The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Published by Bloomsbury, 2003

Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to gain the approval of his father and resolves to win the local kite-fighting tournament, to prove that he has the makings of a man. His loyal friend Hassan promises to help him – for he always helps Amir – but this is 1970s Afghanistan and Hassan is merely a low-caste servant who is jeered at in the street, although Amir feels jealous of his natural courage and the place he holds in his father’s heart. But neither of the boys could foresee what would happen to Hassan on the afternoon of the tournament, which was to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee America, Amir realises that one day he must return, to find the one thing that his new world cannot grant him: redemption.

‘This is one of those unforgettable stories that stay with you for years. All of the great themes of literature and of life are the fabric of this extraordinary novel: love, honor, guilt, fear, redemption… It is so powerful that for a long time everything I read after seemed bland’ Isabel Allende

‘Rich in warmth and humour… full of haunting images… vivid and engaging’ New York Times

‘Hosseini’s sparking description of people, places and emotions never dry up. Hosseini is a truly gifted teller of tales’ The Times

‘An epic tale… shattering… Amir’s story is simultaneously devastating and inspiring… sharp and unforgettable’ Observer

Khaled Hosseini was born in Afghanistan and his family received political asylum in the USA in 1980. He is a doctor and lives in California. The Kite Runner is his first novel.

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