The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption; and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons – their love, their sacrifices, their lies.
A sweeping story of family, love, and friendship told against the devastating backdrop of the history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful novel that has become a beloved, one-of-a-kind classic.
The Kite Runner was a cornerstone read of my World Literature class in high school. Growing up in a time when Afghanistan was a country of perpetual problems, The Kite Runner was the first thing I was ever exposed to that offered more insight into the life and culture of Afghanistan.
Hosseini’s writing style is both intelligent and beautiful. The story is still tough read because of how deeply emotional and philosophical it is. Honestly, I think there are a lot of adults out there who could not get through this book – and that’s okay!
Even though it’s fiction, it was hard for me to not take Amir and Hassan’s stories as fact. Violence is everywhere and the issues Hosseini shines light on in The Kite Runner are the kind of things that people like to think doesn’t exist in their communities. They do though; coming to terms with that is hard but if there’s any piece of literature that demonstrates how important humanity is, it’s this one.
Synopsis from khaledhosseini.com via goodreads.com
H O L L Y + O A T E S 