One Book, One County - 2006

Posted Tue, 2007-02-27 11:03 by admin | Last Edited on 2009-02-05 14:24
Image: The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner

On this page you will find all sorts of information to help you find, enjoy, and think about the book we'll be reading for this year's One Book, One County project. We think you'll find the book interesting, and we hope we'll see you at a discussion group.

About the Book

Penguin Books describes The Kite Runner as an "unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father's servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption, and it is also about the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.

"The first Afghan novel to be written in English, The Kite Runner tells a sweeping story of family, love, and friendship against a backdrop of history that has not been told in fiction before, bringing to mind the large canvases of the Russian writers of the nineteenth century. But just as it is old-fashioned in its narration, it is contemporary in its subject—the devastating history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years. As emotionally gripping as it is tender, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful debut."

The book has spent time at the top of the best-seller lists and will be released as a motion picture in 2007.

You can read an excerpt of The Kite Runner, courtesy of Amazon.

Image: The Author

About the Author

Khaled Hosseini is a physician residing in Northern California and an author who has recently come to fame through his first novel, the national best-seller, The Kite Runner.

Like the protagonist of his novel, Hosseini left Afghanistan as a boy and didn't return for many years—27, to be exact. He was the child of a diplomat, so the family was granted asylum in the United States. It was not until 2003 that he returned to visit his homeland.

Hosseini reflected on his past and that recent visit to Afghanistan in a feature for the San Fransisco Chronicle, noting the surreal sensation of his life imitating his art.

You can listen to an interview with the author from NPR's Weekend Edition - Sunday

Mr. Hosseini maintains a personal web site at www.khaledhosseini.com.

About Afghanistan

Where Can I Get The Kite Runner?

You can check out The Kite Runner from any library location. We have purchased extra copies, but if it's not on the shelf we can try to get it from another branch for you, or order it from another library. We have it in normal, large-print, and soon on Casette Tape, audio CD, and in Spanish. The call number is FIC HOS.

You can visit your local bookstores. Taylor's Stationers, Meijer, and Wal-Mart in Coldwater have all been told that we are reading this book.

You can also get The Kite Runner from online stores like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and many others.

Reviews of The Kite Runner

Library Events

All of the library branches are holding discussion groups. Anyone is welcome to attend any or all of the discussions. Also, on April 6th at 6:00pm, the Coldwater branch will host a special presentation from Michigan State University Professor of International Relations, Norman Graham on the geopolitical context of the Kite Runner.

  • March 8th (Wed.) @ 1:00pm - Union Twp.
  • March 11th (Sat.) @ 10:00am - Quincy
  • March 14th (Tues) @ 6:00pm - Coldwater
  • March 17th (Fri.) @ 4:00pm - Bronson
  • March 21st (Tues.) @ 5:00pm - Algansee
  • March 22nd (Wed.) @ 1:00pm - Union Twp.
  • March 23rd (Thurs.) @ 6:00pm - Coldwater
  • March 25th (Sat.) @ 10:00am - Quincy
  • March 27th (Mon.) @ 6:00pm - Union Twp.
  • March 28th (Tues.) @ 6:00pm - Sherwood
  • March 31st (Fri.) @ 6:00pm - Bronson

  • April 6th (Thurs.) @ 6:00pm - Norman Graham speaks at Coldwater

Discussion Questions