I think the scale of the conflict [in Afghanistan] has dramatically changed in 2003. You're now facing a much more motivated, well-supported enemy. I don't see any quick end to this thing.

A stubborn ass needs a stubborn driver

Time can be a greedy thing-sometimes it steals the details for itself.

There [in The Kite Runner] certainly are, as is always the case with fiction, autobiographical elements woven through the narrative.

For a novelist, it’s kind of an onerous burden to represent an entire culture. That said, I’m in a unique position to speak on behalf of Afghanistan on certain issues that I feel are important, particularly the issue of Afghan refugees.

There was so much goodness in my life. So much happiness. I wondered whether I deserved any of it.

I have very fond memories of my childhood in Afghanistan, largely because my memories, unlike those of the current generation of Afghans, are untainted by the spectre of war, landmines, and famine.