A book review of The Kite Runner

A book review of The Kite RunnerClass 1 马凌峰0131124025“For you, a thousand times over.” This is the most famous sentence in the book The Kite Runner, and this is the reason why I want to read this book, because I think this sentence is really beautiful. And this is the first time for me to read a book written by an author from Afghanistan. By coincidence, this book is the Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini’s maiden work.The story is about two Afghani boys: Amir, a well-to-do Pashtun boy, and Hassan, a Hazara who is the son of Ali, Amir's father's servant. Although Hassan’s father was a servant, they were like brothers. They spent their days kite fighting in the hitherto peaceful city of Kabul. Hassan was a successful “kite runner” for Amir; he knew where the kite would land without watching it. Amir's father, a wealthy merchant Amir affectionately refers to as Baba, loves both boys, but is often critical of Amir, considering him weak and lacking in courage. Amir finds a kinder fatherly figure in Rahim Khan, Baba's closest friend, who understands him and supports his interest in writing.Assef, a notorious violent older boy, mocks Amir for socializing with a Hazara, which is, according to Assef, an inferior race whose members belong only in Hazarajat. One day, he prepares to attack Amir with brass knuckles, but Hassan defends Amir, threatening to shoot outAssef's eye with his slingshot. Assef backs off but swears to get revenge.In 1979, five years later, the Soviet Union militarily intervenes in Afghanistan. Amir and Baba escape to Peshawar, Pakistan, and then to Fremont, California, where they settle in a run-down apartment. Baba begins work at a gas station. After graduating from high school, Amir takes classes at a local community college to develop his writing skills. Every Sunday, Baba and Amir make extra money selling used goods at a flea market in San Jose. There, Amir meets fellow refugee Soraya Taheri and her family. Baba is diagnosed with terminal cancer but is still capable of granting Amir one last favor: he asks Soraya's father's permission for Amir to marry her. He agrees and the two marry. Shortly thereafter Baba dies. Amir and Soraya settle down in a happy marriage, but to their sorrow they learn that they cannot have children.Amir embarks on a successful career as a novelist. Fifteen years after his wedding, Amir receives a call from Rahim Khan, who is dying, asking him to come to Peshawar. He enigmatically tells Amir, "There is a way to be good again." Amir goes.From Rahim Khan, Amir learns that Ali was killed by a land mine and that Hassan and his wife were killed after Hassan refused to allow the Taliban to confiscate Baba and Amir's house in Kabul. Rahim Khan further reveals that Ali, being sterile, was not Hassan's biological father. Hassan was actually Baba's son and Amir's half-brother. Finally, he tellsAmir that the reason he called Amir to Pakistan was to rescue Sohrab, Hassan's son, from an orphanage in Kabul.Amir, accompanied by Farid, an Afghan taxi driver and veteran of the war with the Soviets, searches for Sohrab. They learn that a Taliban official comes to the orphanage often, brings cash, and usually takes a girl away with him. Occasionally he chooses a boy, recently Sohrab. The director tells Amir how to find the official, and Farid secures an appointment at his home by claiming to have "personal business" with him.Amir meets the man, who turns out to be Assef. Sohrab is being kept at his house, where he is sexually abused and made to dance dressed in women's clothes. Assef agrees to relinquish him, but only for a price: severely beating Amir. Sohrab interrupts the beating by using his slingshot to shoot out Assef's left eye, fulfilling Hassan's threat made many years before.Amir tells Sohrab of his plans to take him back to America and possibly adopt him. However, American authorities demand evidence of Sohrab's orphan status. Amir tells Sohrab that he may have to temporarily break his promise until the paperwork is completed, and Sohrab attempts suicide. Amir eventually manages to take him back to the United States. After his adoption, Sohrab refuses to interact with Amir or Soraya until the former reminisces about Hassan and kites and shows off some ofHassan's tricks. In the end, Sohrab only gives a lopsided smile, but Amir takes it with all his heart as he run s the kite for Sohrab, saying, “For you, a thousand times over.”All the words above are the main contents of this book. After reading this book, lots of people think that Amir didn’t regard Hassan as a friend because he saw the sexual assault happen right before him, but he didn’t manage to stop it! After that, Amir even tried to change the servant in order to give Hassan the gate! These behaviors make me feel disgusted, but when I read through the part that Amir felt so much guilty for this unfortunate thing, I begin to have the feeling of sympathy. As I see from the book, Amir is a man lack of courage. He wasn’t brave enough to stop the bad thing happened on Hassan; he wasn’t brave enough to express his apology to Hassan. Luckily, he did what he had to do: he saved the little Sohrab—Hassan’s only child from being maltreated by Assef and took him back to America. Amir had owed Hassan an apology many years ago, and he finally said it: “For you, a thousand times over.”Then there is an evil character I want to talk about, he is Assef. I think Assef is quite meaningful to Amir. If he doesn’t exist, Amir will spend his life peacefully with Hassan, Baba and Sohrab. The only quality he doesn’t possess is courage. Just because the existence of Assef in Amir’s life, he has the chance to complete his character. In some ways, Assef is a demon in Amir’s soul. He assaulted Hassan and Sohrab toshow how cruel the society is to Amir. The demon was not destroyed until Amir rescued Sohrab and Sohrab used his slingshot to shoot out Assef's left eye. After that, I think the old, poor-spirited Amir had gone and a new, brave Amir came to life.Men do err, but it can be big, it can be small. Some mistakes only take an apology like “I’m sorry”or “Not on purpose”to have others’forgiveness; some of them require your whole life to do penance. As an old saying goes: “One false step brings everlasting grief.”This book teaches me to make the right choice and to face the reality fearlessly. There will always be something precious to you needs your protection.。