Tickets were sold out weeks before the event. The audience in the fully packed War Memorial Auditorium awaited the arrival of Khaled Hosseini, author of the bestselling novel, “The Kite Runner.” The lights dimmed and he walked onto the stage with the moderator, Beverley Abel, a producer for North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC.Finally, they began the interview seated in comfortable chairs angled across from each other on a carpet.

Hosseini spoke of his childhood in Afghanistan and how he longed for people to recognize the true beauty of his homeland and not the violence that seems to constantly plague it.

“I never saw anyone fire a gun while I was in Afghanistan. There were tanks in the military barracks covered in dust that hadn’t been used in years.” According to Hosseini, Afghanistan was a great place to grow up and was very peaceful.

He also answered political questions about his homeland and how he felt about United States’ presence in Afghanistan. He said that Americans are considered guests by most of the community and that Afghanis treat their guests with respect.

“Stronger military presence is a good thing. The U.S. helps keep the Taliban out, which an overwhelming majority are in favor of,” said Hosseini. “If the U.S. were to pull out their troops it would be very disconcerting for the Afghanis.”

Diya Abdo, assistant professor of English, required her world literature class to attend Hosseni’s interview. During a later class discussion, some students, as well as Abdo, expressed disappointment about the audience’s reaction to Hosseini’s comments; they said the crowd focused on Hosseini more as a representative of Afghanistan than a writer.

“I think the moderator’s question did not allow Hosseini to speak to the things which I went to the event for – more specifically, his career as a writer and his novels,” said Abdo. “The questions may have been better suited for a general discussion on Afghanistan. I was, overall, disappointed with the questions asked.”

“I did enjoy the event even though I felt he was being very diplomatic and in many ways his questions were measured,” said Abdo. “I had been hoping for less deliberate and measured answers. The entire program was organized to fit a certain audience perspective.”

Abdo continued to speak about experience as a whole: “It really presented a first-hand experience to examine the way writers from other countries are treated, interviewed, and read.”

Hosseini mentioned that he always knew he wanted to be a writer. However, he had no idea his book about the cancellation of one of his favorite pastimes, kite running, would be so successful. During the section of the program where the moderator collected the audience’s questions, one member posed a question about the most surprising part of writing the book.

“People were reading it,” said Hosseini. “I suddenly realized this book is collecting an audience.”

Word of mouth and book clubs across the United States caused his novel to gain popularity in contrast with the two book ahead on the bestseller list for 2005, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” and “A Million Little Pieces.” This was his gift to America from his homeland.

He currently has another novel in the works. When asked about it he had this to say: “It starts with a little kid stealing a marble toy car, and there is a story there. We will just have to see where it goes.