If you’ve heard about The Kite Runner, but haven’t read it yet, we offer a brief review:
Kite Runner is the first novel written by Khaled Hosseini, a practicing physician, whose family fled Afghanistan prior to the Taliban. Set in Kabul, Afghanistan in the 1970’s, the story focuses on Amir, the son of a wealthy merchant, and Hassan, the son of one of Amir’s father’s servants. The day in 1975, when 12-year-old Amir wins the annual kite-fighting tournament, is the best and worst day of his young life. The title refers to the competitive kite-flying young people participate in, generally in teams, where the kite-flyer uses his specially-equipped kite string to cut down opponents’ kites, and his teammate attempts to collect the fallen kite as a trophy. Hosseini's harrowing story evokes the irony of life that makes a masterpiece: the brutality and compassion of man, cowardice and courage, freedom and oppression, loss and love.
Kite Runner is the first novel written by Khaled Hosseini, a practicing physician, whose family fled Afghanistan prior to the Taliban. Set in Kabul, Afghanistan in the 1970’s, the story focuses on Amir, the son of a wealthy merchant, and Hassan, the son of one of Amir’s father’s servants. The day in 1975, when 12-year-old Amir wins the annual kite-fighting tournament, is the best and worst day of his young life. The title refers to the competitive kite-flying young people participate in, generally in teams, where the kite-flyer uses his specially-equipped kite string to cut down opponents’ kites, and his teammate attempts to collect the fallen kite as a trophy. Hosseini's harrowing story evokes the irony of life that makes a masterpiece: the brutality and compassion of man, cowardice and courage, freedom and oppression, loss and love.
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If you liked Kite Runner, try these other titles from The High Library.
Reading Lolita in Tehran,
Azar Nafisi, 2004.
High Library 820.9 N146r2004
An inspired blend of memoir and literary criticism, Reading Lolita in Tehran is a moving testament to the power of art and its ability to change and improve people's lives.
Reaping the Whirlwind: The Taliban Movement in Afghanistan, Michael Griffin, 2001.
High Library 958.104 G852r
Investigative reporter Griffin, news editor for the Index on Censorship, approaches recent Afghan history through local and international news reports in an effort to understand who the Taliban are and how they see their role in Afghanistan and in the Islamic world.
Afghanistan's Endless War: state failure, regional politics, and the rise of the Taliban, Larry P. Goodson, 2001.
High Library 958.1 G655a
This comprehensive academic text, written and prepared before September 11 and the subsequent United States air strikes on the Taliban, examines the past few decades, delving into the interwoven historical, political, economic and geographic factors that precipitated the country's woes.
Mr. Hosseini's next book is set to be published May 22, 2007 -
A Thousand Splendid Suns - sure to be another great read!
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