Why is The Kite Runner Assigned in Schools? The hope in The Kite Runner is weak, at best. Books don’t have to offer that hope explicitly, but we know that there IS hope available and the best stories offer hope, a way out of the despair. The truth is that without Christ, we are all desperately sinful, desperately trapped in webs of deceit, violence, and oppression. He is as fragile as the kites they are flying. After reading this much trauma, readers need a bit more hope than the barest glimmer offered at the end: Sohrab smiles for the first time in a year. One might argue that “all’s well that ends well,” but the book does not end well. Sohrab’s trauma is extensive enough that he attempts suicide. One such killing is described in the book prior to Amir’s attempt to rescue Sohrab.Īmir’s rescue of Sohrab is a grisly, violent affair. But Assef not only takes children for his own pleasure, he oversees gruesome public killings on behalf the Taliban. These children become sex slaves in the man’s house. Sohrab was taken from his orphanage in Kabul by a “man” who sometimes “takes children” in return for sending money to the orphanage. When Amir finally returns to Afghanistan as an adult, he finds that Hassan and his wife have been murdered by the Taliban. Since this is the primary “inciting event” that sets the rest of the book in motion, it is impossible to take out or gloss over the scene. The description is not overly graphic (compared to some YA novels on library shelves these days), but it is very disturbing to read. What follows (chapter 7) is traumatic: Assef’s two buddies hold Hassan down while Assef rapes him. Hassan refuses, knowing how important the kite is to Amir. Assef warns him again, saying Hassan will pay if he doesn’t comply. Assef, the resident bully, and his two cronies are lying in wait. To bring the prized kite home, Hassan must go through a deserted alleyway. Hassan is the best kite runner, and runs off to track it down, telling Amir, “for you, a thousand times over.” He knows that bringing home the last kite that falls in the annual kite-flying competition will make his father proud. Please note that this is a review written for parents, not for children.Īmir is desperate to win his father’s attention, but his father values athleticism, not his son’s budding skill as an author. *Spoiler alert* It is impossible to discuss whether The Kite Runner is “okay” for a reader without revealing a number of spoilers. This time, he works to intervene on behalf of Hassan’s son.

Decades later, Amir returns to Afghanistan. When war comes to Afghanistan, Amir and his father head for America Hassan and his father stay behind. After all, Hassan’s presence is a constant reminder of Amir’s failure. Amir’s guilt over his cowardice fosters a growing resentment towards Hasan, a bitterness towards life, and a desire to get rid of Hassan. Hassan is ever the devoted friend (and servant), and Amir thinks of Hassan as his best friend, too… until a traumatic event happens to Hassan while Amir watches without intervening.

Both boys lost their mothers as infants, and both nursed at the same breast-a fact which binds them together for life.

Recommended For: Ages 16 and up* (note considerations below)Īmir (the narrator) and Hassan grew up together in Afghanistan Hasan and his father are servants in Amir’s father’s household.

Kite runner book number of pages