The Kite Runner follows the story of Amir, the privilegedson of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir'sfather's servant. As children in the relatively stable Afghanistan ofthe early 1970s, the boys are inseparable. They spend idyllic daysrunning kites and telling stories of mystical places and powerfulwarriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of theirrelationship forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neitherboy could have ever predicted. Even after Amir and his father flee toAmerica, Amir remains haunted by his cowardly actions and disloyalty.In part, it is these demons and the sometimes impossible quest forforgiveness that bring him back to his war-torn native land after itcomes under Taliban rule. ("...I wondered if that was how forgivenessbudded, not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering itsthings, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of thenight.")
Some of the plot's turns and twists may be somewhatimplausible, but Hosseini has created characters that seem so real thatone almost forgets that The Kite Runner is a novel and not amemoir. At a time when Afghanistan has been thrust into the forefrontof America's collective consciousness ("people sipping lattes atStarbucks were talking about the battle for Kunduz"), Hosseini offersan honest, sometimes tragic, sometimes funny, but always heartfelt viewof a fascinating land. Perhaps the only true flaw in this extraordinarynovel is that it ends all too soon. --Gisele Toueg
