The Kite Runner

Inhisdebutnovel，TheKiteRunner，KhaledHosseiniaccomplisheswhatveryfewcontemporarynovelistsareabletodo。Hemanagestoprovideaneducationalandeye-openingaccountofacountry’spoliticalturmoil--inthiscase，Afghanistan--whilealsodevelopingcharacterswhoseheartbreakingstrugglesandemotionaltriumphsresonatewithreaderslongafterthelastpagehasbeenturnedover。Andhedoesthisonhisfirsttry。TheKiteRunnerfollowsthestoryofAmir，theprivilegedsonofawealthybusinessmaninKabul，andHassan，thesonofAmir’sfather’sservant。AschildrenintherelativelystableAfghanistanoftheearly1970s，theboysareinseparable。Theyspendidyllicdaysrunningkitesandtellingstoriesofmysticalplacesandpowerfulwarriorsuntilanunspeakableeventchangesthenatureoftheirrelationshipforever，andeventuallycementstheirbondinwaysneitherboycouldhaveeverpredicted。EvenafterAmirandhisfatherfleetoAmerica，Amirremainshauntedbyhiscowardlyactionsanddisloyalty。Inpart，itisthesedemonsandthesometimesimpossiblequestforforgivenessthatbringhimbacktohiswar-tornnativelandafteritcomesunderTalibanrule。Someoftheplot’sturnsandtwistsmaybesomewhatimplausible，butHosseinihascreatedcharactersthatseemsorealthatonealmostforgetsthatTheKiteRunnerisanovelandnotamemoir。AtatimewhenAfghanistanhasbeenthrustintotheforefrontofAmerica’scollectiveconsciousness（“peoplesippinglattesatStarbucksweretalkingaboutthebattleforKunduz”），Hosseinioffersanhonest，sometimestragic，sometimesfunny，butalwaysheartfeltviewofafascinatingland。Perhapstheonlytrueflawinthisextraordinarynovelisthatitendsalltoosoon。作者简介：KHALEDHOSSEINIwasborninKabul，Afghanistan，thesonofadiplomatwhosefamilyreceivedpoliticalasylumintheUnitedStatesin1980。HelivesinnorthernCalifornia，whereheisaphysician。TheKiteRunnerishisfirstnovel。