Paperback, 371 pages
Published May 29, 2003 by Riverhead Books.
1970s Afghanistan: Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the local kite-fighting tournament and his loyal friend Hassan promises to help him. But neither of the boys can foresee what would happen to Hassan that afternoon, an event that is to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realises that one day he must return to an Afghanistan under Taliban rule to find the one thing that his new world cannot grant him: redemption.
I haven't read such a well balanced book in a while. It has everything: great storytelling, character building, touch of historical events and by reading it you also learn a lot about the Afghan culture and the country.
this book is easy to read. i liked the writing and the characters in the first 1/3 of the book.
i have no sympathy for the protagonist. i can’t believe that he only decided to go rescue hassan’s son after he finds out that hassan is his brother by blood. that is so weaksauce…. amir jan you gotta be kidding me. his indolence makes me furious sometimes. if i were baba i’d be disappointed in him too.
it is a very exciting and riveting tale, i guess… fates often intertwine, melodramatic coincidences push the story forward. but i don’t think it’s the book to read if you are looking for a perspective on afghan history. those parts were often skimmed over. i found the more domestic acts (like his whole love story with soraya, and his idle days in america) a chore to read. maybe this is a cultural thing …
this book is easy to read. i liked the writing and the characters in the first 1/3 of the book.
i have no sympathy for the protagonist. i can’t believe that he only decided to go rescue hassan’s son after he finds out that hassan is his brother by blood. that is so weaksauce…. amir jan you gotta be kidding me. his indolence makes me furious sometimes. if i were baba i’d be disappointed in him too.
it is a very exciting and riveting tale, i guess… fates often intertwine, melodramatic coincidences push the story forward. but i don’t think it’s the book to read if you are looking for a perspective on afghan history. those parts were often skimmed over. i found the more domestic acts (like his whole love story with soraya, and his idle days in america) a chore to read. maybe this is a cultural thing but i wish there was more internal character development for the protag to show how he’s changed since he was 13. to me, amir doesn’t even really have a personality, he’s just some spineless privileged chode who continually lucks out in life and runs away from his problems, except for the one time he doesn’t at the end. god damnnnn, i hate how they made the big uh oh sociopath villain the same guy that assaulted hassan when they were kids. how convenient, now amir can bury his demons!…..
P.S i really loved baba, he reminds me of my mom. i would like to stand up for what i believe in, too. even in the face of death.
Comic, tragic, often times dream-like. This book certainly lives up to its reputation. It's sophistication of story will stay with me long after I've finished there final page. And I'm off to begin his other books immediately.
The central plot point of this fiction novel is the rape of a small child, described in grotesque detail, and constantly dragged out again and again for extra shock value.
That should tell you everything you need to know about this book. Had my college English professor not had a sick mind, I probably never would've been subjected to it.
This book was just amazing. Heartbreaking, happy, sad, all the emotions. I'm so glad I've read this. It'll stick with me for a good long time.
This one breaks your heart over and over again. It's a book to cry to. It provides a well written, well paced insight into the country that has been broken over and over. It is a story of betrayal, regret and redemption, told in such personal tone that it feels personal and touching.
It has lots of afghan words thrown in, sometimes almost gratuitously, with illustrate a bit of the afghan mindset. I found this entertaining and curious but can see why some people are bothered by it.
The main character grows up with the story and has a very nice, if painful, character arc.
Personally, it's not my favourite kind of book but can recommend to people looking for an easy read that is very full of heightened feelings.
One of the best books I've read in recent times. Devastatingly beautiful and heartbreaking.
Favorite part of the book was reading it in the hammock on a beautiful weekend. 4 stars.
This is a Masterpiece. Enough said...
You know how some books are emotionally draining to read, yet you end up glad you read them? That's this book for me.
Frequently on banned and challenged book lists, the Kite Runner is filled with violence, sexual situations, and extremely unlikeable characters. It's not a happy book. It's the story of an flawed, privileged boy growing up in pre-war Afghanistan who searches for forgiveness and redemption for the mistakes made in his youth. Some scenes were extremely difficult to read. Some scenes made me sad for the characters. Some scenes left me indigent to the violence in the world--the stadium scene specifically. It's a story about how secrets can shape our lives, and it's a story about relationships.
If you can't take dangerous, violent situations involving children, give this one a pass. You will not be uplifted by the end, but I think it's worth reading. Just be sure …
You know how some books are emotionally draining to read, yet you end up glad you read them? That's this book for me.
Frequently on banned and challenged book lists, the Kite Runner is filled with violence, sexual situations, and extremely unlikeable characters. It's not a happy book. It's the story of an flawed, privileged boy growing up in pre-war Afghanistan who searches for forgiveness and redemption for the mistakes made in his youth. Some scenes were extremely difficult to read. Some scenes made me sad for the characters. Some scenes left me indigent to the violence in the world--the stadium scene specifically. It's a story about how secrets can shape our lives, and it's a story about relationships.
If you can't take dangerous, violent situations involving children, give this one a pass. You will not be uplifted by the end, but I think it's worth reading. Just be sure to have something funny and sweet ready to read immediately after you are done to restore your faith in humanity. Maybe a good Dave Barry book, or The Princess Bride.
Couldn't finish. Just too grim.
I remember reading this book in a couple of days, albeit was working graveyards a lot at the time, but it was really great.
I was surprised at how much I liked this book. A good story. Well-written. Bit predictable at the end. It gets a bonus for including the Bay Area.
I read this due to the rave reviews and buzz. What a massive disappointment.
To be fair, had I never seen all the reviews, I would've judged it as fairly decent. The problem is this book does not stand out in any way, save one: it gives a westerner a small amount of insight into the daily lives and culture of afghanistan before the russian invasion. It gives a bit more insight into the character of the people that lived and fled from there. I found this aspect interesting and enjoyable.
My main gripe is that it's painfully obvious that it's the author's first novel. There's nothing wrong with that, but with such good reviews I expected much better writing. Perhaps part of it is due to language and cultural barriers. Despite having a decent plotline it was very difficult to keep interest, nothing drew you in. The characters themselves …
I read this due to the rave reviews and buzz. What a massive disappointment.
To be fair, had I never seen all the reviews, I would've judged it as fairly decent. The problem is this book does not stand out in any way, save one: it gives a westerner a small amount of insight into the daily lives and culture of afghanistan before the russian invasion. It gives a bit more insight into the character of the people that lived and fled from there. I found this aspect interesting and enjoyable.
My main gripe is that it's painfully obvious that it's the author's first novel. There's nothing wrong with that, but with such good reviews I expected much better writing. Perhaps part of it is due to language and cultural barriers. Despite having a decent plotline it was very difficult to keep interest, nothing drew you in. The characters themselves were likeable enough, but felt more like shadows of who they could be. Towards the last 1/3 of the novel the writing got better, and there were even a few memorable lines. I'm not sure if that helped improve the novel overall, or just further highlight the lack in the first part.
I don't recommend this book. It's far from bad, but also far from good. I will read more by the author, as I think he has promise. It's also hard to find contemporary fiction based on real world events outside of western culture.
It absolutely does not deserve the acclaim or attention it's getting.
Good, but depressing, story about a young man struggling with the rigors of life in Afghanistan, escaping (although not in the best of circumstances) to America, and being drawn back in. You'll want to slug some of the characters sometimes though.
