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Kabul: the Kite Runner

The Kite Runner is a complex story written by Khaled Hosseini where simple yet heinous events occur in a backdrop of social and economic upheaval in Kabul , Afghanistan. It is a story of guilt and cowardice and soul-searching and redemption in the life of Amir. However, even with such overt plot lines and possible morals, there is an underlying current spoken in the fine detail with which the author writes that subtly illustrates a common mantra: You can never go home.

Placed for the most part in the capital of Afghanistan , Kabul , The Kite Runner introduces the reader first to an idyllic life of innocence. Kabul is a peaceful city ideal for raising a family. The buildings are neat and orderly even in their haphazard layout, and there is a sense of community and unity among its residents. It also showcases the once-popular sport of “Kite Fighting,” where contestants try to sever the string of their opponents kite. To the victor goes the spoils (the kite), though of course, someone must run to get it. In the book, kite fighting brings neighbors together in playful competition, and we find that the sport spans generations, as Amir’s father reveals a prize kite he won when he was a child. We get a glimpse at how Kabul ’s well-to-do treat their children, their servants, and each other. We get a strong sense of social order and stability.

The story also offers a first hand account of the social and political turmoil that the Soviet invasion wrought upon the entire country. This is when Amir and his father are forced to flee Afghanistan , and eventually settle in the United States .

However, when circumstance and his conscience require Amir as a young man to return briefly to Kabul , we see an entirely different city. Many of the buildings are broken or destroyed, as befitting a place ravaged by war and preserved by the subsequent economic downturn. What remains of Kabul is dirty and disheveled.

The sense of community that was once prevalent is now non-existent. There is at first a sense of ‘every man for himself’ where closed doors and windows greet Amir, and any aid he receives during his brief stay must be done in secret. There is no more kite fighting (the Taliban banned the sport, which inspired the kernel of the idea of the story for the author, who was himself an avid kite fighter in Kabul , once). However as we see more of the city, we are given a glimpse of even darker times, where neighbor betrays neighbor to the ruling Taliban, and barbarous acts are committed in the name of zealotry. This is not the Kabul Amir remembers, certainly. And after even a few days, it becomes clear that this is not his home. The home of Amir’s childhood does not exist anymore, and there is no returning to it.

And that is perhaps the irony, because the same could be said of any town, any homecoming, to a lesser degree. By contrasting the changes in Kabul then and now, the author emphasizes the commonality of change over time, and suddenly Kabul becomes our town, and Afghanistan becomes our country, and Amir becomes us, a tourist in our own hometown. Indeed, even when you can go home, you can never truly go home.

For more information on Kabul, visit http://www.blogkabul.com and http://www.kabulmicroblog.com.

About the Author

Kabul $3.95 Modern events sometime demand the reissue of a book published several years ago. Hirsh's internationally acclaimed 1986 novel, "Kabul," provides an almost miraculous window into a country and its people that now have captured the world's attention. When the last Afghan king is deposed in the summer of 1973, the family of Omar Anwari, his loyal cabinet minister, is torn apart along with their country. Over seven turbulent years while Catherine, their American mother, struggles to hold them together, Mangal, the eldest son, breaks with his father to follow his own political conscience; daughter Saira in New York is torn between two cultures; and Tor, the youngest, most passionate of the three grows up to become perhaps the bravest of them all. An epic tale of civil war, political intrigue, and family tragedy, "Kabul" is a moving, insightful portrayal of a proud nation brought to chaos.

Kabul Fiza $10 Kabul Fiza - Raghav Sachar

Execution in Kabul $39.99 Execution in Kabul - Giclee Print

Pollution in the Kabul River, Kabul, Afghanistan $29.99 Jane Sweeney Pollution in the Kabul River, Kabul, Afghanistan - Photographic Print

Buildings on the Banks of the Kabul River, Central Kabul, Kabul, Afghanistan $29.99 Jane Sweeney Buildings on the Banks of the Kabul River, Central Kabul, Kabul, Afghanistan - Photographic Print

Kabul Fiza (Remix) $10 Kabul Fiza (Remix) - Raghav Sachar

Kabul Fiza (Theme) $10 Kabul Fiza (Theme) - Raghav Sachar

Map of the Kingdom of Kabul $49.99 Map of the Kingdom of Kabul - Giclee Print

Love Crimes of Kabul (DVD) $41.12 MOD-LOVE CRIMES OF KABUL (DVD/2011) NON-RETURNABLE

The Bookseller of Kabul $10.49 A Richard and Judy Book Club Selection.For more than 20 years Sultan Khan defied the authorities to supply books to the people of Kabul....

Street Scene, Kabul, Afghanistan $29.99 David Lomax Street Scene, Kabul, Afghanistan - Photographic Print

Cityscape at Sunrise, Kabul, Afghanistan $19.99 Stephane Victor Cityscape at Sunrise, Kabul, Afghanistan - Photographic Print

The British Retreat from Kabul $49.99 A.d. Mccormick The British Retreat from Kabul - Giclee Print

Radio Kabul $100.37 High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles Radio Kabul is the official radio station of Afghanistan. The name Radio Kabul has been given to many different incarnations of the staterun radio station since the first radio transmitters were installed in Kabul in the 1920s. In 1925, a 200 watt Russian transmitter operating at AM 833 kHz was installed in Kabul Palace by King Amanullah Khan. This transmitter was destroyed in the 1929 uprising against the king. The transmitter was replaced in 1931 by the new king Mohammed Nadir Shah, and was upgraded in 1940 when a new 20 kilowatt transmitter was installed in its place, operating at 600 kHz. This is generally considered the official birth of Radio Kabul. Programs were broadcast in Pashto, DariPersian, Hindi, English, and French. Author: Surhone, Lambert M./ Tennoe, Mariam T./ Henssonow, Susan F. Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 170 Publication Date: 2010/08/17 Language: English Dimensions: 6.00 x 9.02 x 0.39 inches

Afghanistan - Habibullah Khan, Amir of Kabul $24.99 Afghanistan - Habibullah Khan, Amir of Kabul - Photographic Print

Followers of Mohammed in Kabul, Afghanistan, 1800s $39.99 Followers of Mohammed in Kabul, Afghanistan, 1800s - Giclee Print

Street Scene in the Old Part of Central Kabul, Kabul, Afghanistan $29.99 Jane Sweeney Street Scene in the Old Part of Central Kabul, Kabul, Afghanistan - Photographic Print

Concrete Barricade to Stop Suicide Bombers Outside Kabul Museum, Kabul, Afghanistan $29.99 Jane Sweeney Concrete Barricade to Stop Suicide Bombers Outside Kabul Museum, Kabul, Afghanistan - Photographic Print

Famous Nuristan Wooden Statue of King on Horse, Kabul Museum, Kabul, Afghanistan $29.99 Jane Sweeney Famous Nuristan Wooden Statue of King on Horse, Kabul Museum, Kabul, Afghanistan - Photographic Print

Man Selling Rugs on Banks of Kabul River, Central Kabul, Afghanistan $29.99 Jane Sweeney Man Selling Rugs on Banks of Kabul River, Central Kabul, Afghanistan - Photographic Print

Street Scene Alongside the Kabul River, Central Kabul, Afghanistan $29.99 Jane Sweeney Street Scene Alongside the Kabul River, Central Kabul, Afghanistan - Photographic Print

The Swallows of Kabul $3.95 Set in Kabul under the rule of the Taliban, this extraordinary novel takes readers into the lives of two couples: Mohsen, who comes from a family of wealthy shopkeepers whom the Taliban has destroyed; Zunaira, his wife, exceedingly beautiful, who was once a brilliant teacher and is now no longer allowed to leave her home without an escort or covering her face. Intersecting their world is Atiq, a prison keeper, a man who has sincerely adopted the Taliban ideology and struggles to keep his faith, and his wife, Musarrat, who once rescued Atiq and is now dying of sickness and despair. Desperate, exhausted Mohsen wanders through Kabul when he is surrounded by a crowd about to stone an adulterous woman. Numbed by the hysterical atmosphere and drawn into their rage, he too throws stones at the face of the condemned woman buried up to her waist. With this gesture the lives of all four protagonists move toward their destinies. "The Swallows of Kabul" is a dazzling novel written with compassion and exquisite detail by one of the most lucid writers about the mentality of Islamic fundamentalists and the complexities of the Muslim world. Yasmina Khadra brings readers into the hot, dusty streets of Kabul and offers them an unflinching but compassionate insight into a society that violence and hypocrisy have brought to the edge of despair.

Beauty Academy of Kabul (DVD) $29.6 After a new beauty shop was set up in Kabul following the overthrow of the Taliban, a documentary crew travelled with a group of American beauticians who went to Afghanistan to train the workers who hope to ply their trade in the shop. BEAUTY ACADEMY OF KABUL is the resulting film, offering a fascinating look at the westernization of Kabul.

Shooting Kabul $6.99 Fadi never imagined he’d start middle school in Fremont, California, thousands of miles from home in Kabul—and half a world away from his missing six-year-old sister, Mariam. Adjusting to life in the United States isn’t easy for Fadi’s family, and as the events of September 11 unfold, the prospects of locating Mariam in war-torn Afghanistan seem slim. When a photography competition with a grand prize of a trip to India is announced, Fadi sees his chance to return to Afghanistan and find his sister. But can one photo really bring Mariam home? Based in part on Ms. Senzai’s husband’s own experience fleeing Soviet-controlled Afghanistan in 1979, Shooting Kabul is a powerful story of hope, love, and perseverance.