Recommendations from our site
“This is one of the most beautifully written books. It’s one of my favourites. It is so poignant. It 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 for ever…The Kite Runner is looking at the portrait of Afghanistan pre-Taliban, and also when the war happens and the Taliban kicks in. So it spreads across a couple of decades. It’s the story of friendship, betrayal and one man’s journey to try and redeem himself.” Read more...
Shazia Khan, Journalist
This novel tells the story of Amir, a boy from a wealthy family in Kabul, and his friend Hassan. As children, they are obsessed with running kites. The novel paints a picture of Afghanistan of the 1970s before the Russian invasion, the descent into chaos and the rise of militant Islam.
Khaled Hosseini’s bestselling debut The Kite Runner tells the story of Amir Khan, a twelve-year-old boy living in the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul. Amir’s chief ambition is to win the local kite-fighting competition with his friend Hassan, who he has recruited to help him. However, the lives of both young boys are upended during the political tumult of the 1970s, as the Afghan monarchy collapses and the Soviet Union invades. Amir and his father flee to America to start anew. Years later, Amir receives a call from a family friend who bids him to return to his homeland to right the wrongs of the past. The Kite-Runner is a coming of age story of betrayal, guilt, and redemption; though darker and more realistic than The Alchemist, it shares some similar territory in its captivating storytelling.
From our article Books like The Alchemist
