Examining Khaled Hosseini’s "The Kite Runner" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns"

Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini’s two most notable books, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, have swept readers away since their publications in 2003 and 2007 respectively. Both novels have received widespread acclaim and became New York Times bestsellers. Moreover, the novels span the same time period, and describe stories of people from Afghanistan during a tragic period of war. That being said, one may wonder – what sets the two books apart from each other?

Non spoiler summary:

Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner follows 12 year old Amir, the privileged son of a rich Afghan businessman who loves flying kites competitively with his best friend Hassan. Nonetheless, as inseparable as Amir and Hassan are at first, an inevitable fault grows between them due to Hassan and his father being the servants of Amir’s household. Moreover, when the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan in 1979, Amir and his father are forced to move from Kabul, Afghanistan to America – leaving behind much of their life, Hassan and his father included. Amir’s ultimate conflict arises when he finds himself torn between saving himself and honoring his friendship with Hassan, something he can’t let go of even after moving away.

Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns is set in Afghanistan and Pakistan for its entirety, and follows two Afghan women: Mariam and Laila. Mariam, the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy man, is stuck living in a rundown kolba until she is forced to leave her home and to go to the city of Kabul. 20 years later, Laila is born to a middle-class family in Mariam’s neighborhood, where she is constantly overshadowed by her two brothers. In the backdrop of Mariam and Laila’s lives, countless wars are waged in Afghanistan, from the Soviet-Afghan War to the infighting of religious soldiers called the Mujahideen and the fall of the Taliban. Nevertheless, navigating imminent danger is only a small part of what Mariam and Laila undergo in their soon-to-be intertwined paths of love, grief, despair, and hope.

Reviews and comparisons [with spoilers]:

Khaled Hosseini made sure his debut novel, The Kite Runner, was filled with hope – and class privilege. That is, despite witnessing bits of war scattered here and there, the protagonist Amir is largely unaffected by the brutal fighting that plagued Afghanistan in the late 1900s because of his family’s wealth. As a child, Amir did not speak up when Hassan was assaulted by a classmate, nor was he present to experience the painful questions of loyalty as Afghanistan fought off the Soviets and turned on itself in bouts of civil war – because his family was able to buy their escape from Afghanistan soon after the Soviet takeover. Furthermore, Amir was not present to witness Hassan's murder by the Taliban, who never had it as easy as him. Amir's experience as a wealthy person can hardly be compared to that of other Afghans who spent years in the country getting beaten or killed, such as Hassan or even Hassan’s son Sohrab – who Amir later adopts.

Nonetheless, in portraying Amir as an imperfect, unlikable human being, Hosseini is able to mirror most individuals in his novel. Amir understands that he is the villain of Hassan’s life, and he represents humanity in his realization of, yet inability to act against, human cowardice. Despite all the criticism we may give, it is difficult to truly shame Amir’s actions – after all, his doings reflect that of our own.

On the other hand, Hosseini also creates a liberating, hopeful atmosphere in the second half of his book, which provides a refreshing narrative. As Amir rebuilds his life in America, he is exposed to friendly Afghan communities and propelled into a new and promising environment. It is after adopting Hassan’s child Sohrab that Amir finally participates in a kite-flying competition again – an activity he had loved doing with Hassan. While originally, it had been Hassan running to catch fallen kites for Amir, the story ends with Amir running a kite for Sohrab, finally taking on his responsibility to honor his best friend. What was once said by Hassan is repeated by Amir in a promise of courage, powerfully concluding Hosseini’s debut novel – “For you, a thousand times over” (371).

Hosseini’s second major hit, A Thousand Splendid Suns, is most remarkable in its ability to weave love and perseverance into a story of excruciating grief. Hosseini explores familial abandonment, experienced by both Mariam and Laila, and points out the consequences of a lack of love. For instance, Mariam is driven to idolize her abusive husband, Rasheed, simply because he wanted her when nobody else did. Laila describes herself as a mere visitor in a museum dedicated to her brothers, nothing more than “a receptacle for their myths. The parchment on which [Laila’s mother] meant to ink with their legends” (128). After Mariam experiences years of unsuccessful attempts at childbirth, Rasheed takes it upon himself to marry Laila and tell Mariam that his actions are “downright charitable” (193). 

Nonetheless, once Mariam and Laila realize that Rasheed is the antagonist of both their lives, they form an inextricable bond. It is at this point where Mariam and Laila could be hit with several blows – the deaths of family, friends, and significant others; physical beatings from Rasheed, etc. – and still endure it all for love. Furthermore, Mariam, Laila, and Laila’s children Aziza and Zalmai depict the essence of motherhood – for example, Mariam bravely kills Rasheed and then gives herself up to the Taliban to protect Laila’s family. Laila returns Mariam’s love by forever keeping Mariam in her “own heart, where she shines with the bursting radiance of a thousand splendid suns” (366). 

Further instances of kindness are seen throughout the book when Hosseini weaves in characters that do nothing but good. A Thousand Splendid Suns is beautiful in its pairing of despair with hope, as it describes people such as Laila’s father, her significant other Tariq, and Sayeed, a hotel owner who wholeheartedly supports Laila and Tariq during their family’s temporary stay in Pakistan after Mariam’s death. Despite the war plaguing Afghanistan, Hosseini does a wonderful job illustrating that purity can still exist.

Ultimately, what seems to me the factor that puts A Thousand Splendid Suns above The Kite Runner is its depiction of endurance and the beauty of hope. Hosseini’s second novel is both more brutal and more inspiring than The Kite Runner, because it narrates the story of two women trying to survive in the conservative warzone of Afghanistan as opposed to Amir’s relatively easy going life in America. The eventual ending of Mariam’s life is tragic, but touching because she made her own decision to die. Moreover, in the novel, Mariam and Laila exhibit their admiration for Kabul as the city withstands war and continuously shines like “a thousand splendid suns”. While in The Kite Runner, Amir abandoned his childhood in Kabul, A Thousand Splendid Suns focuses on resilience in Kabul’s society, upholding the value of tradition. 

Still, both books are intense in their own ways – The Kite Runner in a hopeful, enlivening way, and A Thousand Splendid Suns in a violent and cruel way. In addition, there appears to be an easter egg between the two books, that easter egg being the minor character Zaman – the head of an orphanage in Afghanistan which houses both Sohrab, Hassan’s son (The Kite Runner) and Aziza, Laila’s daughter (A Thousand Splendid Suns). Zaman’s compassionate demeanor depicts commendable bravery, as he creates a safe haven for children in a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. His presence invigorates each novel with the notion that there is still hope in the kindness and courage of humanity despite copious trauma. 

Each narrative Hosseini creates is new and fascinating while still relevant to a common theme – Afghanistan. Hosseni’s representation of different perspectives make both The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns novels worth reading.

by VICTORIA WOO