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    The Kite Runner
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    The Kite Runner
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    The Kite Runner
    Ebook410 pages7 hours

    The Kite Runner

    By Khaled Hosseini

    4.5/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Afghanistan, 1975: Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the local kite-fighting tournament and his loyal friend Hassan promises to help him. But neither of the boys can foresee what will happen to Hassan that afternoon, an event that is to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realises that one day he must return to Afghanistan under Taliban rule to find the one thing that his new world cannot grant him: redemption.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBloomsbury Publishing
    Release dateFeb 24, 2009
    ISBN9781408803721
    Author

    Khaled Hosseini

    Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, and moved to the United States in 1980. His first novel, The Kite Runner, was an international bestseller, published in forty countries. In 2006 he was named a U.S. envoy to UNHCR, The United Nations Refugee Agency. He lives in northern California.

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    Reviews for The Kite Runner

    4.5/5

    782 ratings633 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I loved this book,it was good to read about life in Afghanistan from the point of view of somebody who had lived through it rather than from news reports
    • 4/5
      Amir, a young Afghani boy, makes a choice that will change his life forever.THE KITE RUNNER centers around one of the world's most common stories. You know it, I know it, and I'll bet you that most readers saw it coming a mile off. Even still, Hosseini manages to keep us involved. We all know what's coming, but that doesn't make it any less affecting when the big reveal rolls around. The book is readable and engaging, and does it ever pack an emotional wallop! I teared up time and again, and one particular scene chilled me to the bone. Amir does some terrible things, but he never fully loses the reader's sympathy because we can see just why he does them. We want him to repent; we want him to figure it all out before it's too late, because we can see that his willingness to do such things means that he will never, ever get what he truly wants.So it was very good. I'm glad I read it. But oddly enough, I find that I haven't the slightest desire to reread it. It's one of those rare 4-star books that didn't really change me. I liked it. I cried. But at the end of the day, I doubt that Amir and Hassan and their thousand-times-retold story will stay with me for long. I feel strange saying that, given that this is a book about war and family and betrayal and national pride and seven million other deep, meaningful things, but... well, it doesn't really feel like it's about any of that. It feels like a beach read. Hosseini delves into his subjects in just enough detail that I could empathize with the story, but he never quite went deep enough to satisfy me. I can understand why he'd do so--this situation must be close to his heart--but I've got to stay honest here. Godo as the book was, it didn't quite fly for me.I know I'm in the minority here, and I want to make it clear that I do recommend this. It was good. I enjoyed it. But I'm not sure it goes any farther than that.(A slightly different version of this review originally appeared on my blog, Stella Matutina).
    • 3/5
      An incredibly well written book that I never want to read again. (Nor do I ever want to read anything like it.)
    • 3/5
      It was a page-turner, but by the end I was rolling my eyes at things I shouldn't have been rolling my eyes at - too calculated, this tale of horror and redemption and Afghanistan. I wanted to like it more than I did.
    • 4/5
      I have mixed feeling about this book. On the one hand, I enjoyed reading it, but on the other hand, I didn't "like" the events described in the book. At times it was hard to read, because some characters are morally bankrupt sociopaths. I couldn't put the book down, and wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen.

      This is not the usual genre of book I read, so I was glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone a little and tried something new. The book read like a true story to me, and I had to keep reminding myself that it was fiction.
    • 4/5
      First book club book. Theme of redemption. Story of two boys in Afghanistan but of different class. Enjoyable/easy read. Author was able to present a picture of the country and culture and of immigration to the US, the relationship between father and son and what it would be liked to be raised without a mother's presence.
    • 3/5
      Melodrama that pales in the light of deft storytelling. A lot like a Jeffrey Archer bestseller.
    • 1/5
      I know that this book is very popular, but I thought that it was one of the worst books I have ever read. Cardboard cut out characters, an emotionally manipulative plot and coincidences piled on coincidences. I spent a lot of this book rolling my eyes. Just terrible.
    • 4/5
      I found this book fascinating, powerfully written, and very emotional. I couldn't put it down.
    • 4/5
      Very good story. I wasn't sure if I was going to read this one, but I'm glad I finally did.

      The narrative of one boy's life while growing up in Afghanistan. The story takes place during some tumultuous times in Afghanistan (Russian invasion, rise of the Taliban), but the events merely frame the story, which doesn't get bogged down in the politics or issues of the day.
    • 4/5
      I was fascinated by the narrator of this epic story - we are urged to sympathise with him (it's his story after all) but he's not that likeable or remarkable. It's an epic tale of modern day Afganistan that you want to read without putting down.
    • 4/5
      EXCELLENT READING!
    • 3/5
      Decent and worthwhile book.
    • 1/5
      I rarely review books, because professional critics generally perform that duty with rather more professionalism than I myself might muster. Unfortunately, I occasionally have the ill luck to lower myself to reading a work of immense recent popular success, always at the insistence of a sub-literate friend, and "The Kite Runner" is a sterling example of such a ruinous, and lugubrious, lapse.

      There is a well-known joke about how a six-year-old Truman Capote confronts his kindergarten teacher, complete with his signature mincing lisp, after being obligated to read a typical children's book: "This isn't writing. This is typing. Why don't you give us something substantial to read?" This was much the way I felt upon essaying Hosseini's debut novel. It's not literature; it's just bad: manipulative, contrived, turbid, predictable, sophomoric, dull.

      I won't insult the intelligence of any reasonably alert reader to this novel's manifest flaws by citing chapter and verse in some niggling and microcosmic post-mortem; these failings are vivid and present no difficulty of discernment for an experienced lover of actual literature. But I will make a few salient points:

      1. The level of vocabulary is juvenile. I believe "indecipherable" was the most difficult word in the book. Yet, when I dismissed the book as mediocre YA, the double-doctoral degreed friend who twisted my arm to waste a sliver of my life on this novel was affronted at my characterization. I challenge any adorer of this work to cite a properly advanced English word by page citation, one that would not appear in the vocabulary of a fairly mediocre tenth-grader. I'll wait.

      2. The characters were stereotypes. The distant but powerful father, the ethically challenged protagonist, the saintly, socially inferior minority supporting character, seem excised from a not very brilliant handbook to churning out your first shlockish first novel (of which, of course, this book provides a sterling exemplum). If you were to change "Hazara" to "nigger", "The Kite Runner" could have been written about 1920's Mississippi in a justifiably abandoned, pre-"Soldier's Pay" novel from an unpromising and none too sober teen-aged Faulkner.

      3. The narrative parallelism is contrived and absurd. Hassan is an ace with his slingshot. His son is an ace with a slingshot. Hassan threatens to put out the eye of the Hitler-loving villain with his slingshot. His son puts out the eye of the Hitler-loving villain with his slingshot. Hassan loves kites. His son discovers that he,too, has an instinctive love of kites. And on and on, ad nauseum.

      4. The Hitler-loving villain of the protagonist's youth, is, of course, precisely the Taliban with whom Amir must contend when he returns to Kabul decades later. OF COURSE. And of course the guards allow him to escape unmolested after the climactic battle. OF COURSE THEY DO. Because that's why you have guards, so they can ignore the hero after you've just had your eye put out by a child ten feet away. OF COURSE.

      5. How many unfortunate disadvantages does the author feel he needs to load upon his (sympathetic) characters in order to bludgeon his readers into regarding them as sympathetic? Amir: dead mother, unloving father, massively flawed character, war-wracked homeland, political refugee, impoverished Californian, cancer-ridden father, barren wife, and on and on ad nauseum. Hassan: hare-lipped and brutally gang-raped as a boy and then framed as a thief by his best friend. Ali: crippled by polio. Sohrab: repeatedly raped by Assef, reduced to slicing his wrists in the bathtub by a conveniently provided straight razor, and rendered mute by his experiences (a future ISIL terrorist if ever there was one). Assef: a good-looking Nazi-cum-Taliban sadist with a penchant for raping boys and an admirable capacity for nursing a grudge against two-dimensional, ill-written characters. Pathetic. Just pathetic.

      I will truncate this litany of crimes against literature by inviting the millions of lovers of this putrid exercise in mediocrity to expose themselves to a good book as a remedial change of pace. You know, the sort of book which tends to be taught at Ivy League colleges and for which their creators occasionally (very occasionally) earn Nobel prizes: "The Man Without Qualities"; "Lieutenant-Colonel de Maumort"; "Buddenbrooks"; "Jean-Christophe"; "The Viceroys"; "U. S. A."; "Il Gattopardo"; and, of course, need I even mention, Proust.
    • 2/5
      An Afghan lives with the guilt of the horrible things he did as a child.2/4 (Indifferent).It reads quickly. I never really wanted to pick it up, but when I did, quite a bit of it would fly by in one go. Hosseini goes to extremes to make his protagonist as unsympathetic as possible, and I understand why - it's important to the story that the reader doesn't forgive him too easily. But I get very little out of reading a story about a character I can't sympathize with.
    • 5/5
      Going into The Kite Runner, I had no clue what it was going to be about whatsoever. I heard a few times it was a really good book and a quick read. Those rumors held true. I loved the book. The first part of the book focuses on Amir and the rest of the characters in his childhood and the disturbing event that defined his life. The 2nd part focused on his life in America and finally the 3rd part his chance at redemption. Each character had a good depth and I felt I had a understanding of each one and knew who they were. I liked the beginning of the novel the most. I felt that part did a good job laying down the background for the rest of the book so I had a emotional connection with what I was reading. In the beginning of the novel I remember thinking Baba was Hassan's father but I ignored it because everyone could tell he was Hazara, so when it was revealed later on it was still shocking. The disturbing scene was done in a way that made it haunting but not over the top, which is good because it's creepy if its in such detail. I would of liked to of read more detail in the 2nd part after Hassan and Ali left, because it seemed like Amir and Baba got closer but we didn't really see how, just when they were in America they were already closer. The 3rd part was hard to read at times and parts annoyed me. I liked that it was revealed Baba was Hassan's father, I even liked how Rahim set up Amir into taking Sohrab. I didn't like how Assef was the same abuser, seemed a little too neatly done I guess and caused an eye roll. Since it was him I wanted to know if he knew Sohrab was Hassan's son. I know a lot of people didn't like how the end was with more tragic stuff happening on top of already tragic events, but I thought when Sohrab tried to take his own life after being promised to come to America to finding out maybe not yet was a intense scene, especially when he was tired of life after the attempt. That chapter got to me bad, and I think it was reasonable and accpeted that he was silent for a year even in America. The last chapter was great though, not a sappy ending but a ending that left on a positive note while also being in the right tone of the book, finally Amir is resolved and is connecting with Sohrab.
    • 5/5
      At first, it took me a bit to get into the story but I'm glad I stuck with it. While there are quite a few words that most won't know unless they speak Afghan, it was a wonderful story. My heart went out to Amir and his loved ones at they struggles they went through. To see Afghanistan through the eyes of a child and then through a man who knew the country at a time of peace. There were quite a few surprises and lots of adventure. I was moved to tears at times and it was evident how strong the bond of friendship can last no matter the distance. I would highly recommend this book to someone wanting to see this particular world from someone who wants peace and to right wrongs. Looking forward to the next book by this author.
    • 5/5
      Really one of the best stories I've ever read. Very moving on many levels.
    • 5/5
      Absolutely fabulous read! Pulls at every emotion! I loved it!
    • 2/5
      I just did not enjoy this book at all. I read 60% of it, stopping on page 219, finally. A dear, dear friend in England recommended it to me when we moved back to the states. I've read it off and on since 2010 and have finally decided to stop reading it.
    • 3/5
      engrossing.
    • 4/5
      Sorta sad.
    • 4/5
      Everyone has talked about how great this book is and it is great. It covers a lot of Afghani history and culture; many things I did not know. It also speaks to the depth of human suffering, sin and forgiveness. It reminded me of THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS in the way it used examples of small cruelities that hurt just as much as the brutality.
    • 5/5
      Wasn't sure what this book was about, had picked it up as a suggestion, read that it was about Afghanistan, thought, not sure if would be interested, Glad I didn't decided to not read it, powerful emotional book, one that I would recommend to everyone.
    • 5/5
      A captivating somewhat realistic contemporary story of a loyal childhood friend and extended family torn apart by war/ ego/ status/ location and strives to resolve with virtuous effort to pay past debts though supporting a child.
    • 5/5
      "The winter of 1975 came along and changed everything. And made me what I am today", 30 November 2015This review is from: The Kite Runner (Illustrated edition) (Hardcover)Wow, what a powerful read - I sat and read the whole thing in a day; couldn't put it down.The story of wealthy, motherless Amir, and his heart-rendingly faithful companion Hassan, son of the family servant. The author brings their innocent childhood escapades in beautiful 1970s Afghanistan vividly to life; but with growing up come more complex emotions...As Afghanistan becomes involved in war with the Russians, Amir and his father flee the country, but his past will catch up with him, even in his new life...I'm not going to say it's the greatest literature, but it's utterly heart-wrenching.
    • 5/5
      Difficult to get through but very rewarding.
    • 5/5
      The Kite Runner' is one of best book I have read in years. Although parts of the book were physically painful to read, the end result was a great work of love and redemption. I generally don't care for characters who are quite so spineless but I was able to identify with Amir and ultimately learned something about myself in the process.Hosseini provides great insight into the relationship between sons and their fathers and the damage we can do to ourselves when we use our fathers as the yardstick by which we judge ourselves. How can we ever be satisfied with who we are when we have a father who can 'wrestle a bear'?'The Kite Runner' is written with such startling realism that I can't help but think it is largely autobiographical. The settings of both Amir's childhood in Kabul and his adult life in the Bay Area are lovingly written with such clarity that I almost believe that I could go over the hill to Fremont and meet the very people described in the book.
    • 4/5
      Beautiful first novel exploring the complexities of Afghanistan from within.
    • 3/5
      This was a pleasant read. I missed some more depth in the supporting characters. In hindsight, it seems everyone was either good or bad, except the main character and his father, who were better balanced. But this did not bother me while reading :-)