The+Kite+Runner+by+Khaled+Hosseini

Return to Home Page Return to English


 * The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini **

**About the Book**

//The Kite Runner// 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 forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could have ever predicted. Even after Amir and his father flee to America, Amir remains haunted by his cowardly actions and disloyalty. In part, it is these demons and the sometimes impossible quest for forgiveness that bring him back to his war-torn native land after it comes under Taliban rule. ("...I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded, not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.") From Amazon.com []


 * About the Author **

Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1965. His father was a diplomat with the Afghan Foreign Ministry and his mother taught Farsi and History at a large high school in Kabul. In 1976, the Afghan Foreign Ministry relocated the Hosseini family to Paris. They were ready to return to Kabul in 1980, but by then Afghanistan had already witnessed a bloody communist coup and the invasion of the Soviet army. The Hosseinis sought and were granted political asylum in the United States. In September of 1980, Hosseini's family moved to San Jose, California. Hosseini graduated from high school in 1984 and enrolled at Santa Clara University where he earned a bachelor's degree in Biology in 1988. The following year, he entered the University of California-San Diego's School of Medicine, where he earned a Medical Degree in 1993. He completed his residency at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. Hosseini was a practicing internist between 1996 and 2004. While in medical practice, Hosseini began writing his first novel, //The Kite Runner//, in March of 2001. In 2003, //The Kite Runner//, was published and has since become an international bestseller, published in 48 countries. In 2006 he was named a goodwill envoy to UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency. His second novel, //A Thousand Splendid Suns// was published in May of 2007. Currently, //A Thousand Splendid Suns// is published in 40 countries. Khaled has been working to provide humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan through The Khaled Hosseini Foundation. The concept for The Khaled Hosseini Foundation was inspired by a trip to Afghanistan Khaled made in 2007 with the UNHCR. He lives in northern California. From Khaled Hosseini's web site []

Author's website: []

Author information on Wikipedia: []

Additional biographical information: [|http://www.redroom.com/author/khaled-hosseini/bio][]


 * General **

Edition: Year level: 11 Previously used as a text? Yes Film of text available: Yes 2007 production directed by Marc Forster

Themes:

Additional themes information:


 * Student Resources **

Copies of related texts available in the library: 12 - includes other editions, study guides etc. Please ask the library staff

Additional resources: [] [] [] [] [] []

** Teaching Resources **

Copies of this text available in the library: 6 Copies of related texts available in the library: 12 - includes other editions, study guides etc. Please ask the library staff

Available online: Activities - [] Interpretation (film) - [] Amnesty International discussion - [] Teacher Handouts - [] Text analysis tools - []

Return to Home Page Return to English