Khaled Hosseini- A Genius

Profound thinker and writer Khalid Hosseini has made a mark with his books -’The Kite Runner’ and ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’. The two books became best sellers in no time! With such content and skill it would be a surprise if they weren’t….

Both the books give us a peekaboo into the lives of the people of Afghanistan. For a majority of us Afghani’s hav been just the news headlines and the figures, nothing more… Not many of us think about the emotions of the people living quite literally ‘IN the line of fire’. The two books are quite different and force you to picture the pain and misery of people there.

The first book that is The Kite Runner tells us more about the social barriers of caste that induce suffering. It is a story of two boys Amir and Hassan who are best friends right from childhood. Hassan is a Hazara (one of the lower castes) and he goes beyond limits for his dear friend who does not realize this at that point of time. In reality, Hassan is the Amir’s illegal step brother (which he discovers very later). Just to save himself from the disgrace, his faithful servant takes Hassan to be his child. The story is set in the background of the Sovient invasion. It tells us about how Amir flees from Afghanistan and has a life long regret of never having stood up for his best friend. A MUST read for all!
Amir might be the hero for a lot of people but for me Hassan is the true hero. He symbolizes true friendship and commitment. His forgiveness and love touching!

A Thousand Splendid Suns(ATSS) is again a great book but nothing in comparison with The Kite Runner.No wonder they say a writers first book is his best!
ATSS revolves around the story of two women and how they form a mother-daughter relationship in the hostile situation in Afghanistan where there had been one invasion after another. It also makes us aware of the pitiable state of women under the taliban rule. How the rules, regulations, schools even hospitals were different for both men and women. It is sadly the most inhuman behaviour one can imagine. But nevertheless it is a story of a fighter- Laila who not only overcomes the odds of life but also is lucky enough to spend her life with her childhood love -Tariq. Laila is an educated woman who dedicates her life to bringing her country back to life.

If you are still looking for another reason to read Khaled Hosseini books here it is…. Well… he is one hell of a good looking man!  hehehe