The Kite Runner--For Those Who have finished

[Jamie (The Perpetual Page-Turner), The Founding Bookworm]

I'm trying something new with the format for the discussion threads..so bear with me..and let me know what you think of this format compared to the No Spoilers and Spoilers thread.

In this thread, feel free to talk about the book as a whole after you have finished the book.

[jessi]

Alright, I finished it and I loved it. It's funny, because I rated the book and read a lot of reviews, and I can totally see some of the criticisms as completely valid (such as Assef, and even Hassan, being two-dimensional; the fact that the way he slipped in foreign words along with the translation was unrealistic at times). However, I still loved this book. It is probably in my top ten books now. It was so disturbing and captivating!

[Annie]

I cheated and read this about a year ago. This is absolutely one of my favorite books! Ridiculously powerful, totally moving.
I loved it!

[Lindsay]

Annie wrote: "I cheated and read this about a year ago. This is absolutely one of my favorite books! Ridiculously powerful, totally moving.
I loved it!"

I 100% agree with you on this one!! I loved this book too.. and I also cheated and read it about a year ago! lol

[Roshio]

Finished it! (well a few months ago). Unfortunately I was in the library studying for my exams when I saw it. Didn't get much study done after that! It's so good, so moving. Great stuff! It has such great quotes as well, although I can't remember them off the top of my head.

[Kate]

I loved this book. It was so moving! It is definitely one that I will keep on my shelf (though maybe not read through many times again). It was so heart-breaking!

[Atishay]

I read it almost an year ago. It's one of those books that linger with you for some time. Beautifully written.

[Amy]

I read this last Christmas break and I really thought it was kind of disappointing. To me, Amir was completely unsympathetic and deserved everything he got. The "twist" with Hassan being his half-brother seemed contrived and is always one of my least favorite twists authors employ for shock value.

I guess I disliked Amir so much that it made it impossible for me to love this book. There were parts that I really enjoyed, and I thought it was very well-written, but it just didn't do it for me.

[Tahleen]

Amy, I feel the same. I really didn't like this book at all, mostly because I thought that Amir was just so unlikable. I also thought the author's attempts at making him seem sympathetic failed miserably--he seemed incredibly selfish throughout the book, except maybe with his wife, but I guess I'm in the minority haha. I just think it's way overrated.

[Emily]

I hated this book, for mostly the same reasons as Amy and Tahleen. I hated Amir (and Baba, and just about every other character) and I thought that the "plot twist" of them being related was pretty lame. I also knew that he would adopt the kid as soon as the guy mentioned him and asked Amir to go get him. Talk about predictable. And the bad guy coming back at the end? Seriously?
Also, what was the deal with him and his wife? They met and talked a few times, and then got married and got along perfectly from then on out? That's not realistic at all.
I'm surprised I made myself finish it.

[Annie]

Have any of you read A Thousand Splendid Suns? If you have, did you like that better or did you not like that one either?
Personally, I enjoyed both.

[Jessie]

I've read A Thousand Splendid Suns and I thought it was really good, it was nice hearing more about women in Afganistan. I didn't think it was as good as The Kite Runner, but that's because I loved it so much that nothing could really compare to it for me. Nevertheless, I really did like A Thousand Splendid suns.

[Tami]

I loved this book and really disliked Amir for a good portion. I really liked that they took a political situation and toned it down by having it seen from a child's point of view. I did find it a bit odd how easy the immigration always was, but I really wasn't thinking anything about the plot twist until right before it was made known. I plan on reading Thousand Splendid Suns but it will probably be a while. Oh, and the actual kite flying competition seemed so vivid to me.

[Megan]

I just finished and I loved it. Tami, I agree with the portrayal of an intense political situation seen through a child's eyes. While, I didn't love Amir's character I also realize that he was a boy and was hard on himself, hating himself for things that were beyond a boy's control (ie Assef and Baba's relationship with Hassan).
I listened to this one on audio and it's read by the author. I think listening to it really added to the story for me. I hadn't read anything about Afghanistan so I found it all very interesting and heart breaking. I especially loved the parts about the kite tournaments and kite running.