In Kabul, hot running water had been like fathers, a rare commodity.
Interpretation
This quote compares the rarity of hot running water in Kabul to the rarity of a father's presence, emphasizing the value of both.
Khaled Hosseini's quote reflects on the scarcity of essential comforts and emotional connections in life, likening the elusive nature of hot running water in Kabul to the even greater rarity of a father figure. This metaphor illustrates how both physical and emotional needs can be fundamental to human experience, yet often remain unfulfilled, highlighting themes of longing, loss, and the search for stability in challenging environments.
In practice
In a speech about childhood hardships, one could refer to this quote to illustrate the emotional impact of parental absence.
You're gutless. It's how you were made. And that's not such a bad thing because your saving grace is that you've never lied to yourself about it. Not about that. Nothing wrong with cowardice as long as it comes with prudence. But when a coward stops remembering who he is... God help him.
There was brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast, a kinship that even time could not break. - Amir
I don't outline at all; I don't find it useful, and I don't like the way it boxes me in. I like the element of surprise and spontaneity, of letting the story find its own way.
And that's the thing about people who mean everything they say. They think everyone else does too.
Perspective [is] a luxury when your head [is] constantly buzzing with a swarm of demons.
The desert weed lives on, but the flower of spring blooms and wilts.
Opinions are a private matter. The public has an interest only in judgments.
That is someone who follows the teachings of the nonviolent Jesus and takes the gospel personally, and then pays the price. I fall into that category.
Baptism is the sacrament of allegiance of them that are to be received into the Kingdom of God, that is to say, into Eternal life, that is to say, to Remission of Sin. For as Eternal life was lost by the committing, so it is recovered by the remitting of men's sins.
Yoga is about the will, working with intelligence and self-reflexive consciousness, can free us from the inevitability of the wavering mind and outwardly directed senses.
The true strength of the Christian is the power of truth and love, which leads to the renunciation of all violence. Faith and violence are incompatible.
I mean, it's real hard to be free when you are bought and sold in the marketplace. Of course, don't ever tell anybody that they're not free, 'cause then they're gonna get real busy killin' and maimin' to prove to you that they are. Oh yeah, they're gonna talk to you and talk to you and talk to you about individual freedom. But they see a free individual, it's gonna scare 'em.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.