Every once in a while a book comes along that changes the course of English literature and fiction forever. Every once in a while a book comes along that touches your heart in a place you didn't even know existed. The book becomes more than just a few hundred pages, it becomes a feeling. It's a warm fuzzy feeling that returns each time you open the book and get lost in its words. For me, that book was "The Kite Runner".
This article isn't a book review, nor is it an analysis. Think of it more as an ode to what I consider one of the finest works of literature in recent years and to date, the only book that moved me to tears.
The first time I read "The Kite Runner" was during my 10th grade final exams. Yes, I did choose a great time to start it. My parents read the book long before I had, but rightly felt that it wasn't suitable material for me at that time. And I'm happy I didn't read it then because there are themes in the book that I wouldn't have been able to appreciate and it wouldn't have had any sort of impact on me. When I was finally given the green light to read the book, I had the 'wow I'm an adult now' feeling as well.
"The Kite Runner" is the type of book you can't put aside once you start it. I finished the book in a day or two but I took a while to come to terms with and fully accept what I had read. The book hit me, and it hit me hard. Before I read this masterpiece by Khaled Hosseini, I used to consider Harry Potter as the greatest piece of fiction that I had ever read. "The Kite Runner" really opened my eyes because it touched upon themes that I had read about before but had never seen portrayed this way.
In a book that touches upon topics like terrorism and rape, I found it truly remarkable that Hosseini didn't let the main themes of friendship and love ever get pushed into the background. You get completely sucked into this world of the brothers and before you realize it, you develop a sense of attachment and live every moment with them.
The story isn't complex, it's intricate. There's nothing simple about the story but it's still so tangible.
I haven't read anything else Khaled Hosseini has written, for the simple reason that I don't want it to ruin how I see "The Kite Runner". Because, in my opinion, this man can't write anything greater than this novel, and it's a risk I'm not willing to take. I don't want his other books to ruin my perception of him.
Funny story, the next time I read "The Kite Runner" was two years after my first reading. I found that different parts of the story appealed to me that time and I was able to appreciate parts of the story which had just flown above my head the last time. I can't wait to see what parts of the story I'll discover on my next reading because for "The Kite Runner", I'd do it a thousand times over.
