The Kite Runner: Chapters 11-23

It has been a long time (chapter wise) since I have posted on my blog. Although I have already read the book once before, a lot has happened in the past 12 chapters. To start, the death of Baba was extremely emotional for me. Although I did not like him in the start of the novel (because of the way he was portrayed by the narrator, Amir) I came to truely love his character by the time of his death. I loved that Amir and Baba were able to develop a "real" father-son relationship in the years before Baba's passing and I am coming to like Amir because he is proving to be more human (showing feeling, emotion, love, care, etc.). I am also happy that Amir has married Soraya. I think that she has brought life to Amir's life and I really love her character. She is a caring individual who has helped to make Amir a better person (in my eyes). Soraya has given Amir someone to love and care for, which in turn, forces him to "come of age" and mature as a real man. The death of Baba also is helping Amir to "come of age" more because he is now forced to be on his own and learn lessons for himself.

I feel badly for Soraya and Amir because they are unable to have children. I think that if Amir and Soraya were to have a child together, it would have given Amir a way to mature, get away from his past, and start over. Soraya also really needs a child because I can see in her character the longing for someone else to love and care for besides Amir. Soraya is a teacher (so she obviously love children) and when she is unable to have a child of her own, as I read, I felt the pain that her character must have felt.

To be honest, in my first read through, I was shocked that Amir decided to go to Kabul. However, I was happy that he faced his fears and went out to find Sohrab even though he was afriad of what would happen to him. When Amir ran out of Rahim Khan's apartment saying that he would not go to find Sohrab (Hassan's son) I was afriad that he would not come back, yet deep down inside I had a feeling that Amir would not let Hassan's son be left in the orphanage after he had learned about what had happened to Hassan, Sohrab's mother, and everything else. Amir, in my eyes, came of age when he came back to Rahim Khan's apartment and said that he would go and find Sohrab. Amir, although scared and unsure of what would happen to him, decided that he was ready to make amends for his past.

The fight with Assef made me nervous and tense as I read. I already knew the outcome of the fight, but at the same time I still felt tied in the moment and uneasy about the whole situation. Amir's bravery and fear both were very apparent in this scene in the story. It was a very emotional scene because as I read I could see the terror in little Sohrab's face as he watched Amir and Assef fight (almost to the death of them). It was difficult to read this part because the imagery was so vivid...I felt as if I were right there in the room. I am proud of Amir for fighting Assef because at this point he is able to finally fight for Hassan (by saving his son from Assef) and do something for him after all Hassan did for Amir in the past. It is at this point that I feel Amir changed even more and I came to like him more as a character in the story...because he doesn't think of himself (for once) at this point in the novel.