The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the approval of his father and resolves to win the local kite-fighting tournament, to prove that he has the makings of a man. His loyal friend Hassan promises to help him — for he always helps Amir — but this is 1970s Afghanistan and Hassan is merely a low-caste servant who is jeered at in the street, although Amir still feels jealous of his natural courage and the place he holds in his father’s heart.
But neither of the boys could foresee what would happen to Hassan on the afternoon of the tournament, which was to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realises that one day he must return, to find the one thing that his new world cannot grant him: redemption.

I have mixed feelings about this. In some ways I wanted a lot more detail and in some ways I was glad the book was mercifully short. There were the makings of about 4 different novels in this and I was puzzled as to why the story of the boys was chosen as the focus of the book. I felt as though I didn't learn enough about the Afghani culture and the two boys could have been from any country and the tale told would have been similar - redemption is a fairly common theme in fiction!
Rating - I give this 3/5
Not bad!

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Reviewed by Sarah @ Hamilton library