For August 2012, our Online Book Club continues by discussing The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Each week, we'll put forth a different question to prompt reflection on the book and its ideas. We hope you will participate in the discussion by leaving comments below!

Question for Week 2:

What parallels can be drawn between Amir and Hassan's relationship, and Baba and Ali's? Why is Amir afraid to be Hassan's true friend?

SPOILER ALERT!  If you have not read up to Amir's reunion with Rashid Khan, be advised that this blog will give away secrets...

Amir, the book's narrator, grew up in pre-Russian Afghanistan with his father Baba in a beautiful house in a wealthy area of Kabul. Baba  and Amir were Sunni Muslims of Pastun ethnicity. Their servants were Ali and his son Hassan, who lived in a mud hut on the property and were Shiite Muslims of the despised Hazara ethnicity. Ali, a young child, was taken in by Baba's father after his parents were killed. There is little action between Baba and Ali described in first portion of The Kite Runner. It is not until much later in the book that we learn Baba considers Ali to be his brother, is proud of providing for him and Hassan, and is devastated by them moving away.

Amir and Hassan, both without mothers, were breastfed by the same woman. Ali would remind them that "there was a brotherhood between people who fed from the same breast, a kinship that not even time could break". They grew up together, played together, and spent most of their time together until... the incident.

Both sets of relationships (Baba and Ali, Amir and Hassan), were marked by betrayals, secrecy, guilt, loyalty, and sacrifice. Baba betrayed Ali by having sex with Ali's wife and fathering Hassan. Ali kept this secret throughout his life, sacrificing his own honor for Baba. Amir betrayed Hassan by hiding rather than trying to stop Hassan's rape, (which was an act of revenge for Hassan's loyalty to Amir). Hassan later sacrified himself by not denying Amir's false accusation of theft. Ali and Hassan sacrificed themselves again by leaving their home without telling Baba about Amir's lie. 

Amir was afraid to be Hassan's true friend for various reasons. One was the ethnic and class tensions between the Sunni Pastuns and the Shiite Hazara minority. The Hazara were often reviled and tormented, called "mice-eating, flat-nosed, load-carrying donkeys".  Standing up for Hassan could have meant that Amir himself would be beaten and insulted as well.

In addition, Amir was jealous of Hassan's relationship with Baba. He was jealous of the attention Baba paid to Hassan, and afraid of Hassan being found more "worthy" by Baba than Amir was. He was also unhappy about sharing Baba's time with Hassan, who was always brought along on trips and outings.

After the rape, Amir found it impossible to even look at Hassan, who was a constant visual reminder of Amir's cowardice and guilt. As Amir said, "one of us had to go". This is what led to Amir saying that Hassan had stolen from him.

I find myself wondering how the lives of the four protagonists would have changed if the secret behind Hassan's parentage had been revealed while all of them were still alive...

See our Online Book Club page for more information about this book and to preview the next weeks' questions

For August 2012, our Online Book Club continues by discussing The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Each week, we'll put forth a different question to prompt reflection on the book and its ideas. We hope you will participate in the discussion by leaving comments below!

Question for Week 1:
KHALED HOSSEINI VIVIDLY DESCRIBES AFGANISTAN. HOW DID HIS DESCRIPTIONS DIFFER FROM IDEAS THAT YOU MAY ALREADY HAVE HAD ABOUT AFGANISTAN?

Before reading The Kite Runner, I knew more about Afghanistan than many Americans. I had spent a month in Turkey, and had met travelers who had gone through Afghanistan on their way to and from India. The departure board at the airport in Istanbul always included Kabul. I actually knew where Afghanistan was, that the terrain and weather were harsh, and that the people living there were fierce and proud. I knew that Asian cultures included many different elements than the cultures of Europe and America.

Later on, I learned about coups, a failed invasion by the Soviet Union, and the imposition of new rules on the people by the Taliban. I saw the United States drawn into the region, and yet another invasion of Afghanistan take place. Each of these were meant to change the national identity of the Afghani people. Each would have limited success.

The Kite Runner provided me with the intimate details of life within Afghanistan. In just one page, I learned about the passage of the Kochi (the nomads) through Kabul. I learned that John Wayne movies were shown, and it was a shock to find out that he was American and not Iranian. I learned that walks through the bazaars could end with rosewater ice cream topped with crushed pistachio nuts, as well as warm Coca-Cola.

One of the great things about this book is its ability to touch its readers and humanize the Afghani people. It has provided readers in America and around the world with glimpses into Afghanistan's peoples and cultures. These moments may seem far more real and personal to people than what they have heard on the news reports. I believe this to be a good thing, indeed.

See our Online Book Club page for more information about this book and to preview the next weeks' questions

Join us for an author talk with Fariba Nawa about her new book Opium Nation.

When veteran reporter Fariba Nawa returned home to Afghanistan—the nation she had fled as a child with her family during the Soviet invasion nearly twenty years earlier—she discovered a fractured country transformed by a multibillion-dollar drug trade. In Opium Nation, Nawa deftly illuminates the changes that have overtaken Afghanistan after decades of unbroken war. Sharing remarkable stories of poppy farmers, corrupt officials, expats, drug lords, and addicts, including her haunting encounter with a twelve-year-old child bride who was bartered to pay off her father’s opium debts, Nawa offers a revealing and provocative narrative of a homecoming more difficult than she ever imagined as she courageously explores her own Afghan American identity and unveils a startling portrait of a land in turmoil.

Fariba Nawa has written for the San Francisco Chronicle, the Christian Science Monitor, Mother Jones, The Sunday Times Magazine (London), Newsday, and the Village Voice. She has been a guest on CBS’s 48 Hours as well as numerous other television and radio shows on NPR, the BBC, MTV, and NBC. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two daughters.

Please join us for this lively and interesting talk with the author, accompanied by a photo gallery by Naeem Azizian.

Almaden Branch Library, Saturday, November 12th, 3pm

Cambrian Branch Library, Tuesday, November 15th, 6:30pm

San José Public Library Hosts National Geographic Super Star,

Author and Astronomer David Aguilar    

Thursday, January 13^th at 7 p.m.

The Almaden Branch Library and Community Center proudly hosts a dynamic presentation by author David Aguilar, who is also a prominent astronomer, NASA digital imager, and contributor to History Channel’s program “The Universe.”  Families, educators, stargazers and space enthusiast are invited to this free event to meet the author and hear him talk about outer space, the wonderment of science and his book SuperStars!

During his intriguing presentation Mr. Aguilar guides the audience through a galaxy of stars bringing all those mesmerizing little dots of light in the night sky to life.  He will also give the San José Public Library audience the very first “peek” at his new book, 13 Planets, that will be published this coming March.

This event is part of the Doris Dillon Author Series and is made possible by the San José Public Library Foundation and co-sponsored by Hicklebee's Bookstore.  A gift card to Hicklebee’s Bookstore will be awarded to the lucky school library with the most families in attendance.  Plus, a few members of the audience will also receive a copy of Aguilar’s new book.  

Rave reviews for David Aguilar’s presentations:

“David did a fabulous job with the assembly at Sunnyside Environmental School--his presentation has the perfect balance of drama, educational content and humor to keep students spellbound.  That he was able to hold the interest of and entertain a group whose ages spanned 3rd grade to 8th grade is especially noteworthy. His twin messages--about being alive to the wonders of the universe and using persistence, curiosity and self-motivation to craft a satisfying life--made quite an impression on his audience.” – Media escort in Portland.

“David was spectacular. I think the audience was in awe.” – Anderson’s Bookshop, Naperville, IL

About the Author

David Aguilar is the Director of Science Information at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the former Director of the Fiske Planetarium and Science Center at the University of Colorado. He is also an accomplished astronomy illustrator and an experienced educator with an enormous enthusiasm for bringing science to children.

The event will take place at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 13, 2011 at the Almaden Branch Library and Community Center, 6445 Camden Ave.  San Jose, CA 95120.   No reservations are required.  For more information call 808-3040 or visit www.sjpl.org.

To request an accommodation for Library-sponsored meetings or events, please call 408-808-3040 or 408-808-2130 (TTY) at least three business days before the meeting/event.