The Kite Runner
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The Kite Runner is the first novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. Published in 2003, it is the first novel published in English by an author from Afghanistan.
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Plot introduction
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The Kite Runner tells the story of Amir, a well-to-do Pashtun boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, who is haunted by the guilt of betraying his childhood friend Hassan, the son of his father's Hazara servant. The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of the monarchy in Afghanistan through the Soviet invasion, the mass exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the Taliban regime.
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Plot summary
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The novel is told by Amir, one of the novel’s main characters. Amir is an Afghan man living in Fremont, California remembering his childhood in Kabul in the 1970s.

He begins his story in pre-civil war Afghanistan. He and his Hazara servant Hassan spend many hours per day together. One of the most cherished times spent together was when Amir would read stories to Hassan, under a pomegranate tree. Amir had a love for literature, a trait similar to his mother, who died while giving birth to him. However, this troubles his father ("Bābā," Persian for father), who tries to make Amir more like himself, active and courageous. Baba puts Amir on a soccer team and tries to teach him to defend himself, but fails with every attempt.

Nevertheless, Amir continues to pursue his love for literature and eventually ends up composing his own short stories. Sadly, Amir’s father has almost no interest in his stories, although his business partner and friend to Amir, Rahim Khan, is full of praise.

One day when Hassan and Amir are walking through Afghanistan, they come across Assef, a sociopathic bully known for his brass knuckles and his rancor towards Hazaras. He prepares to fight Amir and Hassan, but Hassan threatens to shoot out Assef’s left eye with his slingshot, saying they'll call him "one-eyed Assef." Before the daunted bully backs off he warns them that he will have his revenge.

Assef's vow comes true during the day of Amir's favorite sport: "kite fighting". In this sport, children fly their kites and try to "slice" each other's kite. Amir wins the tournament, and Baba's praise, with his kite the last one flying, but when Hassan goes to fetch the last cut kite, a great trophy, Assef and two henchmen are there instead. Hassan tries to protect Amir's kite, but Assef beats Hassan and brutally rapes him. Amir hides and watches Hassan and is too scared to help him. Afterwards, Hassan becomes emotionally downcast. Amir knows why but keeps it a secret, and things are never the same between the two. After hearing a story from Rahim Khan, Amir decides it would be best for Hassan to go away. Amir frames Hassan as a thief but Baba forgives him, even though he admits to committing the crime - and despite the fact that Baba believes that "there is no act more wretched than stealing". Hassan and his father Ali, to Baba's extreme sorrow, decide that it's time to leave.

A short while later, the Russians invade Afghanistan; Amir and Baba escape to Peshawar, Pakistan and then to Fremont, California. There, Amir, who grew up in an expensive mansion in Afghanistan, finds them a humble apartment and Baba begins to work at a gas station. Amir begins taking classes at a local community college to develop his writing skills. Every Sunday, Baba and Amir make extra money selling used goods at a flea market. There, Amir meets Soraya Taheri and her family and eventually marries her. The days are far from happy, however. Amir watches helplessly as Baba sickens and dies from lung cancer; shortly thereafter he and Soraya learn that they cannot have children.

A year passes, and Amir embarks on a successful career as a novelist, and sells his first novel. After fifteen years, Amir receives a call from Rahim Khan, he says "there is a way to be good again" and flies to Pakistan to meet him. From Rahim Khan, Amir learns that Hassan and his wife were killed by the Taliban, and that Hassan was actually his illegitimate half-brother. The true reason that Rahim Khan has called Amir to Pakistan, however, is to go to Kabul to rescue Hassan's son, Sohrab, from an orphanage. Despite his anger at being deceived all his life, Amir agrees to go to Kabul to search for him.

Amir returns to Taliban-controlled Kabul to search for Sohrab, who is supposedly in an orphanage. However, the corrupt orphanage director has sold Sohrab as a slave to a Taliban official and executioner who dresses Sohrab in women's clothes and sexually abuses him. Amir sets an appointment with this man and meets him later. There he finds out that the Taliban official is actually Assef, whose epiphany (passing a kidney stone while being beaten in prison) led him to becoming Taliban. It is similar to Amir's, whose epiphany led him to be punished and to be good again. Assef agrees to relinquish Sohrab to Amir, but only if Amir can beat him in a fight to the death, with Sohrab as the prize. Assef brutally beats Amir and grievously injures him, and would soon kill him, but Amir is saved when Sohrab uses his slingshot to shoot out Assef's left eye, leaving him a "one-eyed Assef." While the guards are distracted with helping Assef, Sohrab and Amir escape.

After recovering from his injuries, Amir offers to adopt Sohrab and take him back to America. However, when difficulties arise in adopting Sohrab from Afghanistan and Amir mentions that Sohrab would have to stay in an orphanage for a while, Sohrab, frightened from his previous brutal treatment, attempts suicide. Luckily, Amir finds Sohrab in time, saves him, and takes him back to the United States. However, Sohrab is emotionally damaged and refuses to speak. This continues until his frozen emotions are thawed when Amir begins kite flying. Amir shows off some of Hassan’s tricks, and Sohrab begins to interact with Amir again. In the end all the book says is that Sohrab only shows a lopsided smile, but Amir takes it with all his heart. Amir then runs the kite for Sohrab showing that he indeed is the real kite runner.

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Characters
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Amir – The protagonist of the novel who begins as a well-to-do Pashtun boy in monarchical Afghanistan and later migrates to America following the downfall of the monarchy. Amir is Hassan's half brother.
Hassan -The son of Baba and Sanaubar, Ali and Sanaubar are married but Ali is barren; Amir's half brother.
Assef – a bully from Amir's neighborhood in Kabul, antagonist, rapist (rapes Hassan and Sohrab)
Baba – father of Amir and businessman
Ali – Baba's servant and thought to be the father of Hassan at first
Rahim Khan – Baba's business partner and best friend in Afghanistan
Soraya – an Afghan woman living in Fremont, California; wife of Amir
Sohrab – The son of Hassan, Sohrab is a traumatized and abused orphan in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Amir makes it his goal to retrieve Sohrab from the fallen country.
Sanaubar – Ali's promiscuous wife who gives birth to Hassan as a result of an affair with Baba
Farid – Bitter driver who is initially abrasive toward Amir but later befriends him. Farid is Amir's means of transport when he returns to Afghanistan.
Wahid – Farid's good-natured brother who listens to Amir's woeful tale
Karim – The man who smuggles Amir and Baba out of Afghanistan
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Reception

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The novel was the third best seller for 2005 in the United States, according to Nielsen. BookScan. It was also voted 2006's reading group book of the year. Hosseini's first novel headed a list of 60 titles submitted by entrants to the Penguin/Orange Reading Group prize (UK).

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The Kite Runner Summary
(分章节简介)
http://wikisummaries.org/The_Kite_Runner