The Kite Runner

Hello :)


We are reading a book called "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini in class this semester.

The book was published in 2003, and it's Hosseini's first novel. The novel is set in Afghanistan, in the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, and it is about a boy named Amir and his friend Hassan who is the son of his father's Hazara servant. The period of time where the story is set includes important settings, for example from the fall of Afghanistan's monarchy though the Soviet invasion, the mass emigration of refugees to the United States and Pakistan, and the rise of the Taliban regime. Hassan is guilty for abandoning his friend in his country and returns to Afghanistan and to his childhood home to correct his past. A movie based on the novel was made in 2007, directed by Marc Foster.

I've read three chapters and my first impression of the book is not so good. This is probably because it has a slow start and I don't find it very interesting yet. But I hope, and think, that this will change when I read some more of the novel. Because most of the people I have talked to, says that the book is a great book, extremely interesting and when you start reading it, it's really hard to put it away. I hope this is true!



One thing I like about the book is that it is written in an easy language, so it is understandable for those of us who are not native speakers of English. I really liked this quote from "The Kite Runner":
"I looked up at those twin kites. I though about Hassan. Though about Baba. Ali. Kabul. I though of the life I had until the winter of 1975 came along and changed everything. And made me who I am today". (page 2). I like this quote because it tells me that he thinks that his childhood has formed him and made him who he is. When he is thinking this he is sitting on a bench in San Francisco, and he is thinking about how different his life was back in Afghanistan.


I haven't read as far yet, so this post will be longer soon! I just have to read some more in the book :)

Anna