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The Kite RunnerStock informationGeneral Fields
Special Fields
DescriptionThis is the remarkable debut novel from Khaled Hosseini. Twelve year old Amir is desperate to win the approval of his father Baba, one of the richest and most respected merchants in Kabul. He has failed to do so through academia or brawn, but the one area where they connect is the annual kite fighting tournament. Amir is determined not just to win the competition but to run the last kite and bring it home triumphantly, to prove to his father that he has the makings of a man. His loyal friend Hassan is the best kite runner that Amir has ever seen, and he promises to help him - for Hassan always helps Amir out of trouble. But, Hassan is a Shi'a Muslim and this is 1970s Afghanistan.Hassan is taunted and jeered at by Amir's school friends; he is merely a servant living in a shack at the back of Amir's house. So why does Amir feel such envy towards his friend? Then, what happens to Hassan on the afternoon of the tournament is to shatter all their lives, and define their futures. When Russia invades Afghanistan, Amir and Baba escape to San Francisco, where Baba fades but Amir feels that at last he can succeed. Promotion infoAn extraordinary and touching first novel - a remarkable story of Afghans and Afghanistan. Longlisted for the 2005 IMPAC literary award Author descriptionKhaled Hosseini was born in Afghanistan and emigrated to the USA in the early 1980s where he worked as a physician. He has had a number of short stories published and has been nominated for a Pusheart Prize. |