Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner combines a compelling, moving narrative, memorable characters and situations, powerful depictions of suffering and guilt, an urgent quest for redemption, and an intense engagement with the fraught and complex history and politics of Afghanistan and its relations with American culture. The essays in this volume look afresh at this remarkable work, considering its critical reception, its style, structure and themes, its mythical, moral, historical and political dimensions, its continued relevance in the twenty-first century, and its adaptations as a film, stage play and graphic novel.