The Kite Runner

Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner largely takes place in Afghanistan, providing a glimpse of what life is like there. The novel’s protagonist is Amir, the son of Baba, a well-off and overbearing father. Amir and his father flee to America after the Russian invasion, but Amir returns to an Afghanistan ruled by the Taliban a few years later. The perspective of an Afghan-American makes the narrative accessible to an American reader.

A central part of the story involves Amir’s relationship with Hassan, a boy Amir’s age who’s the son of the family servant and a member of the Hazara, a disliked ethnic group. Hassan is in some ways a friend of Amir’s and in some ways a social inferior, leading to some uncomfortable situations. Amir’s interactions with Hassan and with Baba, the father whose standard he can’t satisfy, form the human side of the book.

Overall, it’s a worthwhile, well-written novel that presents a vivid portrayal of Afghanistan. As a warning, a couple of the scenes are kind of disturbing.