67. “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini

23 augustus 2021

After a long delay and incentivized by recent events in Afghanistan I’ve only recently read Khaled Hosseini’s book “The Kite Runner”.

A central item around which the story has been woven is the treatment of the Hazara, a minority in Afghanistan. They suffer from discrimination both by Pashtun tribes and Taliban. I understand that the Hazara are marginalized in Afghanistan because they are Shiia and because they have a typical physiognomy.

Having read this book i wondered to which degree the local Afghan habits persist in the Afghan communities in the USA. The book gives only a hint to answer that question (and admittedly, it is not the theme of the book).

Further I’ll remember especially three sentences from the book:

• There is no monster, just a beautiful day
• For you, a thousand times over
• I want my old life back