The Kite Runner in Crazy Challenge Connection

Sep 17, 2014 ~~Poulomi Sylphrena Tonk$~~ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, heartbreaking, owned-books, food-for-thought

"For you, a thousand times over."

Hosseini’s stirring narrative, The Kite Runner, expresses human emotions in the face of tragedies. The story talks of the lives of two urchins, Amir and Hassan: separate on many lines, yet diverging from the same focal point. The writer walks through nuggets of their conjoint childhood, spent in the shadow of the other and through their life as adults, varied yet linked somehow to their roots in Afghanistan. The story is set against the political backdrop of "For you, a thousand times over."

Hosseini’s stirring narrative, The Kite Runner, expresses human emotions in the face of tragedies. The story talks of the lives of two urchins, Amir and Hassan: separate on many lines, yet diverging from the same focal point. The writer walks through nuggets of their conjoint childhood, spent in the shadow of the other and through their life as adults, varied yet linked somehow to their roots in Afghanistan. The story is set against the political backdrop of the invasion of Afghanistan by Russia in the 19s; in the later half, the oppression under Taliban rule, when Kabul transforms to something they never imagined in their worst dreams.

Despite being like two separate faces of the same coin, the bond that found establishment ever since the twosome began their lives was something above the ordinary. Amir was the active end of the pole, one who would yearn for a place in his father’s affections all day long and cringe at every mention of Hassan from him. Hassan, on the other hand was the passive end, one who would take all and still look up with a kind smile on his face. The character building that came into force in creating these two characters is one which you can only accredit to a genius.
Another character who touched me to the bone was Sohrab. Catapulted into a childhood marred by atrocities and abuse, this lad had not only lost a family, but also lost reason and hope. That tiredness in his eyes struck the deepest of my heartstrings.

The Kite Runner is about life. About circumstances that come tumbling to our lives that we aren’t exactly proud of. About how things might have turned differently if you didn’t let it happen the way they did. It’s about self-reproach gnawing at your conscience till the very end and about redemption that takes you back to a time you’d not want to revisit.

“Zendagi Migzara..”

I would simply entitle Hosseini as an expert storyteller. His furious play of words, the display of irony, the pauses here and there all so well timed- everything summed up to construe a story, reflective and thought-provoking in every sense. The agility of this remarkable man is seen in how emotively he pursues the storyline, never crossing the mark, never underplaying the same. I don’t even remember the number of times I felt tears streaming down my face. This book has changed me, changed the way I looked at many things. Thank you, Mr. Hosseini, for bringing to my life a kie runner I’d never forget.

Thank you so much Ashu, my best friend and sister, for gifting me this one gem of a book. Much love.

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Jul 07, 2025 Angie ☯ rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: shoot-for-the-stars-2025, z-tower-teams-xi-2025, z-quest-for-excellence-summer-2025

2.5 stars - rounded to 3

The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father's servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption; and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.

This book was powerful and brutal. It has very vivid chara ...more

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Nov 24, 2014 Reader Rick rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Inspiring

Funny, yet sad. Tragic, without being a tragedy. This story is one of the best stories that I have read. I enjoyed reading it from page one. I learned a lot about Afghan life and culture and traditions in the few hours that it took to read this book than what I would have expected to learn in a lifetime. It is a lesson in karma. It is a lesson in courage. In fact, if you look hard enough all of us will learn a bit about ourselves. All through the story, we will be challenged as to how w ...more

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Mar 17, 2023 Tina rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2023-around-the-year-in-52-books

This was a totally different world...

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Sep 11, 2016 Colleen rated it it was ok

Shelves: hate-reads

I’ve been required to read this book many times in my life and I just never could get into it. Love learning about another culture through literature, am not at all anti-pop lit, want to support physician authors but... it’s just so, so cliche and the literary devices are way too obvious.

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