I was beyond shocked when I learned this book was banned. Why? Because we watched the movie in adolescent catechesis. (That's a thing in my church where a group of teenagers eats cookies, watches movies, and makes mind maps about biblical texts. It's as boring and unnaturally social as it sounds. The latter is why I don't go anymore.) Surely nothing is holier and purer in the US than that?! (In Europe, the holiest and purest things are secularism and bureaucracy.) And it was a great choice for an activity, too, because it's one Friday evening on the first floor of my church building that I can actually recall as pleasant and memorable. If even my church people approve, and the Taliban doesn't, how can US conservative folks not declare love to this novel?
Justification: Refused
Anthem: None
Rating: ****
Risk: XX (might scare young readers)
Review: I think this is a beautiful book, about a country and culture I know little about. I love this 'story of my life' type of book. It's a writing style I never grow tired of. There were some things that I disliked, though. Khaled Hosseini, an Afghan refugee himself, writes from a very western perspective a very Middle Eastern story. A Goodreads reviewer states the following:
This is the sort of book White America reads to feel worldly. (...) but on closer inspection (aside from the occasional tidbit) it is a thoroughly western story, firmly ensconced in the western tradition.I read this beginning to the review when I'd just started the book. As someone born long after the wall fell, I have little knowledge of Afghan history and the Cold War conflict there, so at the start, it's hard to point out inaccuracies. I am familiar with the Sunni/Shia conflict, but only the basic spoon-feedings in religion class. However, the western tradition stood out to me when Amir grew interested in Soraya. It felt like an enormous flickering sign was jammed onto the page. Calm down, western reader! I'm not going to condone my countrymen's disregard for women's rights! Never! One of my favorite quotations says,
Art should disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed.Currently, Muslim and Arab cultures are under fire in the name of women's rights. They are the disturbed. Our right-wing politicians, conjuring up absolutely no understanding Middle Eastern history, are the comfortable. And the closer you look, the more you noticed subtle hints at western culture (as far as we have one) and ethics. Another thing I didn't care for was the constant foreshadowing.
And now that we have returned to writing craft anyway, the plot and character building are by no means perfect. That being said, I don't mind. I think the story is meant more like a fairytale, you know? Like a symbolic tale. Like the story of the man with the pearl.
The following will contain spoilers for The Kite Runner and discusses rape, though not graphically.
Violence
Multiple wars are fought over the course of this book, so it's self-evident there's at least some violence in the story. As I said above, I saw the movie when I was about 13 or 14 and it was heavy stuff to see on screen. The stoning of an unmarried couple and the rape of a young boy aren't easy to watch. I was prepared for the execution in the book since I'd remembered that part, but I'd forgotten completely about the rape. It was hard to read, and I don't take that sentence lightly. I can take the torture or death of a character quite okay, but with this scene, I was happy to read it at intervals due to circumstances. However, the violence is neither glorified nor unnecessary, and sensitive teens who read the book in school can be instructed about the scene beforehand and should be allowed to skip it.
Homosexuality
This one forced me to do some research as to who filed the complaint. I considered the possibility of the LGBT community being displeased with the portrayal of homosexuality in the novel, because it's so associated with abuse here. I was surprised to find the same old conservatives (no offense, I'm awfully traditional myself) to be the challengers, who shied away from gays even as villains. I don't think they make a good point, though, since it's reasonable for there to be rape in such a sexually suppressed society. How can you forbid the depiction of reality?
Offensive language
Yes, there are bad words. Pretty severe ones, too. Nonetheless, if you look at percentage, I think the lyrics of the average horny pop song are cruder than this highly educational novel.
Religious viewpoint
Oh, no! A book talks about religion AND is Islamic? *mothers in flowery dresses faint* *dad's in polo shirts shake heads in disappointment* Enough of this bullshit, though. I know some of you right-wing pricks are still struggling to accommodate, but in the majority of this beautiful modern society, we have this thing called 'religious freedom'.
Definition of freedom of religion
Crazy, am I right? No kidding, though, I understand it's terrifying to expose your kid to different religions when you want it to stick with yours. My parents suffer from the same thing. But think about this: What is the worth of faith that has never been questioned or considered from an alternate viewpoint? The more religions and convictions cross my path, the stronger my devotion to my own becomes. Don't isolate your child, but prepare it for adulthood with gentle little excursions into the summer breeze. That way, it won't startle as much when you introduce it to the hurricane.
Sexually explicit
By all means, don't teach this book in middle school. Rape is a subject we should educate people more about, but this is heavy stuff. To me, nothing is as hard to read about as sexual abuse. It's still a taboo, which is wrong, but who can blame us? It literally makes me sick to my stomach to read descriptions of rape, even if they aren't graphic at all. But that's no real excuse for our silence, is it? 1 in 5 undergraduate women experiences sexual assault in college. That figure terrifies me, a girl going to college in two years. We have to talk about sexual assault because it happens. How can you not acknowledge victims who are scarred for the rest of their lives? Questions about what is rape and what isn't already came up in class last year and the giant leap in between our opinions worries me to death. By all means, educate us!
Update: since extra research, I have found that 1/5 is not an accurate statistic. 1/53 is deemed a more reliable number.
Unsuited for age group
As I said, don't hand this book to very young teens. 15 and up should be acceptable, though, especially with a warning beforehand.
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