The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a book that hooks you from the start. It is a modern tale of dedication, betrayal and redemption. You connect with the struggle of the main character as he fights to get his father’s affection and what it feels like to have to live up to unrealistic expectations. Unlike many heroic stories of rags to riches where the daring heroin gets all that he dreamed of this is a tale of riches to rags where the main character doesn’t get what he wants he gets what he needs. The Kite Runner gives you a real picture of modern Afghanistan and the triumphs and struggles it faces. With riveting plot twists in a region where anything and everything is to be expected this book keeps you on edge. Khaled Hosseini tells you the truth he sees and nothing is sugar coated. You learn the shocking and frightening truth about the turmoil in Afghanistan. Along with the turmoil you also learn about an interesting and complex culture that becomes a casualty to war and will never be the same. The characters of the book are complex and dynamic, yet you feel like in the end the characters are still like the people they used to be. When you have complex characters combined with shocking situations you are bound to have a book that you cannot put down. The book reminds you how lucky you are to live in a country like America and how many people struggle to get here leaving everything behind. Fair warning to the light of heart, this book is the shocking reality of what the people went through. At times the book can become heart breaking as you image what the characters went through. Other times there can be so many shocking plot twists it is hard believe this is a real story. Even if you are light of heart, the plot is so engaging you will still find the book fascinating. This book leaves you with many life lessons, but the most important may be that friendship lasts forever. I would recommend this book to anyone as it is a powerful story you will never forget. It is one of the best books I have ever read and deserves all of the fame it has received. In a book with shocking plot twists, devastating tragedies and complex characters you are left with a haunting image of Afghanistan and a new perspective on how lucky you really are.