The Kite Runner Responce II

So far I have reached to page 231. I am really enjoying the book still and hope that the ending fills up all of my expectations. The authors style of writing makes the characters seem to come to life. One thing that I noticed about his writing was that the majority of his characters are male and he only seems to show progression of them. The females are put on the shelf and referred back in the story as an item rather than a human. I guess this is fitting though because Afghanistan culture degrades women and treats them in the "shelf" way. Another thing that I noticed was that after Baba's cancer from smoking, the author makes numerous references from Amir's standpoint about smoking and of other characters smoking.

Themes

• Customs - Afghansitan culture is ver focused on predermined customes that dictate their lives.
• Love - Between Amir and many characters including but not limited to: Baba, Kahn, Hassan, and Soraya.
• Guilt - Guilt of what he had done to his friend (and later known, brother) Hassan and of other decisions.

My big question would be why did Baba keep the fact of Hassan's birth a secret from everyone? How come he did not reveal that Amir had a brother and let Hassan live a life of slavery?

"Hassan slumps to the asphalt, his life of unrequited loyalty drifting from him like the windblown kites he used to chase." This quote of indirect guilt on page 219 really showed Amir's thought process of Hassan's reported death. His adjectives like "unrequited loyalty" tells the reader how badly he feels for cheating Hassan after his never-ending faithfulness to the boy that would throw pomegranites at him and watch him get raped.

The Kite Runner

By my second Lit. Circle meeting I had read to page 149 in "The Kite Runner"

So far the book has been very enjoyable in my reading. Amir has just arrived in the US after a brutal Russian reign has overcome his previous country's (Afghanistan) government. He and his father, Baba, have set up shop in a San Jose swap meet to make a few dollars on the side. While running the front, Amir runs into the most beautiful girl he has ever seen before who is protected under her father "The General's" rules.

I predict that in the later parts of the book, Amir will find away to get around The General to some how make off with his daughter and maybe elope. Also, as Baba has been diagnosed with cancer, I believe that he will end up dying soon and that this will greatly transform Amir into the man his father has always wanted him to be. I also predict that Amir will find Hassan at the end some how and that their troubles will be mended.

I can see that later in the book the relationship between Amir and Soraya will most likely cause big problems if they continue on in this relationship in secret. Mainly because Afghan standards say that this is an inappropriate way to conduct themselves and Soraya's father is all into standards.

One of the most interesting things about the writing thus far was how visual the lines seem to be, almost as if it were written for the big screen. One part that particularly stood out to me was the scene where Amir and Hassan are sitting under the pomegranate tree, and suddenly Amir stands up and starts throwing pomegranates at Hassan. Hassan kind of sits there taking it without showing any want to retaliate, once Amir is done, Hassan picks up the remaining ten fruits, smashes them on his face, and walks away. The whole scene was very dramatic and almost cinematic.

While reading I found that I lost track of certain character's names (especially in the first section where they are still in Afghanistan) so what I did was make a list of characters that I thought were or would be important to the story and wrote down some key characteristics of them. This strategy also helps me when I am reading other fiction books with people that have very bland and forgettable names.

So far I have really enjoyed the book despite one of my friend's best efforts to convince me that he disliked it. And I can't wait to get to the end to see what happens.

Will Amir and Hassan be reunited again? Tune in later to find out!