The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

This book received a lot of attention a few years ago. This is because of the nature of the topic this book deals with. I believe this is the only book that correctly depicts the turmoil in Afghanistan before and after the Soviet Occupation. The history of Afghanistan is silently woven into the story of two Afghan boys growing up in the city of Kabul named Amir and Hassan. These children were inseparable, and they went through life together as best of friends. Hassan is actually one of the servants for Amir's family, and many of the local boys don't like the friendship between them. Another reason the local boys dislike Hassan is because he is a Hazara, an ethnic group that was often persecuted in those times. Nonetheless, Amir and Hassan enter and win the kite flying competition, which is a tradition in Afghanistan. Hassan, renowned for his kite running abilities, but when Hassan does not appear, Amir becomes extremely worried. He goes out to search for Hassan and discovers a mindblowing scene. He finds Hassan being bullied and sexually abused by some neighborhood bullies. After this point, Amir never confides what he saw to anyone. He always felt uncomfortable when Hassan was around after that, so he set up Hassan to look like a thief, and he and his family were dismissed from the grounds. Amir grows up, witnesses the injustices of the Soviets, the rise of several local militaristic groups taking power (backed by America) to take out the Communists, the rise of a particular militaristic group called the Taliban, and the death of his relatives. At this point, Amir is living in America with his sick father. After his father dies, Amir gets married to another Afghan woman he met. He also travels back to Afghanistan after finding out that one of his childhood friends was still alive, and that he wanted to speak to him. Amir arrives in Afghanistan to find it a different world, one ruled by a violent Muslim Extremist group. He locates his friend, and he sends him on a mission that will show what happened to Hassan after he was dismissed.
I loved this book because it can accurately depict the violent tyranny of the Taliban in Afghanistan without being stereotypical. On the news, people in America hear about daily bombings, and many have made the generalization that Muslims are in essence a violent people. It is true that there are Muslims that are terrorists, and some that just want to live as everyone else does. To the extremists, what they are doing seems right. This is shown in the book when Amir talks to one of the Talib while disguised, and the Talib started to describe a brutal massacre of Hazara people. Amir points out that in the west this is called ethnic cleansing, and the Talib responds by saying he likes the sound of that word. Amir represents the ideal, pious Muslim. He seeks a peaceful life, and when the extremism was introduced to Afghanistan, he fled to America. The Taliban in this book represent the ideas which the media gives us today: a violent group of people who use any means necessary to get the job done. This book was a great read.