"It was only a smile, nothing more. It didn't make everything all right. It didn't make anything all right. Only a smile. A tiny thing... But I'll take it. With open arms. Because when the spring comes, it melts the snow one flake at a time."
I picked up ‘The Kite Runner’ when everyone I knew seemed to have read and fallen in love with it. I tend to view anything recently published and hyped up as much as this book with some skepticism. Add to that the fact that it was a gift from a friend who loved it, my liking it was pretty much expected. Now that I have read it, it is easy to see why it is so loved. A story of two childhood best friends from Afghanistan, torn by an incident for which one of them keeps seeking redemption all his life, even as he migrates to the US to escape the war-torn landscape of his motherland. It tells the story of Afghanistan (both the before and the horrific after) the way not many have heard it, and brings the horror of the ravaged country that much closer. It is also a study of friendships, the blood-brothers kind that young best friends feel, unstained by the realities of social standing and class, which might not necessarily last or build into a lifelong one; and the bond of adult friendship where the other friend knows you like no one else. Also, the writing is very good, and the characters are etched out well. I can also see why someone might not like it(though I have yet to meet such a soul). It is a bit melodramatic and the central character's attitude sometimes seems insensitive. But the strong point of the novel, which overcomes its very few shortcomings, is the pursuit of redemption and the author's refusal to hand it out in a simple way. The tone on which the book ends is especially good, without easy resolution or happiness, but definitely filled with hope. And who wouldn’t want to hear from a close friend: "For you, a thousand times over".
