"The curious thing was, I never thought of Hassan and me as friends either. Not in the usual sense, anyhow. Never mind that we taught each other to ride a bicycle with no hands, or to build a fully functional homemade camera out of a cardboard box. Never mind that we spent entire winters flying kites, running kites ... Never mind any of those things. Because history isn't easy to overcome. Neither is religion. In the end, I was Pashtun and he was Hazara, I was Sunni and he was Shi'a and nothing was ever going to change that. Nothing."

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini has been a huge success around the world and it has been made into a film. The Kite Runner is Hosseini's first book and it is the first novel written in English by an Afghani writer. It tells a fascinating story about Afghanistan's culture and history. Afghanistan is a country that has been viewed through stereotype and misconception by the West and Hosseini wanted to change his readers ideas on his homeland.
The Kite Runner spans three unsettling decades in Afghanistan's history. It begins in the early 1970s when the monarchy is ousted in a bloodless coup and moves to the time of the Taliban in the 1990s. The story focusses on the friendship of two boys, Amir and Hassan, both growing up in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital city, during the early 1970s. Amir is the educated son of a rich businessman, and Hassan, the illiterate son of the family servant. From the beginning, it is clear that Hassan’s loyalty to Amir is something deep, powerful and honourable. He will do anything for Amir and will only believe the best of him. Amir, despite all of his privileges,is the one most in want. He is desperate for his father’s approval, he is acutely aware that his desire to write makes him different to other boys. Amir is unable to stand up for himself and he relies on Hassan for help and protection in the tough streets of Kabul. His father Baba worries as he believes that: ‘A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who won’t stand up for anything.’ Amir struggles to deal with his father's emotional rejection and the conflicts and prejudices of Afghanistan. Amir's biggest challenge however, is to deal with his conscience after he betrays Hassan. Amir must accept his actions and inactions when Hassan is brutally attacked.
The Kite Runner is a novel that appeals to both young and old and it helps the reader take a deeper look at the human condition. The themes of the loss of innocence, the burden of guilt and the need for redemption are particularly relevant. It is a powerful novel that will provoke thought, self-reflection and discussion.