The Kite Runner

This book left me with as lot of strong emotions. On the top is awe at how good the story is, how well written and how beautifully it all comes together.

There is sadness for all the children who have been—and still are—being robbed of their childhood, their families and their homes. Khaled Hosseini gives us a peak into the world that is so atrocious feels like it should exist lightyears away in the past. But in reality it existed in out lifetime and it exists still. The story references the history of Afghanistan, but doesn't dig deep. I found myself needing to consult other sources to understand the setting better.

There is wonder at the beautiful picture of Afghanistan of the boys childhood. The way it is painted makes me want to go there and see it for myself—it if still existed.

There is incomprehension of how human history births such abominations over and over and how we manage to survive as a species despite it.

And there is the warm feeling of adoration for all the sweet and innocent parts of this book, the ones filled with manifestation of love and kindness. Khaled Hosseini knew how to write this sad and terrible story in such a way that still leaves you believing in goodness of people and in love.

Read this book in one sitting. Started at 6 pm and then finished roughly at 2:30 am. Normally it takes me longer but I couldn't put the book down. It wasn't so much that I liked Amir, I could relate to him but I felt he was such a coward, and I wasn't satisfied in the end. Anyway, where do I begin? I really enjoyed the first half of the book, while Amir was a child in Afghanistan, and the foreshadowing about Hassan was obvious. Amir craving and seeking love for his father was something I could relate to, however throughout the story I felt that he never fully grew up, that despite being a man in some ways he was a foolish child. The ending was a slap in the face and I a part of me wanted more. The book was okay and I never thought I'd say this but I prefer the movie.

SO HEART-WRENCHING OMG.

I watched the movie adaptation before this, and I knew what to expect, but it was still so, so sad to read. I had to remind myself to breathe every so often because I was so stricken. I kept wondering why Khaleed Hosseini made me read such depressing stories :(

A beautiful read.

Superb, and sad in a lot of ways. Highly recommend.

This is a disturbing and haunting book, at times so painful that I wanted to stop reading. But it also shows complex and interesting friendships and family relationships and how events affect one another. It's powerful and intricate. I also really appreciated seeing Afghanistan from a non-American point of view.

I don't know why I put off reading this book for so long but once I picked it up it was very hard to put down A wonderful book

Touching story.

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. 

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.

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.

Brilliant and heart warming story.

I didn't know much about this book before I read it. I had heard of it (since I don't, in fact, live under a rock) but didn't know really what it was about at all. I picked it up at my favorite local-ish used bookstore for 25 cents. I literally bought this book for a quarter just because I could. I am SO glad I did. The official synopsis really says it all (at least keeping it spoiler-free) but I loved this book so much that I had to write a review. If nothing else, just to rant about how much I loved it.

The Kite Runner is set for the most part in Kabul, Afghanistan. I have to say that I knew very, very little about Afghanistan and Afghan culture going into this book. I was a little hesitant to read it because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to relate or understand what was going on. I experienced the complete opposite. The story was very easily accessible and I was totally immersed from the first chapter; I felt like I was in Afghanistan with Amir and Hassan. This novel was very emotional for me; it left me sobbing in my room, in my car, on my sofa, everywhere I read it. I felt what Amir felt. Hosseini's writing style was deeply engaging.

I won't spoil it by going into any detail but as much as I loved it, The Kite Runner was also incredibly difficult to read in parts. It was true to life in Afghanistan. I would put so many trigger warnings on this book. (For specific tw(s), please ask. I don't want to spoil it for anyone.) Some events were disturbing and the story was just so heart-wrenching.

The Kite Runner is a haunting novel, one that will stick with me for a long time. When I think about it, I think about love, forgiveness, guilt, and redemption. So much love. An overwhelming theme of love.

Would I recommend this book?

Because of some heartbreaking and possibly triggering events described within, I would not recommend this for everyone. But I would recommend it, if you can mentally handle reading about these events. Please check it out before you read it. The Kite Runner is incredibly moving and informative concerning Afghanistan, it's culture, and the terrible things happening in that country. I definitely recommend it.

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.

3.5/5 stars

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.

This book wrecked me. I remember crying the entire last chapter but also loving the ending. Read it if you haven't. It is masterful.

Very moving. A solid read from start to finish and worthy of all the positive press, by and large. The author's love for his lost Afghanistan is palpable, which always gets to me (like Eva Ibbotsons paeans to pre-war Vienna). I could foretell the remainder of the plot halfway through the book, though, which always renders things less enjoyable.

”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.

It's a soap opera actually, but very well written.

I started reading it, but didn't get to the meat of the story at all. I just hated the writing style. Maybe I'll get to it later.

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.

I enjoyed this one a lot. I know very little about the region aside from what you can find in the news, and it was nice getting another, more personal, view. A lot happens to the main character, and I found myself love/hating each new chapter because I wanted/didn't want to know what happens. Extremely engaging to read.

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.

Great book. Talented writer.

I couldn't put it down. This book opens our eyes wide and shows us how others live and over come trials.