| The Kite Runner is a complex story written by | | | | However, when circumstance and his conscience |
| Khaled Hosseini where simple yet heinous events | | | | require Amir as a young man to return briefly to |
| occur in a backdrop of social and economic upheaval | | | | Kabul , we see an entirely different city. Many of the |
| in Kabul , Afghanistan. It is a story of guilt and | | | | buildings are broken or destroyed, as befitting a place |
| cowardice and soul-searching and redemption in the | | | | ravaged by war and preserved by the subsequent |
| life of Amir. However, even with such overt plot lines | | | | economic downturn. What remains of Kabul is dirty |
| and possible morals, there is an underlying current | | | | and disheveled. |
| spoken in the fine detail with which the author writes | | | | The sense of community that was once prevalent is |
| that subtly illustrates a common mantra: You can | | | | now non-existent. There is at first a sense of |
| never go home. | | | | ‘every man for himself’ where closed doors |
| Placed for the most part in the capital of Afghanistan | | | | and windows greet Amir, and any aid he receives |
| , Kabul , The Kite Runner introduces the reader first | | | | during his brief stay must be done in secret. There is |
| to an idyllic life of innocence. Kabul is a peaceful city | | | | no more kite fighting (the Taliban banned the sport, |
| ideal for raising a family. The buildings are neat and | | | | which inspired the kernel of the idea of the story for |
| orderly even in their haphazard layout, and there is a | | | | the author, who was himself an avid kite fighter in |
| sense of community and unity among its residents. It | | | | Kabul , once). However as we see more of the city, |
| also showcases the once-popular sport of “Kite | | | | we are given a glimpse of even darker times, where |
| Fighting,” where contestants try to sever the | | | | neighbor betrays neighbor to the ruling Taliban, and |
| string of their opponents kite. To the victor goes the | | | | barbarous acts are committed in the name of |
| spoils (the kite), though of course, someone must | | | | zealotry. This is not the Kabul Amir remembers, |
| run to get it. In the book, kite fighting brings | | | | certainly. And after even a few days, it becomes |
| neighbors together in playful competition, and we find | | | | clear that this is not his home. The home of |
| that the sport spans generations, as Amir’s | | | | Amir’s childhood does not exist anymore, and |
| father reveals a prize kite he won when he was a | | | | there is no returning to it. |
| child. We get a glimpse at how Kabul ’s | | | | And that is perhaps the irony, because the same |
| well-to-do treat their children, their servants, and | | | | could be said of any town, any homecoming, to a |
| each other. We get a strong sense of social order | | | | lesser degree. By contrasting the changes in Kabul |
| and stability. | | | | then and now, the author emphasizes the |
| The story also offers a first hand account of the | | | | commonality of change over time, and suddenly |
| social and political turmoil that the Soviet invasion | | | | Kabul becomes our town, and Afghanistan becomes |
| wrought upon the entire country. This is when Amir | | | | our country, and Amir becomes us, a tourist in our |
| and his father are forced to flee Afghanistan , and | | | | own hometown. Indeed, even when you can go |
| eventually settle in the United States . | | | | home, you can never truly go home. |