false 77203 91 In his debut novel, <I>The Kite Runner</I>, 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.<p> <I>The Kite Runner</I> 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.")<p> 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 <I>The Kite Runner</I> 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. <I>--Gisele Toueg</I> 3295919 book 1999 The Kite Runner total:199481|5:93621|4:68427|3:25878|2:7390|1:4165| 199481 838392 260998 23412 1 182 false false Wed Jan 30 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon May 21 07:17:22 -0700 2007 Thu Jan 31 18:05:25 -0800 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 reas...more...]]> 1 92 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 10 21:34:56 -0800 2007 Wed Feb 20 20:38:57 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 57 false false Wed Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Mon Nov 12 14:50:47 -0800 2007 Thu Jan 10 12:41:26 -0800 2008
"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."...more...]]> 1 45 false false Mon Jan 14 09:35:35 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 18 07:37:40 -0800 2008
my problems with the n...more...]]> 1 39 false false Tue Jul 24 14:49:29 -0700 2007 Sat Dec 22 07:41:30 -0800 2007 ...more...]]> 2 23 false true Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue May 13 12:35:12 -0700 2008 Thu May 15 12:25:51 -0700 2008 The Kite Runner, I hadn’t actually paid much attention to what was said about it other than, “It was wonderful!”

So, a few days ago and several years after the book came out, I heard a couple of people discussing the ...more...]]> 5 19 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue May 29 07:43:52 -0700 2007 Tue May 29 07:43:52 -0700 2007
Kite Runner, I started over a long weekend and could not for the life of me put it down. I ...more...]]> 1 19 false false Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed May 02 07:30:43 -0700 2007 Wed May 02 07:33:29 -0700 2007 more...]]> 0 30 false false Sun May 11 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun May 11 08:49:19 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 14 02:39:59 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 10 false false Sun Feb 24 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 13 17:56:19 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 24 08:44:20 -0800 2008
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 lik...more...]]> 3 10 false false Tue Oct 02 23:33:58 -0700 2007 Tue Oct 16 15:06:48 -0700 2007
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 ...more...]]> 2 13 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Tue Jun 05 09:56:48 -0700 2007 Sat Dec 08 09:59:21 -0800 2007
I hated the narrator's guts n...more...]]> 5 11 false false Tue May 20 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat May 24 21:55:56 -0700 2008 Sat May 24 22:27:43 -0700 2008 Cried when read Hassan's letters to Amir
Adored what Hassan and Baba did to Amir
Excited during my journey to Kabul
Confused when I want to make a review

Hoalah....

Buku ini bikin aku nangis tengah malam, bikin aku b...more...]]> 5 7 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 18 10:36:28 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 22 13:46:14 -0700 2007
Okay, well I feel like a real jackass because I was, honestly, feeling pretty stupid reading this, hence the disclaimer above. It's like when I took the cover off the Da Vinci Code so nobody would know I was really reading ...more...]]> 4 8 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 15 18:37:22 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 29 08:04:10 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 6 false false Mon Jul 21 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 21 03:48:53 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 21 04:17:23 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 6 false true Mon Feb 25 09:20:55 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 18 11:08:36 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 22 18:27:54 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 6 false false Fri Mar 02 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Thu Sep 27 13:33:06 -0700 2007 Wed May 28 09:29:27 -0700 2008 The Kite Runner is about a young boy, Amir, growing up in a wealthy part of Kabul, Afghanistan, the only son of a popular entrepenuer, who betrays his best friend and later has a chance to redeem himself....more...]]> 1 8 false false Thu May 17 20:41:56 -0700 2007 Tue Dec 04 08:23:19 -0800 2007 more...]]> 2 7 false false Thu Jul 03 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed May 21 14:21:35 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 03 11:45:01 -0700 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=77204