The Kite Runner

by Khaled Hosseini

This book grabbed me and didn't let me go until the very end. It's a gripping, heart-wrenching story told by an Afghan who is forced to flee his shattered country for America, only to return to it in the most brutal of circumstances. Along the way he must come to grips with who he is and what he has done. One sin from his past haunts his life and this story is about how he atones for that sin and struggles to find some sort of redemption.

The vivid description of Afghanistan's political history, from the Russian invasion of Afghanistan to the horrible oppressive regime of the Taliban was moving, but that's only the backdrop for the deeper story of Amir and Hassan which left me in tears.

This book is dark, moving, and at times horrifying but once you start reading it you won't want to put it down.