, and A Thousand Splendid Suns affected me more strongly on many levels. Flaws with The Kite Runner include some plot twists which bordered on the unbelievable, and so parts of the book felt contrived to me.

Despite this, The Kite Runner is a impressive first novel which reveals the horror of what has happened, and continues to happen in Afganistan.

This is a book which leaves a lasting impression. Highly recommended.

Why Was It Banned?

The Afghan government banned the film because of a rape scene of a young boy and the ethnic tensions that the film highlights. "It showed the ethnic groups of Afghanistan in a bad light," Mubarez said. Din Mohammad Rashed Mubarez, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Information and Culture said: "We respect freedom of speech, we support freedom of speech, but unfortunately we have difficulties in Afghan society, and if this film is shown in the cinemas, it is humiliating for one of our ethnic groups."

The ACLU Foundation of Texas lists The Kite Runner on a list of banned or challenged books in Texas.

Farenheit 451 lists The Kite Runner as a banned book on its blog and at Library Thing.