The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father's servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption, and it is also about the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.

The first Afghan novel to be written in English, The Kite Runner tells a sweeping story of family, love, and friendship against a backdrop of history that has not been told in fiction before, bringing to mind the large canvases of the Russian writers of the nineteenth century. But just as it is old-fashioned in its narration, it is contemporary in its subject—the devastating history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years. As emotionally gripping as it is tender, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful debut.

Watch a video from Khaled Hosseini introducing his online book group discussion where readers can ask him questions through his website here:

View a video for The Kite Runner and learn more about The American Place Theatre's Literature to Life adaptation here.

Read about how Penguin Group (USA) built a school, grades one through six, honoring American booksellers, librarians, and educators who supported Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns here.

"Soaring Debut." —Boston Globe

"Exquisite. A wonderfully conjured story that offers a glimpse into an Afghanistan most Americans have never seen, and depicts a side of humanity rarely revealed." —The Philadelphia Inquirer

"A beautiful novel. Ranks among the best-written and most provocative stories of the year so far. Hosseini is an exhilaratingly original writer with a gift for irony and a gentle, perspective heart." —The Denver Post

“A moving portrait of modern Afghanistan, from its pre-Russian-invasion glory days through the terrible reign of the Taliban."—Entertainment Weekly