The Kite Runner
 | Riverhead Trade, 2004, Paperback Customer Rating: 2702 reviews Recommend |
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- ISBN13: 9781594480003
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
The timely and critically acclaimed debut novel that's becoming a word-of-mouth phenomenon...
In his debut novel, The Kite Runner, 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.
The Kite Runner 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.")
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 The Kite Runner 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. — Gisele Toueg
Title: The Kite Runner
Sales Rank: 468 in Books
Author: Khaled Hosseini
Publisher: Riverhead Trade, Later printing edition, 2004-04-27, Paperback, 400 pages, ISBN: 1594480001
Package Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches, 0.8 pounds
- Power of the Powerless
- There are many people like Hassan in this world, in different countries: disadvantaged, humble, and powerless. But they have enormous power over our hearts when their stories are told. I am glad Hassan's was.
To read the story of a powerless and deprived young girl in 1980 China, please check out this book: When Rape Flowers… More reviews
- BORING!
- I rarely have difficulty getting through a book. I can usually read a novel within a few days, no problem. This story was so BORING it took me forever! (I had to force myself to pick it back up every few days.) I would only recommend this book to someone I didn't like. More reviews
- Afghan Dickens
- The structure of this story should be familiar to readers of Charles Dickens, John Irving, or Patrick Dilloway. It starts off with a young boy who grows into a man and then deals with some of his lingering issues. The only difference is that instead of taking place in London or New England or Iowa, it's taking place in Afghanistan.
Amir's mother died in child… More reviews
- A Powerful Read
- This book was among those that my wife was reading for the United Methodist Women's yearly reading. I thought that it might be ok but certainly not that interesting.
I was wrong! This book catches you by the collar and moves you through it. The brotherhood of two boys and then a tragic event which b reaks up the… More reviews
- Worth the Read
- I am a highschool student at BCHS in the Bronx. Before reading this book I was not fully aware of too much history about Afghanistan. The book started a little slow, but it was very well wriitten. As the book progressed it took many twists and turns that were somewhat unexpected but very captivating. By the time the book reached its final… More reviews
