Kite Runner, The - Softcover

'This is one of those unforgettable stories that stay with you for years ... It is so powerful that for a long time after, everything I read seemed bland' Isabel Allende (author of 'The House of the Spirits') 'A story of fierce cruelty and fierce yet redeeming love ... vivid and engaging' New York Times 'The shattering first novel by Khaled Hosseini... a rich and soul-searching narrative ... a sharp, unforgettable taste of the trauma and tumult experienced by Afghanis as their country buckled.' Observer

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.