"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

 
About the Book
Khaled Hosseini's debut novel follows a young boy, Amir, as he faces the challenges that confront him on the path to manhood - testing friendships, finding love, cheating death, accepting faults and gaining understanding. Living in Afghanistan in the 1960s, Amir enjoys a life of privilege that is shaped by his brotherly friendship with Hassan, his servant's son. Amir lives in constant want of his father's attention, feeling that he is a failure in his father's eyes. Hassan, on the other hand, seems to be able to do no wrong. Their friendship is a complex tapestry of love, loss, privilege, and shame.

Striving to be the son his father always wanted, Amir takes on the weight of living up to unrealistic expectations and places the fate of his relationship with his father on the outcome of a kite running tournament, a popular challenge in which participants must cut down the kites of others with their own kite. Amir wins the tournament. Yet just as he begins to feel that all will be right in the world, a tragedy occurs with his friend Hassan. This moment marks a turning point in Amir's life — one whose memory he seeks to bury by moving to America. There he realizes his dream of becoming a writer and marries for love but the memory of that fateful day will prove too strong to forget. Eventually it draws Amir back to Afghanistan to right the wrongs that began that day in the alley and continued in the days, months and years that followed.

About the Author
Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1965. His father was a diplomat in the Afghan Foreign Ministry and his mother taught Farsi and History at a large high school in Kabul. Due to the volatile political and social situation in Afghanistan - including two coups and the Soviet invasion - Khaled's family asked for and was granted political asylum in the U.S. He moved to San Jose, CA, with his family in 1980.

Hosseini graduated from high school in 1984 and enrolled at Santa Clara University where he earned a bachelor's degree in Biology in 1998. The following year, he entered the University of California-San Diego's School of Medicine, where he earned a medical degree in 1993. He completed his residency at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.

2005 Calendar of Events

An Evening with Khaled Hosseini
Wednesday, August 24; 7 p.m.
East Lansing Hannah Community Center

Khaled Hosseini: University Welcome for Incoming MSU Students
Thursday, August 25; 9:30 a.m. & 1:30 p.m.
Jack Breslin Student Event Center, MSU Campus

MSU Libraries' Friday Night Film Series: Kandahar
Friday, September 9; 7 p.m.
MSU Main Library, W449
A discussion led by Dr. Norman Graham of James Madison College to follow the screening.
 
Keeping Secrets: Writing the Private Reason
Monday, September 12 & Monday, September 19; 7 – 9 p.m.
East Lansing Public Library, Community Room
Dr. Anita Skeen of MSU's College of Arts and Letters will lead a writing workshop which will allow participants to explore how literature can and has been developed around secrets, and how our own secrets can shape our writing.

Kite Making in East Lansing Schools
September 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23

"The Kite Runner" Special Theme dinner
Wednesday, September 14; 5-7 p.m.
Yakeley Hall Cafeteria, MSU Campus

"The Kite Runner" Special Theme dinner
Thursday, September 15; 4 -7 p.m.
Holmes Hall cafeteria, MSU campus

An Evening With "The Kite Runner"
Thursday, September 15; 7 – 8:30 p.m.
East Lansing Hannah Community Center, Banquet Room, 819 Abbott
Facilitated discussion of the themes, characters and other dimensions of "The Kite Runner."

Inside Islam: A Cultural Fair
Sunday, September 18 ; 1-5 p.m.
The Islamic Center of East Lansing, 920 S. Harrison
Cultural fair featuring exhibits explaining Islam, and Muslim culture and daily life.

"The Sky's The Limit"
Friday, September 23; 5 p.m.
MSU campus, Munn Field
Family Fun Fest for all ages featuring kite flying, games, prizes and food. At 6 p.m. there will be a special demonstration of kite fighting as described in "The Kite Runner."

RHA Movie: Osama
Friday, Sept. 23, Sat. Sept. 24, Sunday, Sept. 25; 7:10 p.m. & 9:20 p.m.
Wells Hall, MSU Campus

One Book, One community Finale: "An Afghani Girl on the Other Side of the Sky"
Thursday, September 29; 7 p.m.
Barnes & Noble, 333 East Grand River
Farah Ahmedi, a young woman whose submission to the "Good Morning, America" nationwide essay contest was turned into a book, will speak to the community and announce the winners of the Barnes & Noble essay contest.

Farah Ahmedi speaks to High School Students
Friday, September 30; 9 a.m.
East Lansing High School