How do Amir from The Kite Runner and Luke O'Neill from The Thorn Birds compare as husbands?
Amir in Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner and Luke O'Neill in Colleen McCullough's The Thorn Birds are actually much more different than similar as husbands, for Amir has a good relationship with his wife while Luke definitely does not. Let's explore this in more depth.
In The Kite Runner
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The Kite Runner, Amir marries Soraya, whom he genuinely loves. The two have a good marriage and are actually close friends as well as husband and wife. The only real trouble in their relationship is their inability to have a child. Amir is not completely happy because of this and because of his guilt over Hassan, but he treats Soraya well. Eventually the couple takes in Hassan's son, Sohrab.
In The Thorn Birds, Luke O'Neill marries Meggie Cleary, mostly for her money. Luke is completely focused on money. He does not love Meggie. In fact, he puts her to work, takes control of her funds, and treats her as if she were an object. He even leaves her for weeks on end so she does not have a child. When Meggie does finally get pregnant and gives birth to Justine, Luke does not pay any attention at all. He does not care about his wife or child. He only wants money.
Is General Taheri in The Kite Runner more similar to Amir or Luke O'Neill in The Thorn Birds as a husband?
We can safely say that General Taheri in The Kite Runner is more like his son-in-law Amir than like the nasty Luke O'Neill in The Thorn Birds.
Neither General Taheri nor Amir is perfect. General Taheri is a highly traditional man who wants his daughter to live according to accepted customs and gets upset when she does not; however, when Baba asks permission for Amir to marry Soraya, the General is happy to give it. The General has a streak of pride, but mostly he is committed to his family and to service to his country. Amir, too, has issues while being an overall pretty good person. He tends to be rather selfish at times, especially when he is young, but he grows up to make a solid commitment to doing what he believes is right even if that also means putting himself in danger.
Both the General and Amir are quite different from the abusive and neglectful Luke O'Neill. Luke is Meggie's husband, but he treats her more like a slave, a possession who must always do his will. Luke's focus is on making money, and he neglects Meggie more often than not. He does not want his wife to get pregnant, but when she does, he ignores their daughter, too. He cares nothing for his responsibilities to his family or his own honor. He just wants money.