Kite Runner | Khaled Hosseini

Kite Runner | Khaled Hosseini | Heartbreaking, yet very touching story

books:

Kite Runner

	Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini RIVERHEAD BOOKS/PENGUIN PUTNAM average customer review:based on 2512 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

A Masterpiece

Found this title secondhand by accident, and I feel almost guilty I never heard of it. Though missing action, spontaneity and unpredictability, the descriptions and character development had me turning pages all damn night. Finished in one day. This and "A Thousand Splendid Suns" are must reads. Timeless, yet topical. Both taking place in Afghanistan, covering the political and catastrophic events taking place. I won't spoil the story or details, but it really draws you in with the bizarre, gritty conflicts of simple daily life struggles.

Heartbreaking, yet very touching story

From the very first paragraph of this book, one can tell it will be impossible to put down. "I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975....Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years." These few sentances automatically catch the readers attention. The friendship that exist between Amir and Hassan, can be felt by readers throughout the beginning of the book. The words used by the author creates such vivid detail that you instantly feel as though you are part of the action. This book is a roller coaster of emotions that hits very high points along with extremely low points. This novel is definitely worth reading!

for more information click here

Laden With Symbolism

I only now read "The Kite Runner" - after having known about it for several years. Somehow there were always other books that called out to be read first.

The problem is that building up one's expectation to something for several years is bound to end in disappointment. Expectations know no limit; real stories do.

So yes, in a way I was disappointed with the book. I thought that I'd delve deep into a wonderfully detailed yet gripping story that takes place in Afghanistan. I didn't realize that a good chunk of the novel actually takes place in America and that it doesn't convey nearly as much about Afghanistan as I had thought.

But my expectations left aside, it was still a book that merits five stars - even if the author had never completed the story and had published only the first few chapters. For those, I thought, were the best.

They reminded me of the great classics in literature in which people, places, objects, and events are laden with symbolic significance without ever telling the reader in cold prose what those things "mean." One feels the significance on a level that a non-fiction book or a mere summary of the story could never reach.

Unfortunately, the author does not maintain this level of literary excellence throughout the book. As soon as the story moves away from Afghanistan to America, away from the protagonist's childhood, much of the symbolism of the story is being left behind, and what remains is the author simply "telling" lots of things, and at times the telling turns outright dull.

But the story recovers and ends on the same significant note with which it began.

For those of you who don't know the story yet, let me not spoil it here by giving you a summary. Suffice it to say that if you like serious literature in the vein of Thomas Mann, Hermann Hesse or even Dickens (to throw in a non-German), then you will be served extremely well with this book. If you are primarily looking for an exciting read or information on Afghanistan, then "The Kite Runner" is probably not best suited for the purpose.

for more information click here

the destruction of Afghanistan as reflected in a family melodrama

'The Kite Runner' is certainly an interesting read. It is written as if were a memoir by a man recounting his boyhood in Kabul in the 1970s and how his past catches up with him twenty years later while living in California. So convincing is this memoir format that I had to keep reminding myself 'The Kite Runner' is indeed fiction. Although the story itself is immensely readable and oftentimes heartwarming, tragic or downright horrific, ultimately the author overcooks it a bit; the story grows to become somewhat unrealistic. On the other hand the author does a masterful job in describing life in Kabul during very turbulent years and he educates the reader on various Afghan customs and prejudices.

Bottom line: entertaining and educational. Strongly recommended.

for more information click here

Eh.

I started reading this book with high expectations. Which is too bad, because the story's good, but the writing isn't. In the end, I was disappointed.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

products you might be interested in