Book, 2003 by Khaled Hosseini (author and physician)In his debut novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini accomplishes what very few contemporary novelists are able to do. He manages to provide an educational and eye-opening account of a country's political turmoil--in this case, Afghanistan--while also developing characters whose heartbreaking struggles and emotional triumphs resonate with readers long after the last page has been turned over. And he does this on his first try.
The Kite Runner follows the story of Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. As children in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early 1970s, the boys are inseparable. They spend idyllic days running kites and telling stories of mystical places and powerful warriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of their relationship forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could have ever predicted. Even after Amir and his father flee to America, Amir remains haunted by his cowardly actions and disloyalty. In part, it is these demons and the sometimes impossible quest for forgiveness that bring him back to his war-torn native land after it comes under Taliban rule.
Some of the plot's turns and twists may be somewhat implausible, but Hosseini has created characters that seem so real that one almost forgets that The Kite Runner is a novel and not a memoir. At a time when Afghanistan has been thrust into the forefront of America's collective consciousness ("people sipping lattes at Starbucks were talking about the battle for Kunduz"), Hosseini offers an honest, sometimes tragic, sometimes funny, but always heartfelt view of a fascinating land. Perhaps the only true flaw in this extraordinary novel is that it ends all too soon.
Movie, 2007 directed by Marc Forster Features: Zekeria Ebrahimi, Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada, Khalid Abdalla, Atossa Leoni
Tagline: There is a way to be good again.
Awards: Nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Original Score; also nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film
Did you know? The Afghan government has banned the film.
Have you read or seen The Kite Runner? What did you think of it?
I'm probably the last person on earth who hasn't read this book. I definitely need to get around to it. I also want to read A Thousand Splendid Suns.
