Doing much reading during quarantine? Doreen has a suggestion for you to add to your bedside table.
By Doreen Yuan
Today, I would like to recommend a book called The Kite Runner. This is the first work of Khaled Husseini, an Afghan-American writer. It caused a sensation immediately after it was published in the United States in 2003. In 2006, this moving story was introduced to China and became a bestseller that moved millions of readers. For ten years, this book has meant a good time reading for countless readers. The sad and happy separation of the protagonist Amir and Hassan has deeply affected the hearts of readers, and, according to the book cover I was reading in China, it is the life-long five-star novel “most wanted to share with friends.”
Spoiler Alert: The story is about a young man who is eager to be recognized by his father and his servant like-a-brother friend. Because of his cowardice and timidity, the young man committed a crime that required atonement. The novel not only recollects his experience, it includes political events between countries–America and Afghanistan. There is description of hierarchy and racial discrimination. After reading the novel, my biggest feeling is that I realize the cruelty of the war, which has broken Afghanistan, separated its people and destroyed their families.
In the main description of the novel, the saddest part is the fate of Hassan’s father and his son, not only because of the humiliation of the hierarchical class and racial discrimination, but also because of the cowardly behavior of the protagonist. Loyal, honest, optimistic Hassan and cowardly selfish Amir make me lament the injustice of fate. To expiate sin, can Amir really atone? Stealing, in the novel, is unforgivable. Perhaps for the suffering person, atonement is just the memory of the sin stolen by the sinner, but the kind Hassan chooses to forgive.
Each of us should have a kite of our own, which can represent family, friendship, love, integrity, kindness and honesty. For Amir, the kite metaphor is an essential part of his personality. Only when we catch up with our own kite, we become a sound person. The beginning and the end of the novel are overlapped and become two similar pictures: the vast sky, the snowflakes falling, the air cold and clear, the kite chasing, children running with laughter, chasing the flying light and shadow. This scene is played out repeatedly in different regions and between different generations, but between each repetition, life has undergone dramatic changes. With the change of the protagonist’s fate, this picture has been continuously dyed with new colors, falling from the naive vision of children into the sadness of the transformation of world affairs.
Maybe the ending of the story is not perfect, maybe a little bitter and sour. But life is like this. We make mistakes, miss again, and then use life to save life.
Favorite Book Editor: James Zheng
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