The Kite Runner | Khaled Hosseini | KR touches the human heart

The Kite Runner | Khaled Hosseini | Amazing book

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The Kite Runner

	The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini Riverhead Trade, 2004 - 400 pages average customer review:based on 2509 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

KR touches the human heart

it's been a while since i read a book and felt the trickle of tears cool my face. it was supposed to be a light summer read while traveling, but instead it touched my heart on a much more profound level. best of all- i couldn't put it down, wanting to know what will happen next...hungry for the finale. and when it came, i had to read more of hosseini's works.. highly recommended.

Amazing book

This book started off a little slow, so I wasn't sure I was going to stick with it. But after the first 1/4 of the book, you realize why there is so much detail and background. A very rich book that makes you feel as though you were there in Kabul in the 70s when things were moderately peaceful (or at least intact). What a great ending too! Love it!

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Couldn't put it down

Rivetting. The past and the recent events of Afghanistan are sewed together in the experiences of the characters. It made me relate to the history of the country in a way that I never thought I could.

Avoid the cliches!

First, I found this story moving (crying by page 50) and culturally interesting. All I know of Afghanistan I learned from the post-9/11 evening news and the movie "Osama". In many ways, this novel is similar to that movie. It gives the impression that nothing good can happen in Afghanistan, that it is a depressed country full of misfortune. The pre-Taliban portions of this novel are rich with detail. Once Amir moves to the US, the story morphs into the trite "immigrant makes good" story with melodramatic plot twists. I expected more from Amir's return to his native country. Many of the descriptions are cliched and weak. Regardless of the weaknesses in plot and imagery, a fabulous first effort!

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As good as advertised... despite the ending

I recently finished The Kite Runner, the first book written by Khaled Hosseini. I knew a lot of people who had read this book and had strong opinions on it, so I decided to give it a go. I was pleasantly surprised and pleased with The Kite Runner, though I wasn't entirely satisfied with the ending.

The Kite Runner reads from the first-person perspective of Amir, the son of a wealthy businessman, who lives with his father, Baba, in a large house in Afghanistan. Amir and his father reside with their servant, Ali, and Ali's own son, Hassan. The first part of the novel centers around the interconnected relationships of both sets of sons and fathers, as well as Amir's close, almost brotherly, relationship with Hassan.

The author, Hosseini, does a great job of detailing the various lives of these four characters, set against the backdrop of Afghanistan in the 1970's and 80's. At the time, Afghanistan was a thriving, cultural mecca, though trouble lay ahead with Russian forces moving into the area, eventually exerting their will on the Afghani people.

Without giving away too much detail, Amir and Hassan experience a life changing event from different angles, which ultimately separates the pair, sending them both in completely different directions. This change in direction leads to Amir and his father migrating to America, where they start new, humble lives in the Bay Area. Hassan, as we later learn, remains in Afghanistan where his life becomes... well, depressing.

Much of the second half of the book deals with Amir making amends and redeeming himself for his handling of the event which, as briefly described above, sends both himself and Hassan along different routes. The lengths Amir goes to redeem himself are both dangerous and sometimes unbelievable -- even for a novel -- but it certainly is attention-grabbing... It's nearly impossible to put the book down over the last 100 pages.

This book is about 400 pages, but you'll tear through it in no time. The chapters are fairly short, and the novel moves along quickly and neatly, but beware, this is by no means a "feel good" story. There are a lot of sad, depressing moments in The Kite Runner, and even the conclusion makes you wonder why the author ended it this way.

I never really was all that interested in Afghanistan and its culture, but Hosseini really paints a vivid, interesting story of the rise and fall of the region. Midway through the book, I found myself repeating and memorizing a bunch of Afghani terms that are mentioned throughout the story. I was so enthralled with Hosseini's descriptive passages, I may even venture out to an Afghani restaurant here in San Francisco (should all Italian, sushi and burger joints suddenly close down for no reason).

Do I recommend The Kite Runner...? Absolutely. It's a good, quick read, and if you're in the mood for something a bit cultural and thought-provoking, pick it up.

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