The Kite Runner

published	2004 by Riverhead Trade
first published	2003
binding	Paperback
isbn	1594480001 (isbn13: 9781594480003)
pages	400
characters	Amir, Baba
setting	Afghanistan
description	In his debut novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini accomplishes what very few contemporary novelists are able to do. He manages to provide an...more [close] In his debut novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini accomplishes what very few contemporary novelists are able to do. He manages to provide an educational and eye-opening account of a country's political turmoil--in this case, Afghanistan--while also developing characters whose heartbreaking struggles and emotional triumphs resonate with readers long after the last page has been turned over. And he does this on his first try. The Kite Runner follows the story of Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. As children in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early 1970s, the boys are inseparable. They spend idyllic days running kites and telling stories of mystical places and powerful warriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of their relationship forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could have ever predicted. Even after Amir and his father flee to America, Amir remains haunted by his cowardly actions and disloyalty. In part, it is these demons and the sometimes impossible quest for forgiveness that bring him back to his war-torn native land after it comes under Taliban rule. ("...I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded, not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.") Some of the plot's turns and twists may be somewhat implausible, but Hosseini has created characters that seem so real that one almost forgets that The Kite Runner is a novel and not a memoir. At a time when Afghanistan has been thrust into the forefront of America's collective consciousness ("people sipping lattes at Starbucks were talking about the battle for Kunduz"), Hosseini offers an honest, sometimes tragic, sometimes funny, but always heartfelt view of a fascinating land. Perhaps the only true flaw in this extraordinary novel is that it ends all too soon. --Gisele Toueg
date added	02-07-07 edit book

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Linda rated it:

02/20/08

bookshelves: fiction

Read in January, 2008

recommends it for: Can't really recommend it, I'm sorry.

Finished this book about a month ago but it's taken me this long to write a review about it because I have such mixed feelings about it. It was a deeply affecting novel, but mostly not in a good way. I really wanted to like it, but the more I think about what I didn't like about the book, the more it bothers me. I even downgraded this review from two stars to one from the time I started writing it to the time I finished.

Let's start off with the good, shall we? The writing itself was pretty ...more

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Matt rated it:

01/18/08

recommends it for: people who slurp up 'chicken soup for the soul' books

i really wanted to like this novel. judging from its thousands of 'five-star reviews' hailing it as the one of the 'best books ever written,' i'm in the minority when i state that this novel, while well-intentioned, just left a little bit of sour taste in my mouth.

my problems with the novel are as follows: first of all the writing itself is so ham-fistened, heavy-handed, distracting and otherwise puzzling that by the midway point, i seriously considered chucking the book against the wall. e...more i really wanted to like this novel. judging from its thousands of 'five-star reviews' hailing it as the one of the 'best books ever written,' i'm in the minority when i state that this novel, while well-intentioned, just left a little bit of sour taste in my mouth.

my problems with the novel are as follows: first of all the writing itself is so ham-fistened, heavy-handed, distracting and otherwise puzzling that by the midway point, i seriously considered chucking the book against the wall. each page of the novel has at least 5-10 incomplete sentences. i'm all for experimental and fractered prose--but it's important for authors to use it judiciously. hosseini, unfortunately, beats it to death. a lot of his language is cliched, too, which is funny considering there's a passage in the book about a writing teacher who warns the narrator, amir, about using cliches. i don't know if that was supposed to be funny or not, but it made me laugh (and what was worse was the san francisco's chronicle's glowing review on the book's cover and the san francisco chronicle's glowing review of amir's novel--coincidence?).

the author's use of farsi--especially in the dialogue--was equally distracting. my point is that no one speaks the way his characters speak. people don't switch back and forth between languages while speaking, and if they do, they certainly don't speak 1/2 the sentence in english, say one word in farsi, then traslate the farsi word to english, then finish the sentence in english, when they're presumably speaking farsi to begin with. i didn't pick up this book for a crash course in colloquial farsi. after 370 pages, i was frustrated--and annoyed.

hosseini's plot often borders on the ridiculous. the'twists' are just TOO coincidental--and not surprising at all (except in how contrived they are). for example, in a devasted kabul, amir sees a homeless man in the street. the homeless man, of course, was a former university professor who just happened to teach with amir's long deceased mother. what a coincidence! what makes it worse, is that the narrator, amir then explains that while that may, in fact, seem like a coincidence, it happens in afghanistan happens all the time. of course it does. in another example, amir's former nemesis, assaf (now a taliban crony), beats up amir and amir ends up with a scar above his lip, just like his dear friend hassan, who was born with cleft-pallet. oh, the coincidence! (and the fact that amir even runs into assef again is ridiculous). another example: amir and his wife aren't able to have children, and of course they find an orphan boy who happens to be extended family and they adopt him. what a coincidence! and after amir returns to afghanistan he doesn't call home to his dutiful wife for over a month. i kept wondering 'when's he gonna call home?' and any plot advanced by a series of 'tragedies,' (and in this book they are legion) shows little more than the writer's inability to craft a meaningful and interesting plot. not only is it pretty poor form, it's also highly manipulative and condescending. i found myself continually frustrated by hosseini's apparent distrust of the reader. we don't have to be told how and when to interpret metaphors. and if i read one more book where the protagonist is a writer or professor, i'm gonna ram my head into a metal post.

i don't want to sound like a misanthrope or jaded literature reader because i'm certainly not. this novel just left me wanting so much more in terms of plot and characterization. having said that, however, the novel could be important in that shows the cruelty of the taliban. much of what hosseini writes about is important, especially for us westerners unfamiliar with the breadth and scope of the afghani tragedy.

in the end, it was worth the $2.00 i paid for it....less

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Linda rated it:

05/29/07

bookshelves: favorites

Read in May, 2007

So I started Kite Runner two nights ago after finishing Blink. It took me a week or so with Blink since I wasn’t very enthralled, making it easier to put it down at night when it was my bed time.

Kite Runner, I started over a long weekend and could not for the life of me put it down. I was so hooked I even found myself reading Bing’s copy when I was over at Deesh and Bing’s this weekend playing an invigorating (and might I add victorious) game of girls vs. boys Cranium and then Cheez Ge...more

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Saeed rated it:

(review of isbn 0747588945)

03/19/08

خیرا نسخه صوتی کتاب بادبادک باز، اثر خالد حسینی، نویسنده افغان را تمام کردم. کتاب صوتی با صدای نویسنده کتاب و دارای کیفیت قابل قبول بود. این کتاب به نقل از نیویورک تایمز، پر فروشترین رمان امسال و سال گذشته بوده. کتاب، داستان امیر، پسر تاجر متموّل افغانی که ما او را به نام بابا م...more خیرا نسخه صوتی کتاب بادبادک باز، اثر خالد حسینی، نویسنده افغان را تمام کردم. کتاب صوتی با صدای نویسنده کتاب و دارای کیفیت قابل قبول بود. این کتاب به نقل از نیویورک تایمز، پر فروشترین رمان امسال و سال گذشته بوده. کتاب، داستان امیر، پسر تاجر متموّل افغانی که ما او را به نام بابا می‌شناسیم، خدمتکار خانواده، علی و پسرش حسن که همبازی وفادار امیر است. امیر، پشتون و حسن، هزاره است. حسن به طرز غیر قابل باوری، وفادار، باهوش و خلاصه بچه مثبت است. به عنوان مثال، حس ششمش در جایی که او جلوتر مسیر فرود بادبادک را پیش‌بینی می‌کند، قبل از همه به آنجا می‌رسد و دستانش را باز می‌کند تا بادبادک در آن فرود بیاید، کمی غیر قابل باور است. امیر، راوی داستان، برعکس پسر ضعیف النفسی است که به دلیل حسادت به محبت پدر به حسن، برای بهترین دوستش دسیسه چینی می‌کند و عاقبت نیز باعث خروج علی و پسرش حسن از خانه آنها می‌شود. احساس گناه و شرمندگی تا سالها بعد در امیر باقی می‌ماند و ادامه داستان.
عنوان اصلی افغانی کتاب «کاغذپران باز» است که در ترجمه به فارسی به «بادبادک باز» ترجمه شده است.
روال کلی داستان، به نظرم چیز تحفه‌ای نیست و بیشتر شبیه به داستان فیلمهای هندی است. فضای حاکم بر داستان، توصیف وضعیت افغانستان در دوره‌های مختلف و گوشه‌هایی از فرهنگ افغانی، نکات جالب داستان هستند. اینکه افغانی ها چطور هزاره‌های شیعه را قوم پست تلقی می‌کنند.

داستان شباهت زیادی به زندگی نویسنده دارد. خالد حسینی نیز در کودکی در افغانستان خدمتکاری داشته‌ است که به او خواندن و نوشتن یاد داده. نویسنده نیز بعد از جنگ به آمریکا مهاجرت کرده، نویسنده شده و داستانهای پرفروش نوشته است.

به عنوان خواننده فارسی زبان، استفاده از اصطلاحات و کلمات فارسی در بین داستان به زبان انگلیسی برایم جالب بود. بسیاری از کلمات و جملات در متن انگلیسی کتاب به زبان فارسی بیان می‌شوند و بعضا به انگلیسی نیز تکرار می‌شوند. گویا این داستان چندان مقبول خوانندگان افغان نیافتاده. هزاره‌ها به دلیل تلقی توهین آن را ترجمه نکرده‌اند و پشتونها نیز به دلیل بیان رفتار نامناسب با هزاره‌ها ، از آن استقبال نکرده‌اند.
نکته قابل توجه دیگر، دلیل استقبال شدید از این کتاب در آمریکا و به تبع آن در سایر نقاط جهان است. رمان علیرغم جالب بودن، به نظرم متناسب با این همه استقبال جهانی نیست. برخی او را با ارنست همینگوی مقایسه کرده‌اند. شاید دلیل موفقیت چشمگیر آن شبیه به دلایل موفقیت فیلمهای ایرانی که فقط بدبختی و بیچارگی مردم ایران را نشان می‌دهند باشد. عکسی که او با جرج بوش دارد، این فرض را تقویت می‌کند. سید رضا شکراللهی در پستی دلیل این استقبال را تقارن زمانی با حمله نظامی آمریکا به افغانستان و تشنگی مردم آمریکا به شناخت از کشوری که تا کنون نامش را نیز نشنیده بودند می‌داند.
از روی رمان، فیلمی نیز با همین نام ساخته شده است. هنرپیشگان اصلی افغانی هستند و دستمزدهای ناچیزی حدود ۱۰ هزار دلار گرفته‌اند. بعد از پخش فیلم، اعتراض هنرپیشگان فیلم به مسخره شدن توسط همکلاسیهای به دلیل وجود صحنه‌های خشونت جنسی باعث شد که تهیه کنندگان هزینه زندگی هنرپیشگان اصلی در دبی را متقبل شوند. ...less

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Gita rated it:

05/08/08

bookshelves: fiction

Read in May, 2008

recommends it for: Everyone

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Buku yang sangat membuat penasaran.
Setelah mencari di berbagai toko buku yang selalu habis stocknya, akhirnya dapat juga pada minggu terakhir di bulan April. Perlu waktu kurang dari 1 minggu untuk membaca habis buku ini.

Buku ini menceritakan mengenai persahabatan antara 2 orang anak laki-laki yang bernama Amir dan Hassan. Ikatan mereka begitu kuat karena mereka disatukan oleh nasib yang sama yaitu tidak mempunyai ibu yang menyayangi mereka. Ibu Amir meninggal ketika melahirkan Amir, sedang...more

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Msmeemee rated it:

10/16/07

bookshelves: classic-lit

recommends it for: tear-jerking saps

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

so, it starts off strong. it almost feels like a biography, that's how real it felt to me. i actually looked on the back of the cover to see if it was based on a true story or something.

one thing i noticed off the bat was hosseini's style of writing. it was an extremely easy read. i wasn't sure if this was so it would be accessible to a wider audience or so we could concentrate more on the story rather than the prose or what. what's ironic is that the narrator and prota...more SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

so, it starts off strong. it almost feels like a biography, that's how real it felt to me. i actually looked on the back of the cover to see if it was based on a true story or something.

one thing i noticed off the bat was hosseini's style of writing. it was an extremely easy read. i wasn't sure if this was so it would be accessible to a wider audience or so we could concentrate more on the story rather than the prose or what. what's ironic is that the narrator and protagonist is supposed to be a gifted writer. anyway, the writing wasn't the book's strongest point. honestly, the author of the inner elvis had much better descriptive writing.

however, his simplistic writing style didn't take away from the emotions triggered in the story. i was practically bawling at every emotional scene. i have to say, though, that the rape scene, which is the first dramatic scene in the novel, was the best one. i know that sounds horrible, but it's timing and significance was on point.

and that's where things kinda went downhill for me. even though i was caught up in the story, things became really cliche. amir and hassan are the two protagonists in the story. amir is the son of baba, a wealthy and admired male widower while hassan is the hare-lipped hazara, people who are regarded as scum of the earth according to afghani history. anyway, hassan and his father, ali, are servants for baba and amir, but they are viewed as family. it's a refreshing departure from what could easily be a cinderlla-type plot.

anyway, amir is this really smart, well-educated pansy who can't stand up for himself for shit and hassan always backs him up, even taking on 3 guys on his own. there's a little rivalry between the two boys, with amir constantly testing hassan's loyalty and scoffing at him for seeming to be such a sucker. but when shit turns serious, amir doesn't return the sentiment.

the year that amir won a kite flying competition, hassan takes off for the last kite and ends up being cornered by child-sociopath, assef, and his cronies. when hassan refuses to give up the fallen kite, assef rapes him in an alley and amir watches the whole thing from a hiding place because he's too afraid to jump in and protect his friend.

as i kept reading, cliches and implausible coincidences start popping up everywhere. it turns out that amir and hassan are half-brothers. (i think i saw that plot-twist in days of our lives once.) when amir goes back to afghanistan to save hassan's now-orphan son, that son is held captive by --guess who?-- none other than assef who has become part of the taliban. the novel climaxes with assef kicking amir's ass. and who saves amir? hassan's son! with a fucking slingshot! (hassan was skilled at that, too.) amir gets reconstructive surgery and ends up with a scar down his lip like hassan had when he had surgery for his hare-lip. good lord. then there was this brief encounter where amir comes across an old homeless guy who just happened to know amir's mother before she died giving birth to amir. how would that ever happen?

to be fair, it had a really good storyline. i still maintain that the first third was well executed. the beginning of the book stands its ground well, but that may have just made the rest of the book pale in comparison even more so. it almost felt like the author was desperately reaching for the audience's acceptance (it's his first novel). or he hurried through the rest of the book and needed to increase the tear-jerker factor exponentially by making me cry at every page to cover up the fact that he was running out of quality ideas. on a positive note, it might add more depth to an already mysterious and often feared culture in light of 9/11.

but when all is said and done, it's still an interesting read.

final word on the kite runner: i can't wait for the movie adaptation. hollywood would eat that shit up.
...less

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Naeem rated it:

12/22/07

recommends it for: anyone wanting to keep their blinders on

I found this book a failure of courage and imagination -- all the more upsetting for the author's astute sense of detail and wonderful psychological depth. But ask yourself this: if the Taliban are real human than why are they not represented as such? No doubt we will all love the movie as well.

If you want to read a book on Afghanistan, I recommend Jason Elliot's An Unexpected Light.

Below is my complete review:

I started ...more

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Britta rated it:

01/10/08

Read in February, 2006

"For you, a thousand times over."

"Children aren't coloring books. You don't get to fill them with your favorite colors."

"...attention shifted to him like sunflowers turning to the sun."

"But even when he wasn't around, he was."

"When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal a wife's right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fair...more

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Cristina rated it:

02/22/08

Read in February, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

At first I really enjoyed the book. I had heard so much about it that finally I decided to start reading it. I always enjoy books which touch on childhood subjects. I believe our childhoods shape us to be who we become as grown ups. I believer the happy, sad and difficult moments lead us to our adult personalities. However, I was surprised when Amir didn't learn from his mistakes. Yes, his father was not the most loving and warm father around, but our parents are prone to fuck us up. There is no...more At first I really enjoyed the book. I had heard so much about it that finally I decided to start reading it. I always enjoy books which touch on childhood subjects. I believe our childhoods shape us to be who we become as grown ups. I believer the happy, sad and difficult moments lead us to our adult personalities. However, I was surprised when Amir didn't learn from his mistakes. Yes, his father was not the most loving and warm father around, but our parents are prone to fuck us up. There is no such thing or concept as a good parent; there are parents and bad parents, that's it. Amir's dad was not as loving as a parent should be. Amir had a roof over his head, was able to attend school and enjoy hot meals. While his half brother Hassan lived in a hut and was prejudiced against for being a Hazara. Although Hassan and Amir were best friends, this friendship made Amir feel insecure. Amir was aware that Hassan was a better person than him. Amir kneew that Hassan was loyal to him no matter what. He still tested this loyalty a few times which was unnecessary. Hassan was still there for him. On the day Assef raped Hassan and Amir watched, Hassan still brought the kite back for Amir. Amir watched as Assef raped his best friend and did nothing. This I understand somewhat. He was young, he was scared and who knows what Assef would have done to him had Amir come out in defense of Hassan. But to treat Hassan like crap because of the guilt he felt? That was ridiculous, good thing he couldn't sleep. Why didn't Amir tell his dad about it? They had a better relationship then. It was because Amir wanted his Baba all to himself. He knew that if he shared what he had seen his father would have gone back to ignoring him. Wouldn't anyone rather be ignored than let an asshole like Assef get away with rape? He would have been a better human being if he had sacrificed something, anything for Hassan. Hassan had saved his ass when Assef was ready to punch him with his metal knuckles. Assef should have punched Amir and broken his nose. Hassan goes into depression and when he decides to come out and play with Amir, Amir is an asshole to him. He is selfish and weak. Of course Hassan is the bigger person who constantly tries to find out what he has done wrong. Poor kid, living in a hut with his dad, serving his asshole friend Amir while Amir gives him the cold shoulder. Amir never deserved a friend like Hassan.
When Rahim Khan asks Amir to fetch Hassan's boy from the orophanage he hesitates. No, he doesn't hesitate he says NO right away. Anyone would think that this now thirty-eight year old man would have learned from his childhood mistakes. No, all he is thinking about is his comfortable life in the United States and of his wife. Asshole. He should have jumped at the opportunity of saving Sohrab. Again for selfish reasons it takes him a tantrum to decide to go looking for Sohrab. Although Assef is cruel and meant to be the villain of this novel, he at least is honest of who he is. Unlike Amir, who goes on defending his friend when it is easy, but tunrs his back on him when Hassan most needed him. Amir deserves to be punched in the face and loose his teeth and even more. That's as far as I've gotten. I hope Amir has the balls to save the boy.
I guess Amir is my least favorite protagonist of a novel....less

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Ravi rated it:

(review of isbn 0747566534)

05/02/07

Read in February, 2007

recommends it for: Masochists

In the wake of the Fraud of Small Things, tons of Asian writers with their impossibly exotic backgrounds and compellingly interesting lives have become all the rage in the publishing world. And of course, it doesn't get more exotic than Afghanistan these days. Khalid Hosseini rides the wave for what its worth churning out a predictable piece of semi-literate garbage — the sort that will appeal only to fellow Afghani nostalgia hounds — the small proportion of whom believe books are better rea...more In the wake of the Fraud of Small Things, tons of Asian writers with their impossibly exotic backgrounds and compellingly interesting lives have become all the rage in the publishing world. And of course, it doesn't get more exotic than Afghanistan these days. Khalid Hosseini rides the wave for what its worth churning out a predictable piece of semi-literate garbage — the sort that will appeal only to fellow Afghani nostalgia hounds — the small proportion of whom believe books are better read than burnt — and to the sort of snobs who love regurgitating knowledge picked up second hand from books like this one to show how clued into the world they are.

The story remains at least reasonably interesting as long as its located in Afghanistan; but these thinly disguised memoirs of boyhood are a banal cliche of writing; it's only very exceptional ones like Swami & Friends and to a lesser extent Black Swan Green by David Mitchell which have any emotional impact.

The book quickly slides into ultra tedium speaking about the sad lives of the once aristocratic Afghanis exiled in America when the Soviets took over their country. And then becomes this 'exotic Afghanistan' guidebook with reams of boring detail about Afghani culture, propriety and mating rituals. I skimmed through this barely reading four lines on every page.

Our unloveable hero then returns, to reconnect with his best buddy from childhood who he insulted and vilified for some obtuse emo reason, only to find that the guy is
a) his step-brother
b)dead

tangles with the Taliban, and in a mondo improbable coincidence, meets and gets his ass-whupped by a rabidly homosexual childhood enemy. Who incidentally raped his step brother. And his step brother's son...and oh god, what's the fucking point?

You might ask why I persisted with a book I was deriving no joy out of. It wasn't because it was a compulsively readable bad book - but since I was stuck in a hotel room with an unusually severe case of insomnia, brought on, no doubt, by the dozens of cups of coffee i consumed in the course of work-related meetings through the day. Most of the other books I had were actually interesting and I figured I'd have a greater chance of crashing out while reading something that was tiresome and boring. ...less

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Mystique rated it:

02/24/08

Read in February, 2008

recommended to Mystique by: Melissa Coworker

I have some criticisms for this book, but because I chewed through it in such a short amount of time, I'll start with what I like and move to the criticisms.

I did NOT want to like this book. I am one of those annoying people who wants to dislike what everyone else likes, and wants to like what everyone else dislikes. Usually, this works out for me without effort, however; in the world of literature there are occasions that it does not. This was one of those occasions.

The book was brutall...more I have some criticisms for this book, but because I chewed through it in such a short amount of time, I'll start with what I like and move to the criticisms.

I did NOT want to like this book. I am one of those annoying people who wants to dislike what everyone else likes, and wants to like what everyone else dislikes. Usually, this works out for me without effort, however; in the world of literature there are occasions that it does not. This was one of those occasions.

The book was brutally heartbreaking, but redemptive. Relationships were richly developed, emotions piqued and dropped - hallmarks of a good story.

One of my favorite things in literature is learning. If I learn from a book, I consider it valuable. Bite-sized foreign languages lessons will bolster a book's merit. This author taught me about the history, language, and geography of Afghanistan, and about the sport/hobby of kite flying/kite running. I've always thought that a person just bought a kite and flew it. I've never heard of coating the string in cut glass to cut down other kites.

The book has numerous other redeeming qualities that are likely to make it a classic read, but it does have some flaws. One thing that just kept annoying me toward the end of the book was the names of John/Thomas and Betty Caldwell. The first time they're mentioned, they're Thomas and Betty Caldwell. The next time, they're John and Betty Caldwell. WELL? Which are they?? Where was the editor on this one? No, it didn't affect the story, and it shouldn't affect me, but it did. I kept finding my thoughts drifting. Because they were never real characters, did the editor/author not find them integral to the plot? Did they have the same issues with Thomases and Johns that I have with Kamals and Kamirs? Perhaps they're unfamiliar with the names, and so it was easy to make the mistake? I admit, I was plagued. I thought about removing a star for it, but we only have 5 stars with which to work, so I didn't.

The next flaw is perhaps in my own ignorance, but I can't imagine Assef being in the Taliban. The tale describes him as blonde and blue-eyed. I don't imagine him being part of a hate-group that targets Americans as infidels if he so closely resembles one, but I have also heard that there are blonde and blue-eyed Afghans, so perhaps this is my own ignorance shining through. I have Afghan friends, but none of them has blonde hair, or blue eyes. Further, Assef is absolute evil from an age at which I'm not convinced that any child has such a developed sense of hatred, especially when we consider that, upon meeting his parents, we find them timid. Again, this could be my own ignorance of children outside of my own culture, but it's a bit tough to swallow. I didn't find it too difficult to suspend my belief, but there wasn't too much else in the tale that required such suspension.

Overall, the book has all of the ingredients needed to create a great tale - whether or not it required some belief-suspension and some editorial errors. When I complete a book in one sitting, I cannot convince myself that I didn't enjoy it. I must be true to the obvious and give it 5-stars....less

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Kristin rated it:

02/28/08

I had heard about this book for years. Many people have RAVED about it to me and yet I didn't read it. I wasn't planning to pick this book either but several of the women in my book club expressed an interest in reading it and it has been on my list of "must-reads" for a long time...so I thought why not now? I don't know what has put me off...a book about men in Afghanistan who fly kites just didn't seem like a page turner to me. I was WRONG. I guess that is the beauty of belonging to...more I had heard about this book for years. Many people have RAVED about it to me and yet I didn't read it. I wasn't planning to pick this book either but several of the women in my book club expressed an interest in reading it and it has been on my list of "must-reads" for a long time...so I thought why not now? I don't know what has put me off...a book about men in Afghanistan who fly kites just didn't seem like a page turner to me. I was WRONG. I guess that is the beauty of belonging to a book club...you are given the opportunity to read books that you wouldn't normally read.

I like books that take place in the South or books that take place in Europe (especially Scotland) I like big fat historical epics. I like stories about different periods in time like the 40's, 30's, 20's, 1900's, the civil war era and earlier, 1700's, and 1600's . I like stories that transport you to another time and place. I like to be "haunted" (in a good way) by characters from books I've read years ago. I like to be so engrossed in a book that my husband gets jealous and my kids throw a fit because I am ignoring them. That doesn't happen too often anymore. It gets easier and easier to put a book down.

I'm not normally drawn to books about the middle east, books where 99.9% of the characters are men or books that take place in the 1970's. Enter the Kite Runner...I will say it again...I was WRONG! I loved this book so much that I have been begging Tyler to read it so I can talk about it some more.

I believe this is the first book I have ever read about the country of Afghanistan. I loved hearing about the country, the culture, and Islam. I loved the glimpse we get at the first of the book in the early 1970's where Afghanistan is a vibrant country full of colors and flavors...who knew that kite flying was a sport and that kites battle other kites; who knew that Afghan children are out of school in the winter and that is also the time when the Afghan people go on vacation...even though it is cold and snowy. I really loved the look at the every day life of Baba, Amir, Ali and Hassan.

It was interesting to me to see how Afghanistan began to change and what started occurring when the Soviets occupy it. This is also the point when the relationship between Amir and Hassan begins to change. I LOVED Hassan and Ali. I didn't always like Amir even before he betrays Hassan... and for quite a while after... the scene when Ali and Hassan are leaving and Baba is in tears begging them not to go and Amir is watching them from his bedroom window...I just wanted to throttle him!

Probably the part of the book I liked the least was when the story moves to America...it just dragged a little for me. But my interest returned again full-force when Amir returns to Afghanistan. I was absolutely enthralled. It was so interesting to see in my mind places that I've only heard about on the news and to get a closer look at what life is like living with the terror of the Taliban hanging over your head. By the time I was finished with this book I felt like Afghanistan had become dear to my heart. I liked this quote on the back of the book from the publisher. It summed up my feelings perfectly:
"Since reading this haunting novel, when I've seen the headlines about Afghanistan in the news, I've experienced the tragedy in a surprisingly personal way. I feel a connection to the land and it's inhabitants that I've never felt before"....less

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Emily Z rated it:

05/04/08

Read in April, 2008

Khaled Hosseini
The Kite Runner
New York: Riverhead Books, 2004
380 pp. $15.00
978-1-59448-000-3

One word accurately defines Kaled Hosseini's memorable novel "The Kite Runner", and that word is "powerful". All over the world, readers are captivated by a unique tale describing a boy in Afganistan whose life changes dramatically by his own decision as well as outside forces he cannot control. The boy, Amir, grows up to regret his actions and feel nostalgia for his ruined...more Khaled Hosseini
The Kite Runner
New York: Riverhead Books, 2004
380 pp. $15.00
978-1-59448-000-3

One word accurately defines Kaled Hosseini's memorable novel "The Kite Runner", and that word is "powerful". All over the world, readers are captivated by a unique tale describing a boy in Afganistan whose life changes dramatically by his own decision as well as outside forces he cannot control. The boy, Amir, grows up to regret his actions and feel nostalgia for his ruined childhood hometown, feelings vividly shared with the reader. Hosseini writes with a poetic touch, often including fragments to "casualize" a novel with a serious plot. He gives Amir a voice, a thunderous one, to tell an influential story. Hosseini's well-admired style and the power still echoing strong through layers of informal-ness combine to create a remarkable story out of a typical Afghani boy.
Writing is an art, and Hosseini can definitely agree to that. ''The Kite Runner'' is fully composed of either dialogue or a boy's thoughts. Many writers make dialogues unrealistically advanced in intellect, whereas Hosseini defies generic authoring by limiting his characters to having the short, not so witty responses the regular person makes in an everyday conversation. The voice he creates for Amir is also realistic, as Amir is often caught thinking in fragments like ''And, under the same roof, we spoke our first words.
Mine was Baba.
His was Amir. My name.
Looking back at it now, I think the foundation for what happened in the winter of 1975—and all that followed—was already laid in those first words" [11]. The way lines were shortened once in a while adds another feature to make "The Kite Runner" an easy to read, guaranteed to be enjoyable novel.
Universal themes plus a powerful message equals a well-developed, yet incredibly simple plot that fuels a reader through Amir's unpredictable life. ''The Kite Runner'' is a roman a clef, following the life of an Afghani boy who grows out of his joyful childhood into a harsh world full of regret, tragedies, and truths. Interesting events entertained readers with perfect timing. Though everything was explained with adequate detail, no one event was discussed with too much unnecessary ''fluff''. The entire plotline was surprising, with minimal explicit foreshadowing. Right after Hassan, Amir's servant and best friend, left them, Amir and his father left Kabul, their home, without any warning. ''Standing on the shoulder of the road, I thought of the way we’d left the house where I’d lived my entire life, as if we were going out for a bite: dishes smeared with kofta piled in the kitchen sink; laundry in the wicker basket in the foyer; beds unmade; Baba’s business suits hanging in the closet” [112]. Just as surprised as a reader must have felt when the father and son left their home for good that day, the oblivious servant of theirs had no idea about their elopement until after it happened.
A simple story with deep themes, “The Kite Runner” captures the readers’ heart. Beautifully crafted, a reader is not only a reader, but a character as well. While enjoying every detail of Amir's life, one can summarize this novel as the story of a boy in Afganistan, whose life turns around with his decision and the Russian revolution.

...less

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Chris rated it:

01/31/08

bookshelves: couldnt-finish

Read in January, 2008

recommended to Chris by: Everyone
recommends it for: Monkeys

I became what I am today at the age of twenty-nine, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 2008.

What I am about to tell you about what I became is going to be very shocking. It is going to manipulate your emotions. It may include some random words in my native language for no reason whatsoever. It will teach you unnecessary things about my culture. It will not be smarter than a fifth grader. And it will include as many cliches and as much foreshadowing as is humanly possible.

...more I became what I am today at the age of twenty-nine, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 2008.

What I am about to tell you about what I became is going to be very shocking. It is going to manipulate your emotions. It may include some random words in my native language for no reason whatsoever. It will teach you unnecessary things about my culture. It will not be smarter than a fifth grader. And it will include as many cliches and as much foreshadowing as is humanly possible.

You are going to be shocked. I, for one, never saw it coming. So I doubt you will. Get ready. Aren't you so ready to be shocked? You're never going to see this coming.

What comes next is the big revelation, so get ready!

Wait, I need to ask you something first. Did you know that the Irish like potatoes? Yeah, we really enjoy it. And alcohol too. It's pretty great. Erin Go Bragh! This means Ireland Forever! Unfortunately, you will be very sad to know that my father just died due to an Irish car bomb. Well, about 15 of them to be exact. All on an empty stomach! It makes me sad and you should feel sad too, kind reader.

Ok, on to the big reveal. Here it is:

On that frigid overcast day, which happened to be the day that I decided to quit reading The Kite Runner, I became a book snob.

Because The Kite Runner is adored by most people who read it, I am forced to conclude that most people need to read more. A whole lot more. You should be embarrassed if you like this book. Seriously. The moment I became a book snob (shortly after "The Scene"), I became so embarrassed to be seen reading it that I accused the guy sitting next to me on the subway of putting the book on my lap while I wasn't paying attention. "How dare you, sir? Have you no decency?" I exclaimed excitedly in my native language. Then I noticed a monkey on the platform waiting to board a train. I quickly hopped off my train, ran to him, handed him the book, and said "Top O' the Mornin' to ya! Enjoy!"

Later that day, I saw that monkey flying a kite in front of the Washington Monument. I noticed that the glass string wasn't making his hands bloody. Do you know why? He was wearing gloves. ...less

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Janet rated it:

01/06/08

Read in December, 2007

recommends it for: adults interested in literary fiction, psychology, or international politics

This novel fascinated me. It's a great example of the power of a good story. The author was a rookie, and he didn't yet have a solid command of the craft, but he certainly had something important to say. There are some big spoilers ahead, so if you're planning to read this one, you might want to stop here.

I enjoyed the rich portrait of Afghani culture, both at home and in exile in the US. The story's time-frame before and after the Soviet invasion lets an American reader understand bett...more