Reminder of Best-selling Kite Runner

Book Reviews in Brief
From Opinari Quarterly newsletter, Winter 2010 edition-used by permission*-I am Opinari publisher/editor.
Reviewer: James N. Purcell, Jr.

The Kite Runner
Khaled Hosseini
Riverhead Books ©2003
The Berkley Publishing Group

The Kite Runner has special relevance for me as it evokes memories of my State Department involvement in the Afghan crisis. From the time of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December1979 until years later, I was constantly in touch with international efforts to aid the more than five million Afghan refugees forced to flee to Pakistan and Iran.

This story, told through the eyes of the privileged son, Amir, and the servant son, Hassan, contrasts vividly the beauty and tranquility of pre-War Kabul with the fear and devastation of Afghanistan under succeeding invaders, including the Soviet Union, the Mujahideen, and the Taliban. As the story unfolds, the kite runner becomes symbolic of both betrayal and sacrificial love.

I can strongly recommend The Kite Runner because it touched my heart with its testimony to the strength and resilience of the human spirit’s striving for survival under incredibly harsh and brutal circumstances. Readers may be interested in reading the author’s sequel to this book, A Thousand Splendid Suns.

Reviewer: James Purcell, Jr.’s refugee-migrant assistance career spanned more than 20 years in the U.S. and abroad. Assistant Secretary of State for Refugee Programs, U. S. Department of State/Refugee Bureau (1976-1986); Director General, International Organization for Migration (IOM) 1988-1998.