Book Review: The Kite Runner

The novel, “Kite Runner” under review is written by a Tajik novelist and a physician originally an Afghani, residing in North California. It is the first novel, written in English by an Afghan. It has been narrated in 25 chapters. It was first published in 2003. It has also been adapted into a film by the same name, released in December 2007. Hosseni’s personal memories of peaceful pre-Soviet era, Afghanistan as well as his personal experiences with the people of Hazara, led to the writing of this novel. The novel loosely fills in most of the relevant facts about Afghanistan’s chaotic recent history---the civil war of 1978, Soviet invasion, rise of Taliban opposition, the tensions between the Pashtuns and the Shiite Hazara minority. It covers the period from Soviet invasion of 1979 until its reconstruction, following the fall of Taliban. The novel is set in the backdrop of the troubled land of Afghanistan, starting in the 1960 s when the situation was more or less unruffled, before the soviets entered the scene in 1979. It revolves around a rich boy and his servant - companion.