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The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
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The Kite Runner (original 2003; edition 2004)

by Khaled Hosseini

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
52,631129823 (4.19)1 / 944
Traces the unlikely friendship of a wealthy Afghan youth and a servant's son in a tale that spans the final days of Afghanistan's monarchy through the atrocities of the present day.
Member:lmoulton
Title:The Kite Runner
Authors:Khaled Hosseini
Info:Riverhead Trade (2004), Paperback, 372 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
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Work Information

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (2003)

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 Book talk: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini10 unread / 10Happytohelp1403, October 2019

» See also 944 mentions

English (1,162)  Dutch (40)  Spanish (24)  Danish (12)  German (11)  Italian (8)  French (8)  Swedish (6)  Catalan (5)  Portuguese (Brazil) (4)  Norwegian (4)  Portuguese (Portugal) (2)  Finnish (2)  Lithuanian (2)  Bulgarian (1)  Hebrew (1)  Indonesian (1)  Croatian (1)  All languages (1,294)
Showing 1-5 of 1162 (next | show all)
Having come to this book as an audio book after reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, I felt it a trifle contrived but nevertheless a compelling story. There were times when it was so harrowing, I almost couldn’t continue. ( )
  simonpockley | Feb 25, 2024 |
I learned about Afghanistan history but this was very difficult for me to read because of the depictions of violent crime and sexual violence that are still ongoing. Overall the writing was good. ( )
  lneukirch | Feb 4, 2024 |
Wonderful book, but it's very sad and disturbing. I wouldn't let anyone under 18 read it. ( )
  Megan_Demers | Jan 27, 2024 |
A great book about the relationship of two boys from Afghanistan.
  bentstoker | Jan 26, 2024 |
(2003) (audio)Very good tale of 2 Afghan boys and how their disparate backgrounds causes pain and redemption thru the tumultuous times in Afghanistan.Hosseini's stunning debut novel starts as an eloquent Afghan version of the American immigrant experience in the late 20th century, but betrayal and redemption come to the forefront when the narrator, a writer, returns to his ravaged homeland to rescue the son of his childhood friend after the boy's parents are shot during the Taliban takeover in the mid '90s. Amir, the son of a well-to-do Kabul merchant, is the first-person narrator, who marries, moves to California and becomes a successful novelist. But he remains haunted by a childhood incident in which he betrayed the trust of his best friend, a Hazara (Shia) boy named Hassan, who receives a brutal beating from some local bullies. After establishing himself in America, Amir learns that the Taliban have murdered Hassan and his wife, raising questions about the fate of his son, Sohrab. Spurred on by childhood guilt, Amir makes the difficult journey to Kabul, only to learn the boy has been enslaved by a former childhood bully who has become a prominent Taliban official. The price Amir must pay to recover the boy is just one of several brilliant, startling plot twists that make this book memorable both as a political chronicle and a deeply personal tale about how childhood choices affect our adult lives. The character studies alone would make this a noteworthy debut, from the portrait of the sensitive, insecure Amir to the multilayered development of his father, Baba, whose sacrifices and scandalous behavior are fully revealed only when Amir returns to Afghanistan and learns the true nature of his relationship to Hassan. Add an incisive, perceptive examination of recent Afghan history and its ramifications in both America and the Middle East, and the result is a complete work of literature that succeeds in exploring the culture of a previously obscure nation that has become a pivot point in the global politics of the new millennium.
  derailer | Jan 25, 2024 |
Showing 1-5 of 1162 (next | show all)
The Kite Runner is about the price of peace, both personal and political, and what we knowingly destroy in our hope of achieving that, be it friends, democracy or ourselves.
added by mikeg2 | editThe Observer, Amelia Hill (Sep 7, 2003)
 
At times, the book suffers from relentless earnestness and somewhat hackneyed descriptions. But Hosseini has a remarkable ability to imprison the reader in horrific, shatteringly immediate scenes... The result is a sickening sensation of complicity.
added by Shortride | editTime, Aryn Baker (Sep 1, 2003)
 
This powerful first novel, by an Afghan physician now living in California, tells a story of fierce cruelty and fierce yet redeeming love.
 

» Add other authors

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Hosseini, Khaledprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Baldelli, LuigiPhotographersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bourgeois, ValérieTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Horn, Miebeth vanTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Jukarainen, ErkkiTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Middelthon, Elisabet W.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Murillo Fort, IsabelTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Naujokat, AngelikaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Nilsson, JohanTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vaj, IsabellaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Werner, HoniCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Windgassen, MichaelTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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Epigraph
Dedication
This book is dedicated to
Haris and Farah, both
the noor of my eyes,
and to the children
of Afghanistan.
First words
I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975.
Quotations
I see now that Baba was wrong, there is a God, there always had been. I see Him here, in the eyes of the people in this corridor of desperation. This is the real house of God, this is where those who have lost God will find Him, not the white masjid, with its bright diamond lights and towering minarets. There is a God, there has to be, and now I will pray, I will pray that He forgive that I have neglected Him all of these years, forgive that I have betrayed, lied, and sinned with impunity only to turn to him in my hour of need.
"For you, a thousand times over."
"I see America has infused you with the optimism that has made her so great."
"But better to get hurt by the truth than comforted by a lie".
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Wikipedia in English (3)

Traces the unlikely friendship of a wealthy Afghan youth and a servant's son in a tale that spans the final days of Afghanistan's monarchy through the atrocities of the present day.

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Book description
This novel presents life in Afghanistan before the revolution and the Russian invasion. The author describes the customs and culture of the Afghan people and the difficulty of immigrants trying to adapt to American life. Most of all, this is a story of friendship, family, betrayal, and redemption. There are intense images, but the book is very powerful and well-written. The 2007 movie was based on this book.
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Average: (4.19)
0.5 26
1 176
1.5 30
2 476
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3 1811
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4 5213
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