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You are here: Home Leisure Arts & Culture The Kite Runner tops Dutch 2008 bestsellers list

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28/02/2009The Kite Runner tops Dutch 2008 bestsellers list

The Kite Runner tops Dutch 2008 bestsellers list Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner was the biggest selling book in the Netherlands in 2008.

In its Dutch translation (De vliegeraar) the Afghan writer's debut novel sold an impressive 273,980 copies according to the Foundation for the Collective Promotion of the Dutch Book (CPNB), whose Top 100 for 2008 has just been published.

The good news for Khaled Hosseini doesn't end there. His second novel A Thousand Splendid Suns (translated as Duizend schitterende zonnen) enjoyed such popularity in the Netherlands that it reached third place on the bestsellers list, notching up sales of 210,788. It is a tale of family and friendship set against the last three decades in Afghanistan's turbulent history.
 
The Netherlands is not alone in falling for the Afghan novelist's work. British journal The Bookseller recently named Khaled Hosseini the best-selling author in the world today, ahead of star names such as John Grisham and J.K. Rowling.

First published in 2003, The Kite Runner was far from being an overnight success. British newspaper The Times recalls that only ten people turned up to its UK launch. But now Khaled Hosseini's story of friendship and betrayal between two boys from different backgrounds who grew up together in Kabul has been published in 48 countries and has sold in excess of 10 million copies.

Khaled Hosseini speaks over his book The Kite Runner


Hat-trick
Hosseini's two novels share the Dutch top three with Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love which takes second place, with sales of 232,732 copies. Her book is the memoir of a year spent travelling the world in the aftermath of a painful divorce. The Dutch top three for 2008 marks an enviable hat-trick for leading publishing house De Bezige Bij.

A total of 47.7 million general interest Dutch-language books were sold last year, a rise of 3.6 percent compared to 2007. Turnover rose by two percent to 593 million euros. The year 2008 is notable for a broad spread of sales over a wide range of titles, without any absolute blockbusters. In 2007, five titles achieved sales of over 350,000 compared to 273,980 for last year's top seller.

Book sales still rising
The steady annual rise in the sale of books is in sharp contrast to the tumbling revenues for other forms of the printed word, such as newspapers and magazines. The CPNB's figures only cover the sale of books to the general public in the Netherlands and therefore exclude schoolbooks, academic works and foreign language books.
Top three on the Dutch best-sellers list
Top three on the Dutch best-sellers list

The CPNB Top 100 is based on sales figures from retailers, compiled by market researchers GfK Retail & Technology and commissioned by market research foundation Stichting Marktonderzoek Boekenvak, supplemented by data from publishers and the ECI book club.  

David Doherty
Radio Netherlands

rnw

 


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