Hosseinis the Kite Runner Cliffnotes

The Kite Runner follows the maturation of Amir, a male from
Afghanistan who needs to find his way in the world as he realizes that
his own belief system is not that of his dominant culture. As an adult,
Amir also needs a way to atone for a childhood indiscretion, when an
act of cowardice costs him more than just a friendship. Set in
Afghanistan and the United States, The Kite Runner is a bildungsroman
that illustrates the similarities as well as the differences between the two
countries and the two vastly different cultures. It is the story of both
fathers and sons and friends and brothers, and it is a novel about right
and wrong and the nature of evil. Published in 2003 to great critical
and popular acclaim, The Kite Runner is considered a contemporary
classic.
WRITTEN BY: Khaled Hosseini
FIRST PUBLISHED: June 2003 by Riverhead Books (hardcover
edition). First trade paperback edition: May 2004. First Riverhead
Essential Edition: September 2005. The Library of Congress has cataloged
the novel with the following fiction categories: Käbol
(Afghanistan); male friendship; social classes; Afghanistan; betrayal.
TYPE OF WORK: novel
GENRES: bildungsroman; historical novel
SETTING: Opens in San Francisco, and then flashes back to
Afghanistan and Pakistan.
MAIN CHARACTERS: Amir; Baba; Hassan; Ali; Sohrab; Rahim
Khan
MAJOR THEMATIC TOPICS: alienation; betrayal; class issues
(both cultural and socioeconomic); the emotional intensity of childhood
affections; fear serving as a motivator; forgiveness; friendship; the
inherent nature of human evil; jealousy; lost innocence; love; manipulation;
redemption; the role of religion; revenge
MOTIFS: death; desires; doubling; dreams; education; fears; passion;
resentment; revenge; violence
MAJOR SYMBOLS: kites, kite fighting, kite running; myths;
pomegranate tree; scar; slingshot