IT is probably a question that causes directors to tear their hair out and prematurely age. How do you adapt a novel for the stage?

I thought this could be an onerous task as Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling book, The Kite Runner, is an absolute classic.

In this tale, the personal story of gnawing guilt and then atonement are weaved into the turmoil of an Afghanistan under Taliban rule, through its battles with the Soviet Union and then being bombed by America after 9/11.

For me, the book was the definition of a page turner - the temptation of the cosy confines of my bed for another chapter or two was all too inviting.

Giles Croft’s production has a really good go at capturing that essence but it is more of an undulating ride than Hosseini’s rollercoaster. That symbolic kite does not glide as effortlessly between heartbreak and euphoria as it does in the book.

That does not mean I was totally disappointed; far from it.

The ensemble compliment one another very well and the music, with the on-stage tabla-playing, lighting and backdrop, really makes the play very enjoyable.

The story is told in a first-person narrative by Amir, a privileged Sunni Muslim, who spends much of his childhood playing with the family’s servants and, in particular, Hassan, a poor, dim-witted but brave boy who is seen as inferior in Afghan society as he is a Hazara.

Amir’s world is changed at the age of 12 when his cowardice leads to Hassan and his father having to leave their home and soon after he and his father, Baba, flee to California in the 1970s.

Despite leaving that cruel and unforgiving world behind him for many decades, a friend from the past pulls him back in once more in a quest for redemption.

Plays are very different from books. You do not have the luxury of time in the former but, while this adaptation doesn’t quite hit the latter's giddy heights, it is well worth a watch.

The play is being shown at Bath Theatre Royal until Saturday.