The Kite Runner (Blog 8)
By: Khaled Hosseini

As depressing as this book was, I really did enjoy it.  Every time something good finally happened, a tragedy occurred shortly after, so I was relieved to see that the ending wasn't sad.  It actually ended the novel on a positive note with a sense of hope.  I liked that Sohrab got to partake in kite flying with Amir.  It was one of Amir's most cherished past times, especially because he spent those times with Hassan.  I think that it was interesting that Amir got another chance to experience this with Hassan, although it wasn't actually with Hassan himself.  Amir got to do this with Hassan's son Sohrab, whom reminded Amir of his best friend in numerous ways.  Since Amir had brought him to America, Sohrab had been silent the entire time.  No one could get him to talk or put a smile on his face.  It was a good experience for Amir and Sohrab to share together.  For Sohrab, it gave him the chance to finally try to live a normal childhood.  He finally felt at peace and welcome.  In addition, it was a connection for him to be with his father again.  For Amir, the kite flying gave him a sense of peace and forgiveness.  It was the first time he had flown a kite since he won the kite tournament 25 years before (the same day he saw Hassan get raped).  This was Amir's first time of having positive memories of Hassan since he had finally forgiven himself.  It was a chance to remind him of how special his childhood was, especially with Hassan as his best friend.  With this experience with Sohrab, Amir can feel Hassan through his son, and his memory can live on for both of them.  At the very end of the book, Amir finally gets Sohrab to smile.  This hopefully will lead to him opening up to Amir and others in his future life in America.  A quote that I liked at the end of this novel was "'for you a thousand times over'" (Hosseini, 371).  This quote was said many times throughout the book.  I liked it at the end of this because I took it as Amir telling Sohrab that he will do anything for him.  He regrets not sticking up for Hassan against Assef, but he is going to make up for it by always being there for Sohrab.