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The Kite Runner Summary 57620 Views


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Description:

Gee whiz! Running after kites sounds like so much fun! That's totally what this book is about, right? Nope. Hosseini's novel actually touches on subjects such as orphanages, abuse, and murder. Not quite as uplifting, but it does make for a great read.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:01

Kite Runner, a la Shmoop. Hey, wanna hear a funny story?

00:09

Well, then you’d better watch Comedy Central, cuz this one won't cut the mustard.

00:15

Seriously, get some Kleenex. I'll wait. My childhood was just like “Two and a Half

00:20

Men,” except there were two “halflings” in it, and it was set in pre-Taliban Kabul.

00:22

It was me, my dad, Baba, and our servants, Ali and his son Hassan <Huss-ON>. Hassan and

00:28

his dad were Hazaras which is not the most popular ethnicity in Afghanistan. It's kind

00:36

of like being the wildebeest at a crocodile party.

00:40

I saw Hassan a lot, but I never thought of him as a buddy. For one thing, I always got

00:44

the feeling that Baba liked him better than me.

00:47

Then everything changed. Hassan and I were out kite fighting, which is kind of like Fruit

00:52

Ninja… but with kites.

00:54

I won, which was awesome, because that meant I got to keep the loser's kite. Hassan ran

01:00

off to collect my winnings, like a good servant, and he took a while coming back.

01:04

I followed him, and found him in an alleyway with some local bullies, getting raped. Which

01:10

was totally not a scene you want to walk into. So, I didn't.

01:15

Instead, I ran away and pretended I had no idea where Hassan had gone.

01:21

I know, I know, I'm a chicken. But how do you bring a thing like that up in conversation?

01:26

Some things are just better left unsaid. Right? Except now, this secret was eating me up from

01:31

inside.

01:32

Even worse, I had to watch Baba being all mushy with Hassan, when he should have been

01:36

getting mushy with ME… in a totally grown up, manly sort of way.

01:42

I had to do something. So I made the obvious choice...frame Hassan for stealing and get

01:48

him kicked out. Then it was just me and Baba, and somewhat smooth sailing to California!

01:56

Years went by, and I put my villainous past behind me. I got myself a wife, and lost my

02:02

Baba to cancer.

02:04

Then Baba’s old friend, Rahim Khan asked me to come back home, because things in Afghanistan

02:11

were getting ugly. My old pal Hassan and his wife had been murdered by the Taliban, which

02:16

was gunning for Hazaras. Literally. …

02:20

Rahim really laid on the guilt trip, showing me cheery letters from Hassan, and telling

02:24

me about Hassan’s son, Sohrab who was all alone in an orphanage.

02:29

He saved the zinger for the end, though…Hassan was my half-brother! Baba’s actual son!

02:36

Now I feel like an even bigger creep.

02:37

I was the only one who could help Sohrab. It was time for an Amir-acle. See what I did

02:43

there? The only problem was, Sohrab wasn't at the

02:47

orphanage. He was living with an extremely creepy official with a yen for underage boys.

02:53

Plot twist alert... Sohrab's gross guardian was the same dude who raped Hassan. Hold a

02:59

grudge much?  The sleazebag tried to beat me up. I was able to successfully stop most

03:04

of his punches with my body until Sohrab nailed him with a slingshot, and we escaped.

03:12

I wanted to take Sohrab back to the states with me, but there's a lot of red tape when

03:16

your parents mysteriously vanish, and you're in and out of social services.

03:21

I told Sohrab he'd have to go back into an orphanage for a bit, and he tried to kill

03:25

himself. A little drastic, but I guess you can’t really blame him…

03:29

My lady and I figured out a way to take him with us, but he was giving me the silent treatment...kids

03:35

these days. I think Sohrab and I are starting to connect,

03:39

though. We flew a kite together, and it was just like the good ol’ days with me and

03:43

his dad. He even smiled.

03:45

Okay, that’s as close to a happy ending as you’re gonna get…

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