'The Kite Runner' tells the story of Amir and his friend Hassan growing up in Afghanistan in the 1970s (during the time of both the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and the British and American war with Afghanistan) and the tragic consequences following a "kite-running" competition they take part in. Although the Russian invasion forces Amir to leave Afghanistan to start a new life in the United States, the events of his childhood never really go away and years later, he returns to his home country following the rise of the Taliban in the hope of finding redemption. 
 'The Kite Runner' is an engaging tale of childhood betrayal and is an important and timely book given that many Westerners still have preconceived ideas about what life has been like in Afghanistan in recent years. Yet the main themes of the story are still universal such as the search of redemption, the love and tension between a father and a son and rape. Therefore, the story is very much a personal one rather than being overtly political. The characters are mostly well observed with believable voices although I felt I was being manipulated into feeling more sympathetic towards Amir than he probably deserved in spite of the huge amount of guilt he carried around with him for years. Also, Hassan was much idealized and Assef was a simplistic villain. For the most part, 'The Kite Runner' is a movingly written story, but I felt that Hosseini went slightly overboard with the sentimentality. 
 Overall, I consider that the first three quarters of the book were very compelling and well-paced; however, I found the ending a bit disappointing. I do not believe that Amir found redemption as the story followed a series of events that blocked the way and finally a convenient event appears where the villain who tormented Hassan's childhood is now doing the same to his son, Sohrab. Hassan's child appeared to be the solution for all of Amir's problems; I felt this was a cliche in the all too convenient ending which spoiled the balance.