| |  | Author: Khaled Hosseini
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Category: Book
Buy Used: $9.43
Used (5) from $9.43
Rating:  2517 reviews
Sales Rank: 1423387
Format: Import
Media: Paperback
Edition: Export Edn.
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
ISBN: 0747566992
EAN: 9780747566991
ASIN: 0747566992
Publication Date: 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Used item, may contain markings. Satisfaction guaranteed. Inventory subject to prior sale.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Living In Afghanistan October 14, 2008
The Kite Runner is a very well written novel that portrays the hardships of life growing up in the floundering world of war-time Afghanistan. Khaled Hosseini uses perfect imagery and truth to show the reader the world of his childhood. He describes everything, even (or rather especially) the parts of his life that he regrets the most. He gives the reader all the insight into his thoughts and feelings so that one feels as if they are right there with him while he experiences hate, jealousy, fear, and love. His style of revisiting scenes from his past gives one the connections to everything in his past, and the understanding of how much one small instant can affect him in such an enormous way. The way Hosseini has of describing every detail of an event with perfect clarity sets an amazing mood that, despite the tragedy and hardship in the novel, is actually extremely hopeful and determined. He reveals how good he is inside by showing everything that he has done wrong, and how remorseful he is for every moment of it. He tells it in a light that illuminates him as a coward, but by admitting this, the reader sees him as a hero. He shows that he has done so many horrible things, but he acknowledges them as that, and he feels grief and regret for every moment in which he wronged someone else. Instead of just forcing himself to forget all the things that he regrets doing, he dwells on them, and continually hopes for a way to make it all better. Hosseini truly gives the reader the feeling of living his life with him, and through his wonderful writing, he gives one the chance to experience everything he lived for.
 By its end _The Kite Runner_ completes a perfect circle October 14, 2008
The books begins with Amir, the son of a wealthy businessman and his very close, but poor and illiterate friend, Hassan, flying their kites. Later on Amir and his father, Baba, escape the dangerous political termoil in Afganistan and move to America. They live in San Francisco. The author of the novel lovingly describes the orange colored Golden Gate Bridge and the city's early morning fog.
Amir betrays Hassan by leading his father and Hassan's father to believe that Hassan has stolen Amir's watch. The years pass. Baba dies and Hassan disappears. Hassan's son, Sohrab, is placed in an orphanage where he is severely abused by a number of the other children. I will not say what takes place, but some of the novel's most powerfully evocative and very nearly tragic events occur in the book. Amir's great guilt over his conduct towards Hassan, leads Amir to make amends for his behavior. I will say that it involves Sohrab and Amir's great efforts to rescue him from his grave circumstances. There is enough here to make a grown man cry.
Mr. Hosseini writing is always moving and very realistic, particularly related to the friendship of the two boys and that of father, Baba, and son, Amir. The author even ties up the story by ending it the same way it began--with other boys running their kites.
 look out for the kites October 11, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The book centers around an Afghan named Amir who as a child pretty much srews over his friend because of his weaknesses in Afghanastan then moves to America with his father and then lastly he has to go back to Afghanastan to save his friend's son to make up for the wrongs he has done. The first part of the book takes place in early 70's Afghanastan when it was doing pretty good and before the wars. I liked this part of the book the most because for one thing you get to see how nice Afghanastan was a few decades ago and you learn that there hasn't always been war over there or the Taliban. You don't really get to learn that much about the culture, or at least that's how I felt about it, but you get a little insight of it. Another thing is that I feel like this part of the book is more well written than the rest of the book because it seems more like an autobiographical account.
After Amir and his father move to America the story seems to lose steam and pretty much doesn't go anywhere for a while until he goes to Pakistan to meet his fathers old friend who sends him to Afghanastan to find his chilhood friend's son. I liked his visit back to Afghanastan because you get to see how horrible all the wars and the Taliban have transformed the once beautiful cities into wastlands. However during the middle part of the book there are a lot of coincidences which I was able to be okay with but with, because this is fiction, but some of them are just unbelievable. Another thing is that you could see what was going to happen way before it did.
Overall this is a decent book that gives a glimpse of Afghanastan past and present even thought the characters are ficticious and I wouldn't highly recommend it but I would recommend it if this sounds like your kind of book.
Must read October 9, 2008
The book is fascinating, throws you into a world that is hard to comprehend for some and yet a lot of what is being described are things everyone of us "westerners" feels and does as well.
A must read.
The Voice October 8, 2008
Awesome book, I so wanted to take this young man outside and strangle him! The rollercoaster this story takes you on is great. I felt so much anger toward the main character. How could someone be so cold! Then sorrow when death entered the story. And the end was an wonderful release. This is a very intense read. I must say I had to put this book down several times...but only for a few minutes.
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