The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is the latest book to be read by the Angels book club.

Amir is a young boy in Afghanistan who lives a privileged life as the son of one of riches men in Kabul. Hassan, the son of the families’ servant, is loyal to Amir and is his companion throughout his young life. When Amir, in a moment of uncertainty betrays Hassan, both of their lives are changed forever. As an adult living in America, Amir must return to Afghanistan to seek the redemption for the betrayal that has haunted him throughout his life.  The themes of betrayal and redemption feature heavily throughout the story; as the stories of Amir’s life and what is happening in his country of Afghanistan become interwoven.

We discussed these themes during our book club meeting, as well as the different ways that love and loyalty are demonstrated by the characters and how the ways that it is expressed change throughout the story. We also discussed the theme of suffering, as again, it has a heavy presence in the story. Each character suffers through loss; the loss of innocence, the loss of their country and the loss of their way of life.

Although a deeply gripping novel, it is also at times shocking and hard to read, as Hosseini spares no details in divulging the suffering of his characters.  Despite this, we agreed that the novels ending held an uplifting promise.  There is no indication that it is a completely happy ending, but the seeds are there and it is a welcome end of Amir’s journey.

Although at times not an easy read, we were in agreement that The Kite Runner is a moving and compelling novel,  which we have awarded a score of 8.5/10, another high score for the Angels book club.