A large portion of The Kite Runner take place in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Amir and his father immigrate to California when he is 18.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Setting
The Kite Runner begins in Afghanistan where the reader learns about the childhood experiences of the main character Amir. These memories shape him to become the adult he is today. The experiences he remembers range from when he was a baby in the early 60's to the time he was a teenager. The setting is very important in this novel as the plot revolves around the culture, principles, and social classes of the Afghan people. The Soviet invasion also occurs within this time frame and Amir and his father are forced to immigrate to the United States. The memories of the main character shift to those of a teenager becoming a man. The pair must start a new life in San Francisco with almost nothing at all, after having everything they could possibly need and more in Afghanistan. Amir is young which allows him to transition into a new society while his father struggles to adapt as he lived in the Middle East for over 40 years.
Friday, March 4, 2011
3 Articles
“An Old, Familiar Face: Writer Khaled Hosseini, Lifting the Veil on Afghanistan”
Washington Post May 28, 2007 based on an interview with Khaled Hosseini and Tamara Jones
This article claims that Khaled Hosseini did not receive enough credit for his first book The Kite Runner. This novel “lifts the veil of Afghanistan” by describing the events that have occurred as well as the author’s personal memories of the turmoil in his native land. He also incorporates parts of Afghanistan’s history to provide historicism. Hosseini had completed two thirds of the manuscript when 911 occurred. He considered abandoning the book because he wondered whether Americans would be interested in Afghan society now that they were considered the “bad guys”. His wife Roya, a lawyer challenged him to show a different face of his homeland and her arguments convinced him to complete the novel. Developing interest in a sensitive story of two childhood friends growing up in an unpopular country at a time where post 911 distrust and anger exists has been a slow, difficult process. The article describes the author going to a book signing where 80 people were expected and having only 4 show up. The success of The Kite Runner seems to have been by word of mouth with one person reading the book and passing it on to another. Interest in another perspective on war torn Afghanistan has developed around this well written novel. Now over 4 million copies worldwide have been sold and the novel published in 34 countries.
Link- http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/GLD/hits?r=d&origSearch=true&o=DataType&n=10&l=d&c=3&locID=stc23378&secondary=false&u=CLC&t=KW&s=3&NA=Khaled+Hosseini
Wrenching Tale by an Afghan Immigrant Strikes a Chord
Author: Edward Wyatt
Khaled Hosseini’s novel is a success because readers can relate to the book which focuses on the friendship of two afghan boys Amir and Hassan. One is the child of a wealthy rug exporter while the other is the son of their family servant. Life in Afghanistan is described through the eyes of Amir and Hassan. Ultimately betrayal occurs which has a lifelong impact on both boys as they grow up apart, one in war torn Kabul and the other in California. Edward Wyatt writes that the characters are believable and people find similarities with other historic periods of time. Universal themes such as bullying, powerlessness and discrimination described in the novel are similar to what occurs in our society even today. Also the violence of the Tailiban has been compared to Nazi Germany and South Africa. To make the story believeable Hosseini’s rewrote the last 1/3 of the novel. Originally Amir married an American women and people found this to be unrealistic. The story was later changed so that the main character would marry an Afghan Immigrant. This book offers realism and the ability to relate to the readers which has resulted in The Kite Runner becoming a best seller with over 8 million copies sold worldwide.
Link-
Khaled Hosseini
Author: Laura Avery
Laura Avery writes a biographical essay on Khaled Hosseini . She describes the author of The Kite Runner as being born on March 4, 1965 in Kabul Afghanistan. Khaled was the first of five children, the son of an Afghan diplomat and his wife a high school teacher. The family moved from Tehran Iraq to Kabul Afghanistan, and then Paris France as Khaled’s father was assigned to different locations as part of his job with his country’s foreign ministry. In 1980, the family received political asylum in the United States , where Khaled eventually earns a medical degree from the University of California and becomes a practicing physician. Laura Avery describes The Kite Runner as a tale of friendship and redemption. This atmosphere is created when Amir enters a kite fighting contest. He sends Hassan to run to get the last cut kite. Amir goes to look for him, and spies him crouching in an alley as he is taunted by other boys. Amir hides from the group, but witnesses the ringleader, a half-German neighbourhood bully Azef who rapes Hassan. Asef says that in time Afghanistan will eliminate the Hazara ethnic minority as Nazi Germany attempted to do with Europe's Jews.The novel is similar to the author’s life with the same timeline. Both immigrate to the US from Afghanistan and must rely on welfare to get by. The Kite Runner began as a short story and Hosseini was encouraged to make this into something great.
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