The Kite Runner (Essential Edition) Paperback - 2005
by Khaled Hosseini
In this shattering story of betrayal and redemption set in war-torn Afghanistan, childhood friends grow up as close as brothers, but face dramatically different fates when one flees to America after the Soviet invasion and the other is left behind.
About this book
Hosseini’s first novel takes place in Afghanistan and spans over several decades. The story follows the life of Amir, a young boy from a wealthy family, and his friend Hassan, the son of his father's servant. Despite their different social backgrounds, the two boys have a close friendship and bond over their love for kite fighting. However, after witnessing a traumatic event, Amir betrays Hassan, causing their friendship to fall apart.
The novel then follows Amir's journey as he grows up, moves to America, and tries to come to terms with his past actions. When Amir returns to Afghanistan as an adult, he must confront his guilt and make amends for his past mistakes. Throughout the story, Hosseini explores themes of redemption, betrayal, and the power of friendship. He also sheds light on the cultural and historical context of Afghanistan, including the impact of the Soviet invasion, the rise of the Taliban, and the mass exodus of Afghan refugees to the United States. Overall, "The Kite Runner" is a poignant and powerful story about personal growth, forgiveness, and the human experience. It was adapted into a film in 2007.
Summary
The New York Times bestseller and international classic loved by millions of readers.
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 sonstheir 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.
First line
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From the jacket flap
""I sat on a bench near a willow tree and watched a pair of kites soaring in the sky. I thought about something Rahim Khan said just before he hung up, almost as an afterthought, 'There is a way to be good again.'"
Now in paperback, one of the year's international literary sensations -- a shattering story of betrayal and redemption set in war-torn Afghanistan.
Amir and Hassan are childhood friends in the alleys and orchards of Kabul in the sunny days before the invasion of the Soviet army and Afghanistan's decent into fanaticism. Both motherless, they grow up as close as brothers, but their fates, they know, are to be different. Amir's father is a wealthy merchant; Hassan's father is his manservant. Amir belongs to the ruling caste of Pashtuns, Hassan to the despised Hazaras.
This fragile idyll is broken by the mounting ethnic, religious, and political tensions that begin to tear Afghanistan apart. An unspeakable assault on Hassan by a gang of local boys tears the friends apart; Amir has witnessed his friend's torment, but is too afraid to intercede. Plunged into self-loathing, Amir conspires to have Hassan and his father turned out of the household.
When the Soviets invade Afghanistan, Amir and his father flee to San Francisco, leaving Hassan and his father to a pitiless fate. Only years later will Amir have an opportunity to redeem himself by returning to Afghanistan to begin to repay the debt long owed to the man who should have been his brother.
Compelling, heartrending, and etched with details of a history never before told in fiction, The Kite Runner is a story of the ways in which we're damned by our moral failures, and of the extravagant cost of redemption.
First Edition Identification
Riverhead published a First US Edition, First Printing hardcover in 2033, New York. Bloomsbury Publishing published a First UK Edition, First Printing hardcover in 2003, London.
Details
- Title The Kite Runner (Essential Edition)
- Author Khaled Hosseini
- Binding Paperback
- Edition [ Edition: Repri
- Pages 384
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Riverhead Books, New York, New York, U.S.A.
- Date September 6, 2005
- ISBN 9781594481772 / 1594481776
- Weight 0.9 lbs (0.41 kg)
- Dimensions 8.4 x 5.4 x 1.1 in (21.34 x 13.72 x 2.79 cm)
- Ages 18 to UP years
- Grade levels 13 - UP
- Reading level 840
-
Themes
- Cultural Region: Middle Eastern
- Sex & Gender: Masculine
- Topical: Family
- Topical: Friendship
- Library of Congress subjects Boys, Afghanistan
- Dewey Decimal Code FIC
Media reviews
"This powerful first novel...tells the story of fierce cruelty and fierce yet redeeming love. Both transform the life of Amir, Khaled Hosseini's privileged young narrator, who comes of age during the last peaceful days of the monarchy, just before his country's revolution and its invasion by Russian forces. But political events, even as dramatic as the ones that are presented in The Kite Runner, are only a part of this story. In The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini gives us a vivid and engaging story that reminds us how long his people have been struggling to triumph over the forces of violence—forces that continue to threaten them even today."—The New York Times Book Review
"A powerful book...no frills, no nonsense, just hard, spare prose...an intimate account of family and friendship, betrayal and salvation that requires no atlas or translation to engage and enlighten us. Parts of The Kite Runner are raw and excruciating to read, yet the book in its entirety is lovingly written."—The Washington Post Book World
"An astonishing, powerful book."—Diane Sawyer
Citations
- Ingram Advance, 09/01/2005, Page 66
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