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The Kite Runner follows the story of Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. As children in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early 1970s, the boys are inseparable. They spend idyllic days running kites and telling stories of mystical places and powerful warriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of their relationship forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could have ever predicted. Even after Amir and his father flee to America, Amir remains haunted by his cowardly actions and disloyalty. In part, it is these demons and the sometimes impossible quest for forgiveness that bring him back to his war-torn native land after it comes under Taliban rule. ("...I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded, not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.")
Some of the plot's turns and twists may be somewhat implausible, but Hosseini has created characters that seem so real that one almost forgets that The Kite Runner is a novel and not a memoir. At a time when Afghanistan has been thrust into the forefront of America's collective consciousness ("people sipping lattes at Starbucks were talking about the battle for Kunduz"), Hosseini offers an honest, sometimes tragic, sometimes funny, but always heartfelt view of a fascinating land. Perhaps the only true flaw in this extraordinary novel is that it ends all too soon. --Gisele Toueg
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. Distinctively SIGNED by AUTHOR KHALED HOSSEINI on title page, in both English and Farsi. BLOOMSBURY SIGNED 2003 FIRST PRINTING. Rare 2003 Bloomsbury first British edition, new and unread, with original red band. Fine/fine; near flawless. Charcoal black clothboards w/red metallic printing; corners sharp. Textblock clean, tight, square, unmarked, unread, flawless. Unclipped satin-gloss pictorial dj complete with original red wrap-around band; near-flawless with very slight, light indentation on back cover, and tiny light crease on red bank. Original price on dj flap. Protected in clear archival Brodart wrapper. Carefully packaged, padded, and shipped in fresh new box to arrive in best condition. Complete satisfaction guarantee. Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # 150622-2