We read this in our book group a couple years ago. Now we're considering it as a summer read for our peer educators at Rollins College. Since I read it, the movie has come out... so there's even more buzz than there used to be. I'm going to collect resources about this book and the movie and the author here.Here's the beginning of a NYT review of the book from 2003. It hints at the breadth of issues emanating from the compelling story.
The Servant, by Edward Hower (professor at Ithaca College, former Fulbright lecturer in India)
"THIS powerful first novel, by an Afghan physician now living in California, tells a story of fierce cruelty and fierce yet redeeming love. Both transform the life of Amir, Khaled Hosseini's privileged young narrator, who comes of age during the last peaceful days of the monarchy, just before his country's revolution and its invasion by Russian forces.
But political events, even as dramatic as the ones that are presented in ''The Kite Runner,'' are only a part of this story. A more personal plot, arising from Amir's close friendship with Hassan, the son of his father's servant, turns out to be the thread that ties the book together. The fragility of this relationship, symbolized by the kites the boys fly together, is tested as they watch their old way of life disappear."
