Hosseini, Khalad. The kite runner, a novel

Kliatt, July, 2004 by Nancy Chaplin

HOSSEINI, Khalad. The kite runner, a novel. Penguin, Berkley, Riverhead. 372p. c2003. 1-59448-000-1. $14.00. SA*

To quote from the review of the audio-book in KLIATT. November 2003: A gripping testament to the power of place, this novel takes the reader to Afghanistan just before the Russian occupation. Two boys play in an idyllic Kabul neighborhood. One is Amir, the son of a wealthy businessman; the other, Hassan, is raised as the son of the household servant. The friendship is pure until a consciousness of class and ethnicity intrudes. Sweeping political changes mirror the tragedy of personal heartbreak.

The novel educates the reader and is a tribute to the universality of human suffering, human foibles, and human heroism. It is a story with heroes and villains and ordinary folk trapped in dramatic circumstances. It is not too dramatic to say the world needs novels like this in the current climate of ethnic turmoil. Hosseini is a powerful writer who has offered a jewel to teachers of modern history and literature. Nancy Chaplin, Libn., VCCW, Powhatan, VA