Mixed Review

So, in section two of The Kite Runner (p.125-242) Amir heads back to Kabul at Rahim’s request. He is told that Hassan needs his help. After much debate with himself, he buckles and flies to meet his old friend Rahim. And our section ends with Amir leaving a home that had offered him shelter for a night on his way to Kabul.

So there’s your basic summary of what’s happened so far, but what do I want to say?

In many of my classmate’s logic (as I believe I mentioned in my last post) their views are clouded by a misguided belief that they’re supposed to dislike Amir because he dislikes himself so much. I find this frustrating, because many logical arguments are shot down, not through more logic, but by sheer stubbornness and will. But for now, that’s beside the point. I found this section very telling, not only because of Amir’s reactions to learning that Hassan was his brother, but also because of Amir’s driver’s reactions to Amir growing up in a wealthier section of Kabul. The driver rants at him continually, calling him a “tourist in his own country”, claiming that he had never actually seen the real Kabul. However, after hearing the real reason that Amir was returning, the driver relents and apologizes, ultimately helping him towards his goal. This shows how the horrors of the wars in Afghanistan has changed the world he knew, and how it changed the people within it, causing them to be less trusting and more judgmental.

The wars in Afghanistan changed the country in interesting ways, they describe a time before the wars when the place was peaceful, trusting, when a credit card was a stick they cut notches in. It is something that my generation probably cannot imagine, because as long as I can remember, Afghanistan is seen as a battlefield and ultimately unsafe in everyway. It is portrayed as such on TV, in the papers... pretty much in all modern media. Hosseini paints an excellent picture of what the country was like before all this happened, though Amir’s story creates a sad contrast to the world he portrays.