Kites in the sky
Kites in the sky —The Kite Runner, by its original English title—is the first novel written by Afghan American physician and author Khaled Hosseini. The work was first published by Riverhead Books in 2003. Salamandra later obtained the translation, publication and distribution rights, launching the book in 2004. Despite being his first feature, it was an impressive commercial success. .
Coming Soon, Kites in the sky became a bestseller, garnering awards including the Nichols-Chancellor Medal and Humo's Gouden Bladwijzer (2008). In addition, the text achieved its own film adaptation under the direction of Marc Forster. The film was released in 2007, and can be found on the internet under the same name. To date, around 48 countries have this title in their bookstores.
Synopsis of Kites in the sky
The display of a treasure
Kites in the sky tells the story of friendship between Amir, a boy who lives in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood of Kabul, and hassan, his best friend and a lower-class Hazara servant of his father. The winter of 1975 takes place in Afghanistan. Life for these inseparable young people does not suffer major convulsions, since they do not have the slightest suspicion that one of the bloodiest episodes in its thousand-year history is close to unfolding in their city.
The plot begins when Amir, with an immeasurable desire to show his father that he too is a real man, decides to enter the kite competition that takes place every year. On his part, his partner Hassan also participates in said contest.
The conflict occurs at the moment in which this tournament endangers the close friendship that exists between the two boys.. This is because, although they treat each other as equals, in their world, they are not.
The start of the war in Afghanistan
Kites in the sky is an introductory book for anyone who does not know the history of Afghanistan and the political, social and economic events that gave rise to the war that has kept them in check for so many years. This novel of contemporary and historical realism does not have this war as its central theme, but if he walks through it, he transforms it into his backdrop.
The title makes it very clear that, in the years in which the events take place, Afghanistan was a people rooted in its ancient traditions, which it honored with care. Between 1979 and 1989 what is known as Soviet military intervention was raised in Afghanistan or Russo-Afghan war.
During the occupation, the country suffered a civil war where the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan fought against fundamentalist Islamists.
The story of a life
Amir, the narrator and main protagonist, tells the story of his life, from childhood to adulthood. Although the attacks suffered by his people —by the locals themselves and because of foreign intervention— are not the central axis of the plot, they help the reader to enter into context.
The true pillar of Kites in the sky is the friendship that arises between Amir and Hassan, despite the class difference that exists between them. Both develop a very special affection for each other. However, after many adventures, Amir makes a fatal mistake: he betrays his trustworthy and always faithful best friend, a fact that separates them forever.
At barely twelve years old, the young protagonist discovers one of the cruelest lessons: when we are selfish and sacrifice those who love us, we may not always be able to recover their love and faith in us.
Fate or coincidence?
Kites in the sky paints a portrait of what refugees must experience, who flee their native Afghanistan to other countries to stay safe. In turn, and to a greater extent, it talks about the strong emotional bonds that two or more people are capable of creating.
This book is, above all, about the relationships between Fathers and sons. It is through these ties that the characters discover how, by fate or chance, their paths cross.
As a curious fact to add, some readers have stated that the plot of Kites in the sky It has many imposed conveniences —by its author, of course—in order to move the story forward where he wants it to go.
Similarly, much of the reading public has concluded that this title by Khaled Hosseini is one of the most moving and realistic contemporary novels. It stands out for the roundness of its characters and how well built they are.
About the author, Khaled Hosseini
Khaled hosseini
Khaled Hosseini was born in 1965, in Kabul, Afghanistan. Hosseini's father was a diplomat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The family used to take trips abroad for this reason. In 1978 they did not have the opportunity to return home, because that year the communist revolution, which gave rise to the civil war and the subsequent foreign interventions. Later, in 1980, Khaled and his parents received political asylum in California, United States.
Hosseini's primary vocation was related to the health sciences. For that reason, After finishing his bachelor's degree, he studied Biology at the University of Santa Clara. His next step was a bachelor's degree at the University of San Diego School of Medicine. After finishing his internship at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, he did his medical work from 1886 to 2004.
During his residency, between his breaks in the corridors and rooms of the health center, Khaled Hosseini began to write the work that propelled him to become a full-time author: Kites in the sky, a book that already has a film adaptation and a graphic novel. After his first success, Hosseini felt the need to quit medicine. and create several additional titles.
Other books by Khaled Hosseini
- A Thousand Splendid Suns — A thousand splendid suns (2007);
- And the Mountains Echoed — And the mountains spoke (2013);
- supplication to the sea (2018)