(2) For what audience(s) is this book intended, and how can you tell? (In other words, for whom would you recommend this book?); (5) Find out about the author. How did they end up writing this particular book? How is the author's life reflected in the book?; (8) Pick a character that interested you and write about them in depth. You can also analyze a relationship between two different characters.
The Kite Runner
From what I have read, I would say that the audience for this book is older teenagers and adults. One of the reasons why I say this is because some of the topics they discuss throughout this book are hard and a bit inappropriate for younger kids to understand. For example, when Assef talks about how he strongly supports Hitler and how great of a leader he was, this would probably be a bit confusing for a younger reader to comprehend. If someone is ten or eleven and they came across this part of the book, they might be confused as to what Hitler actually did and if he really was a good leader like Assef says he is, or if he was a horrible person as Amir says his father once told him. Since a person this age most likely hasn't gotten very far in depth with this part of history in school, they may not clearly understand this part of the book, which is an important part in shaping and describing Assefs character. Another part in The Kite Runner where some inappropriate content is discussed is when Hassan gets raped. When this action is actually happening in the book, the author doesn't specifically say the word "rape". Instead he just sort of describes what is going on, but it is pretty clear to the reader what is happening. However, if the reader of this book was, again very young, they most likely wouldn't be able to understand what was happening until the author actually states it, and even when the author does clearly state what went on when Assef and his friends attacked Hassan, this reader would most likely still be left with a lot of confusing questions. Even if a young reader did know what was happening, it is still a topic that is usually discussed amongst people above a certain age.
Khaled Hosseini, the author of The Kite Runner, was born in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1965. In 1976 Hosseini and his family moved to Paris, France due to his father's job. The family had moved before, and back to Afghanistan, but this time they moved to the United States "because PDPA had seized power through a bloody coup in April 1978" (Wiki). He and his family settled in San Jose, CA where Hosseini attended Independent High School. Once he graduated, he enrolled into Santa Clara University. The Kite Runner was published in 2003, just about a year and a half after Hosseini left medical school. This book became and international best seller and was published in forty countries. It seems to me that this book is somewhat a reflection of his life and his challenges with growing up in Afghanistan and later moving to the United States. In the book, Amir and his father end up leaving Afghanistan and moving to northern California, which is the same thing that Khaled did when he was younger, just he moved with his whole family. This book seems like it is somewhat a reflection of the authors life through his eyes.
One relationship that particularly intrigues me is the one between Amir and Baba. From the beginning of the book when Amir's father tells him to leave him and Rahim Khan in the smoking room alone, it kind of had me wondering what kind of relationship the two had. When Amir thinks , " He'd close the door, leave me to wonder why it was always grown ups time." My first question that immediately came up during this part of the book was if Baba tried to substitute his time spent with his son with material items. I've heard of this kind of situation happen quite often with privileged children and their parents. It sometimes will seem like the children's parents will be to busy and occupied with their jobs and their own friends that they will somewhat neglect their child. They will also try and replace this time missed actually spending time with their kid with material items. Also, when Amir begins to write short stories of his own, his father seems less than interested when he tries to share one of them with him. He also says that sometimes he wishes that Rahim Khan were his actual father because he feels like he acceptd him more than his real dad does. It seems that Baba is a little displeased with Amir because he isn't really following in his footsteps. He isn't going down the path of law and politics like his father. Instead he enjoys reading books and writing stories which seems to displease Baba. However, as the story progresses and Baba and Amir move to the United States, it seems like their relationship slowely, but surely improves. Baba seems to be a little more proud of Amir after he graduates college, even though it is only community college, and you can tell that the two grow a lot closer, especially during the time of the flea market and when Amir meets Saroya.
I really enjoyed reading The Kite Runner. It seemed so real and even though it was actually fiction, I feel that I learned a lot from reading it. I am interested in reading other books from Khaled Hosseini.
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