The Kite Runner

Why Buy A The Kite Runner?
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 countrys 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 Amirs fathers 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 plots 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 Americas 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

Customer Reviews & Opinions

There is a way to be good again…
Kite Runner is a heartbreaking story of two Afghan boys..You will not want to put it down, it will give goosebumps to you, you will cry and you will learn, too.. It is not just fiction, it is a true mixture of fiction and reality. I googled Afghanistan, Afghan history and culture, and of course Taliban several times while I was reading this book.

This is a story of Amir, a privileged Afghani boy and Hassan, family servant’s son. Rich and poor, Sunni and Shi’a, master and servant, reader and illiterate.. Looking at their differences it is almost impossible for Amir and Hassan to be friends.. They are not just friends, they are best friends, brothers, but in social gatherings, Amir and Hassan are back to being master and servant.

And one bad decision that ruins the lives of two boys. Events lead to Hassan and his father’s leaving Kabul and after Russian invasion, Amir and his father’s leaving their hometown, too. It is a new country and a new life.. Amir grows up, goes to college, gets married, writes a book, and even get published.. But he has to live with his betrayal and guilt until one day he learns that he has the chance to make it right and to be good again…..

A Novel Menagerie’s Perspective on The Kite Runner
This is the story of a man’s journey to right the biggest wrong of his past. This is also the story of a country and a culture that has died and shall never be resurrected to what it once was. This story is about holding onto traditions and customs in a new country and a new life. This is a story about honor and bravery. Simply, this is a GREAT story.

I am hoping that, by now, many or most of you have read this amazing book. It is a great story, but it is also a sad story, in my opinion. The story is about a boy, Amir, and his life in Afghanistan and later in the United States of America. Amir’s father, Baba, is, BY FAR, my favorite character in the book. He is a man of great honor and pride. He is a man who seemed larger than life, to Amir. Amir is not the brave, strong man that his father, Baba is. As such, he carries such a great amount of shame for falling less than what he believes are his father’s expectations of him. My review will not outline the storyline of this book/movie, rather touch on what I saw were the differences between the movie and the book, due to the Lit Flicks Challenge.

I believe, in order to try to condense the story into a reasonable timeframe for a movie, there were a considerable amount of critical parts of the story that were left out of the movie. I understand Hollywood and their need to package up movies into a certain timeframe… but, I think that cutting out the majority of Amir’s time in the middle east was a disservice to the movie watchers who did not read the book. Specifically, the amount of time that Amir spent in hospitals and what Sohrab had to go through while Amir recovered was, for me, a very important part of the story.

The casting of Baba disappointed me. I LOVE BABA and I pictured him in my mind as this big, towering, powerful man. The actor who portrayed Baba was WAY TOO SHORT and diminutive for my liking. Although, I must say that he did a fine job and played the role well.

The movie neglected to show more about the struggling that Baba and Amir went through in the United States.

The movie really shortchanged the viewers on how Amir fell in love with Soraya.

The part of the book where they travel inside the gas tank of the truck to escape Afghanistan is not shown in the movie as it was written in the book. That travel had so much impact on Amir and they don’t properly reflect in the movie what happened in there.

I was also disappointed in the casting of Amir. He didn’t “fit the bill” for me. He was a good actor and did a good job, but I wanted somebody a little more rugged.

I did like to be able to view the physical difference in the Hazara boys, as it was hard to visualize in my mind but easier to understand in the movie.

In the event that you haven’t read the book, nor seen the movie… I recommend the book first and the movie second. This doesn’t surprise me because that’s how I usually feel. However, you will appreciate the movie so much more… by the way, the movie is done in subtitles for the majority of the film. Hosseini makes a cameo appearance at the end of the movie in the park scene. I couldn’t focus on the movie at that point because I was so busy watching him… silly me!

Oh, there are A LOT of foreign language words in this book. I had a friend who helped me to translate them. If you read the book first, you may want to have the internet handy to check the meaning of certain words… it adds a lot to the story. Also, some knowledge on the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and The Taliban rule in Afghanistan would be helpful.

Sher’s “Out of Ten” Scale:

Once I had a better understanding of the history, the area, and the language, I was gobbling up this book. I absolutely LOVED it. I actually thought that it was a true story when I was reading it (silly me). Especially with our for men and women fighting over there, I think that it’s a book that we should all pick up and read, if we can. We are so fortunate to be Americans (well, that is for the American readers of this post… I know I’ve got some readers from other countries, too!). So, I am giving it a 9.5 out of 10.

THE BEST BOOK I’VE EVER READ!!!
The story is amazing, a simple story about frienship that transforms our lives completely. You can’t read it without being sad or happy or even angry, you feel the emotions as never before.

You can’t stop reading the book. It is easy to read and the author describes every little detail so perfectly.

It’s a message about loyalty no matter what.

I really think is a great story with an incredible author.

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Tags: 1598954784, Fiction, General, Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner