The Kite Runner
Ratings1,040
Average rating4.2
Incredibly interesting, a page turner but also very sad. I really hate sad stories but this book is an exception. The characters are amazing and even though the story is quite sad and even depressing at times, it really opens your eyes to the horrors that happen in other countries. I had to read this for school but I re-read it again later on and enjoyed it both times. Beautifully written and overall a great read.
Amazing, yes, but simply tragic. I listened to it in the car, which may have been harder than reading it.
‘'There is a way to be good again.''
The Kite is a symbol of freedom, of the primeval human need to fly, to be as light as a feather. No one can threaten you or harm you when you fly. In the neighborhoods of Kabul, boys take part in kite competitions, looking upwards in hope. Sometimes, though, hope is futile and becomes a mere empty word.
From San Francisco in 2001, we move to Kabil during the 1970s. Amir is a bright, bookish boy with a preference to the tragic myths of old. He is quiet, an enemy of violence. But quietness and cowardliness are separated by an extremely thin line and there are times when bravery and honesty, no matter how unpleasant or disagreeable they may be, are forgotten. Hassan is his best friend. Intelligent and brave and kind. However, he has the ill fortune to belong to a low caste. And then tragedy strikes, born out of hatred and absurd discrimination. Amir reveals an impossibly ugly side and the hardships begin.
‘'When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth.''
Once more, Hosseini paints with words and communicates a world of unbearable injustice. The disputes between the Pashtuns and the Hazaras, the end of the monarchy, the Soviet intervention, the Taliban regime. A life in constant fear, a friendship so strong and yet so fragile, torn apart by shame and misconceptions. Undefeated prejudices. A city that has become the shadow of its former heyday. Children being sold by the ones who were supposed to protect them. Women being stoned to death while the roaring crowd, a mob of uneducated worms, cheers its lust for blood. Fairy tales are seen as the one source of support, a gentle reminder, a warning if you will, that everything can go wrong. And then everything can be fixed. Almost everything...
I read the novel and then I chose to read the graphic novel edition. Both were excellent, the shock and terror equally strong. The illustrations by Fabio Celoni and Mirka Andolfo are so vivid that there were times I was petrified regardless of the fact that I knew what was coming. I thought A Thousand Splendid Suns was one of the hardest reading experiences in my life but The Kite Runner was even more psychologically draining. Hosseini is a merciless writer, God bless him...The dialogue in both versions is excellent, the characterization brilliantly executed, the overall result astonishing and awe-inspiring. I cried like a baby upon finishing both. On a lighter note, (please, allow me the use of the phrase here) I was mad with joy to see Wuthering Heights included in the narration as Soraya's favourite book and I enjoyed the cultural reference to El Cid. Personal trivia: I love Charlton Heston.
This is a beautiful, shocking, raw story of family ties, friendship, grief and injustice and the chance to heal the deepest wounds...
‘'But in the end it's always the world that wins.''
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I've been reading a lot of non-fiction recently, so reading through this was VERY emotional. I wasn't quite prepared for it all. Did I cry in the car? Yes, I did.
Amir is a son of a wealthy man, and his best friend/ servant is Hassan. Hassan saves Amir from a beating from a bully, who is radical and a sociopath. He vows his revenge. Time passes and they fly kites together in a tournament. Amir is convinced if he brings back the last kite that his father will praise and love him. Something happens with the bully, [!!!WARNING: SEXUAL ASSAULT!!! Hassan gets raped by the bully. He did for Amir, so he could win his kite. Amir runs away because he is a small boy, doesn't know what to do and is overwhelmed. (hide spoiler)] This event haunts Amir his whole life he is filled with guilt. The tries to run away from the past. He grows older and still thinks of this event, but a travel back to his homeland has him face the truth. When he does not run he gets into a lot of danger trying to find Hassan's son.
This was a good book, I could perfectly visualize the scenes and the what the emotions convey through the entire book. It had some beautiful language, nicely written (even the emotional or suspenseful parts) I had no trouble keeping my attention on this book on my drive to Wisconsin. I read this book because it was on the banned book list for 2017, we celebrate banned books!
I highly recommend this book!~Ashley
A couple of warnings for people who need them or would like a heads up! Please click this spoiler to see the trigger warnings. [WARNING! There is sexual assault, violent scenes, and suicide attempt in this book. (hide spoiler)]
3.5
I find it somewhat difficult to review this book, as I have conflicting feelings towards its various aspects. The author writes quite well, I can see why so many comment on the prose, it's largely effective and entertaining, even if I found it dull and hollow at points.
will looking through some of the reviews, I was again reminded of the utterly unhinged, egoistic, and delusional nature of both negative and positive top Goodreads reviews, Jesus Christ.
Many reviewers despise Amir in one form or another, which I find very interesting. It seems so many are compelled by nothing more than a virtuosic, Disney-esque main character, and any deviation from this is met with hilariously infantile commentary about just how terrible the main character is for possessing very human flaws. There are, however, some very valid criticisms I have of The Kite Runner. I found the highly “coincidental” occurrences in the book to be a bit much, and even found myself losing immersion and my ability to suspend my disbelief because of them. I won't be going in depth, but mainly the reappearance of Assef and Hassan's son becoming a Bache bāzī.
But my greatest issue with this book lies in its dealings with the Taliban and frankly in some of the ways it deals with contemporary Afghan politics in general. Hosseini's depiction of the Taliban is devoid of any material analysis or understanding—they are portrayed simply as a very scary and cartoonishly evil group who are bad just because. I find that much of this book can simply serve to reinforce the warped and backward perspectives many Americans hold of Afghanistan and the Middle East in general, while also making the reader feel as though they are sufficiently educating themselves on this issue. Just a thought.
Fiction is for living lives you've never had, and I think this is the perfect explanation for that. Probably the best book I could have picked up to get back into reading again.
(Half a star docked for too many coincidences, kinda took me out of it just by a tad)
As the great Dom Gowland said 3 years ago: A slingshot could save your life some day!
Started reading this whilst on holiday in Scotland. I cried whilst reading the last 100 pages when I flew back home to the Netherlands. This book was so beautiful, so raw and so well written.
”There is only one sin. and that is theft... when you tell a lie, you steal someones right to the truth.”
I think this is another perfect example of how it's nearly impossible to write a review to even begin to summarise how this book made me feel. I doubt I will be able to give it justice.
The first thing I will note is that you should definitely check out the trigger warnings before picking up The Kite Runner because it covers some very heavy subjects.
This truly was a roller coaster of emotions for me. I know that often when book lovers write reviews about books that they have read and enjoyed they will talk about how great the characters were written but for The Kite Runner, it's a whole different experience. The characters, the way they are written and developed throughout the book is in simple terms, beautiful.
I can't completely describe all my thoughts but what I will do is recommend you read it.
solid af amir is kinda annoying but very important incredible book historical fiction is nice i didn't like the grotesque scenes but what can you do
WOW. Il protagonista è un giovano ragazzo afgano, parte dai suoi ricordi d'infanzia e in particolare di lui e il filgio del suo servo hazara e di come lo tradirà. Il libro ripercorre la vita del protagonista finché, dopo molti anni in america, torna in afganistan in cui, all'inizio senza sapere, lo porteranno alla verità e all'auto perdono per tutto ciò che ha fatto.
Better if it had been non-fiction?
The story truly shines as a slightly open window revealing a culture few Americans know anything about.
But, knowing the story is fictional, an abstraction of what-could-be-real or an amalgamation of things that probably happened independently, I found investing emotion difficult.
While well written, the plot lines were fairly predictable and I wouldn't describe myself as overly clever.
I read this book years ago, after being recommended it by an Aunt. I remembe that much, but I'd forgotten what it was about so I had to re-read it.
I'm so glad I did because, oh my gosh, what a story! It was so beautifully written and so heartbreakingly sad throughout. I actually cried reading it.
Apart from the story itself, what really got me was the descriptions of Afghanistan when Amir returns all those years later. The difference between the Afghanistan he knew as a child, to the one he comes back to couldn't have been more striking.
It was an utterly gripping read, which had me hooked from start to finish.
I would highly recommend this book.
Just re-read this after 4 years, The characters of this story will always stay with me. On my first reading, I was completely in awe of this book. It was easier for me this time around to see the foreshadowing so it felt a bit obvious and that's the only flaw I guess. Still a book I would recommend to everyone.
For you, a thousand times over.
I love stories that span a whole life. There is so much richness, so many teachings and experiences. Both heartbreak and happiness. This book is exactly that. Heart shattering, tragic, yet stunning. Beautifully written, gorgeous.
“It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime”
What an amazing story, and a small glimpse into Afghan culture. So much anxiety, heartbreak and humanity.
TW/CW: rather explicit rape scene, murder, mention of child abuse, in particular sexual abuse
2 things:
1. I really liked the descriptions in the second half of the book.
2. I didn't like the protagonist at all. Which is why I couldn't love this book.
This book is great in the way it addresses this difficult situation from the pov of someone who grew up in Afghanistan. But other than that, I didn't like the protagonist's story. I have some issues with it, which made it really difficult for me to decide if I liked this book or not. To be frank, the protagonist is an asshole. And this whole book is about his 'redemption.' Did he redeem himself in the end? I can't say. But what I can say is that I have some issues with this book presenting him as someone who is not a good person in the first half of the novel, who mistreats his 'friend' because he can't help himself but see him more as a servant, although he pretends he doesn't, who is a liar and has fun at someone else's expense who is not even aware that they are secretly made fun of, and then tries to redeem him by 'saving' their son, who turns out to be his nephew. This is very oversimplified and I know this novel has more to offer than this but it bothers me that this redemption story can be summarised as: hey, you were a horrible person and witnessed your servant's rape but didn't do anything and then made sure their life is hell, but then find out they died, leaving their son orphaned in a really bad situation, so moving him to the US will redeem you? This part just really bothered me.. Did he become a better person? Did he learn from his mistakes? I can't tell.. Then also is he only taking his nephew to the US only because he's his nephew and he feels responsible and they're related? And taking his nephew to the US does not equal saving him. He's far from saved. He may no longer be in a bad situation but he has to deal with that traumatic experience. But does the protagonist help him or get him some professional help? A lot of things and ideas in this book are also very outdated. A product of its time, as they say. Does it excuse it though? I don't know. I just know that I am not comfortable with this, so for me it was not the best reading experience.
I read this after I had read A Thousand Splendid Suns and I don't think it's as good. I guess If I had read this first and A Thousand Splendid Suns after I would say this was better. The format is the same, happy childhood followed by darkness, misery, pain, suffering, death, brutality and then a joyous uplifting ending. I think these books are important and should be essential reading for people with tiny minds living in their tiny little worlds, they might learn something.
This book is beloved by many, and I was excited to finally read it. Unfortunately, the hype train missed me on this one. It is a very heavy book, dealing with heavy topics, such as rape, assault, poverty, child abuse, war etc. The prose is really well done, and I think the author does a great job making Afghanistan come alive in all the necessary detail.
However, the narrative is where this book loses me. The narrator is just so unlikeable at every turn, and is telling the story in an overdramatic, insufferable way. The plot itself is relatively unbelievable, but also very obvious and I called every “twist” way beforehand. There was also way too much incredible convenience- a boy who rapes someone in front of the MC grows up to be a Taliban member who just so happens to be in the perfect spot to obstruct the MC's goals 20 years later- and the way this is resolved is absolutely ridiculous. This was my least favorite part of the novel.
Overall, I did not enjoy my time reading this, but there were some poignant bits and the ending was pretty well done. I can see why other people loved this book, there were just things I personally couldn't get past.
“For you, a thousand times over.”
I'm pretty sure I sobbed through the last 20% of the book.
I have had 2 books by this author on my shelf for a while and so many people have told me I needed to read his books immediately but I kept putting them off. I am now kicking myself for waiting so long to pick this up because it was amazing. That seems wrong to say especially considering the subject matter. I started this early one morning and ended up finishing it the same day because I couldn't put it down. It also helped that I was listening to the audiobook of it so I could get through it quicker. This book was brutally honest and heart wrenching. Some characters were likable and some definitely weren't. I didn't care much for Amir to begin with but he redeemed himself in the end. I loved Hassan and my heart broke for him. I can't say everything I want to say because of spoilers so I will just end it with the one word I said right after finishing the book and that was WOW!!!
What a wonderful story about growing up and childhood friends. The kite runner really shows the tarnish that has taken place in Afghanistan since the communists took over and what a sad state is has become in a lot of ways. Really a shocking tale about the capabilities of people and how bad the world can get. The good news is that this book also shows a lot about how far we've come and that people can change.