Khaled Hosseini's Style and How it Affects Amir's Journey Back to Afghanistan

I have just finished about three-quarters of the novel, and the tensions in Afghanistan have heated up since Amir’s return.  The author, Khaled Hosseini, presents the conflict in this novel and the sense of urgency clearly through word choice and sentence structure when Rahim is telling Amir about how Afghanistan has changed.  

The extensive use of intricate details is a stylistic choice used by the author in this section of the novel in order to show the reader how much Amir needed to know about the new challenging lifestyle of Afghans.  Rahim Khan explains each important event of the past twenty years in utmost detail, hoping for Amir to feel that he was in Afghanistan when the events occurred.  Rahim Khan’s description of Hassan’s first child is extremely in depth, almost as if Rahim is trying to make Amir feel that he was there with them when “Hassan kissed the baby’s lifeless face, and we buried her in the backyard, near the sweetbrier bushes” (Hosseini 209).  Rahim wants to make Amir feel that even though he left Afghanistan, he is always welcomed back and in those twenty years he was gone but not forgotten. 

Hosseini uses very few words when trying to describe a powerful scene.  For example, when Amir is in shock once he hears about Hassan’s death all he says is “’No.  No.  No’ over and over again” (Hosseini 218).  By repeating the word no, the reader was able to feel the heartbreak that Amir feels when he hears that his half-brother is dead.  Hosseini’s careful placement of word choice especially at conflicting parts of the story helps the readers feel the emotions that the characters are feeling.    

            Not only does the author excessively pay attention to small details, he also incorporates Afghani words into the novel, specifically the dialogue.  For example, when the reader assumes that the conversation between Rahim Khan and Amir is in English, a Farsi word is dropped into conversation occasionally.  The subtle use of Farsi language in the novel is used to show that no matter what, the culture Amir was raised with is of utmost importance and that he was always see Afghanistan as his home, even though he does live in America.  Words such as “jan” are placed following ones name to show that they are good friends, family, and that they respect one another as loved ones.  Other words are slipped into conversation such as “Tashakor” meaning thank you and “Salaam” meaning hello, show how the author is trying to show the reader a glimpse of traditional Afghan culture by not only telling a story of Afghan life, but through their traditional Farsi language. 

             Khaled Hosseini has made his writing style unique and easy for a reader to appreciate.  Hosseini definitely showed his audience the gift he has for writing.  His style of writing keeps his readers on the edge of their seats, quickly turning the pages of the book hoping to find out what comes next!