Literary Fiction Annotation

Literary Fiction Annotation: The Kite Runner

Author: Khaled Hosseini

Title: The Kite Runner

Genre: Literary Fiction (historical)

Publication Date: 2003

Publisher: Riverhead Books (New York)

Number of Pages: 371 pages

Geographic Setting: Afghanistan, California

Time Period: 1975-2003

Series (if applicable): None

Plot Summary:  The story between two friends, Amir and Hassan, who are from different religious and class, but share a very strong bond.  When Amir witnesses a horrible incident with Hassan, he runs away and distances himself from Hassan, so much to send him away with his father.  As the years pass, Amir is still haunted by that incident, so he decides to right the wrongs with the one person who stood by him.

Subject Headings: Male friendships, betrayal, social classes

Appeal: For those who can enjoy a good book, but this is not considered a “fun” book for pleasure.  For ages 16 and up due to disturbing scenes.

3 Terms that describe book: heartbreaking, redemption seeking, and powerful

Similar Works and Authors:

The Help – Kathryn Stockett: A story about a young woman who dares to do the unthinkable: write a book about the maids who take care of their families.

Unaccustomed Earth – Jhumpa Lahiri: A book that contains eight different stories about different people from different backgrounds that explore the secrets of family life at the heart.

Year of Wonders – Geraldine Brooks: A story about a young woman during the plague of the 17^th century where she confronts this dangerous and deadly disease in England.

Personal Thoughts: As I was reading this novel, I was enjoying how these two twelve-year-old friends did everything together, even enter a kite fighting tournament, where they would fly kites and try to get the other kites to fall and the last one flying would be considered a hero in the village, and the other kids would chase the free kites and whenever they caught them, they could claim them as their own.  But when Hassan experiences an awful incident, Amir witnesses it and runs away.  And because of that, he is ashamed and guilty for not sticking up to his friend for years.  “America was different.  America was a river, roaring along, unmindful of the past.  I could wade into this river, let my sins drown to the bottom, let the waters carry me someplace far.  Someplace with no ghosts, no memories, and no sins.  If for nothing else, for that, I embraced America” (Hosseini, 2003, 119). 

“Literary Fiction is critically acclaimed, often award-winning, fiction.  These books are often character-centered rather than plot-oriented.  They are thought-provoking and often address serious issues.  These are not page-turners, per se, although their fans certainly find them engrossing and compelling reading … Literary Fiction novels present dilemmas that please their readers, whether through singular characters, avant-garde style, or an intellectual approach to serious issues” (Saricks, 2009, 177-8).  This book shows us how the power of regret can haunt a person for a long time and the only way to get pass it is to face that guilt head on.  “A man who has no conscious, no goodness, does not suffer” (263). 

References:

Hosseini, K.  (2003).  The Kite Runner.  New York: Riverhead Books

Saricks, J.  (2009).  The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction.  2nd Ed.  Chicago: American Library Association.