Rating: 
Summary: Stunning, epic, extraordinary debut novel
Review: I read 2-3 books a week, and this is without a doubt my favorite of this year. No, I'll go further: it's one of maybe 8-10 books I'd choose to take to a deserted isle. I've put The Kite Runner directly into the hands of perfect strangers in book stores and said, "Read this one."
In a nutshell, Amir, the son of a well-to-do Afghani , has a best friend, Hassan, who is the illiterate child of Amir's father's long-time servant. Both children are motherless. A horrific event, a secret kept, the loss of personal honor, and a lie come between the boys. From that rift, the story moves forward as Amir and his father emigrate to California, where Amir matures, marries, and becomes a successful writer, but is still plagued by those old sins and lies. Then comes a revelation of still one more long-held secret that sets Amir on a return trip to Afghanistan (now under the worst years of Taliban dominance) to rescue Hassan's child. Author Hosseini doesn't shy from one iota of unpleasantness, and the result is a book with a perfect narrative arc, a sterling story line, unforgettable characters, and and and and... I had the opportunity to meet the author very briefly (just to shake his hand and gush a bit about his extraordinary book) at Books by the Bay in San Francisco and am delighted to report that he is charming, approachable, and thoroughly engaging. He deserves all the accolades that are coming his way.
Buy The Kite Runner. Read it. Then go back to the store and buy 2 more signed 1st editions - one to keep as an investment and one to give to your best friend.
...what a fine book!
Rating:
Summary: "A way to be good again."
Review: THE KITE RUNNER is a stunning, brilliant novel that easily rates as one of the best books I've read thus far this year. I became so enthralled in the story of Amir that I finished it in two days and I'm normally not a fast reader. Set primarily in Kabul, this book follows the complex and strained friendship of Amir and Hassan from their birth to adulthood. It is not easy to like Amir since his treatment of Hassan is disrespectful and neglectful. Amir's relationship with his father is also strained as he consistently fails to win the affection of his father. One of the strengths of THE KITE RUNNER is the convincing character development. As he grows up Amir's conscious is much bothered by his past, and he seeks to redeem himself of the past. Even after immigrating to California he finds it difficult to bury his memories of Hassan. The only path to salvation is to return to Afghanistan and "be good again." The descriptions of Kabul (its society, food, history, and landscape) are powerful and realistic. I was easily transported into the daily life of Kabul. Also, the passages pertaining to kite running and competition were excellent. I could easily envision the kite battles and the children chasing the kite through the streets. It's difficult to believe that THE KITE RUNNER is Khaled Hosseini's debut novel, and I sincerely hope that it is not his last. It is apparent that Hosseini has a talent for writing and demonstrates great potential for the future. This novel sheds much needed light on life inside Afghanistan - beyond what is covered on the nightly news. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Powerful, Moving and Beautiful
Review: THE KITE RUNNER, a debut novel from Afghan émigré physician, Khaled Hosseini, is a very powerful, very moving book. Although the book is set against a political backdrop, politics takes a backset in THE KITE RUNNER to the more personal and poignant story of two friends, the wealthy Amir and his servant, Hassan and the bond of friendship they share.When the book opens, Afghanistan is living out the last days of its monarchy. Amir , a very lonely, sensitive and artistic boy, whose mother is dead, lives with his wealthy father, Baba, a powerful member of the Pashtun tribe. Baba is a complex character...he's savage in his pursuit of sport, he can brutal and domineering, yet he is sensitive and kind as well. I liked him a great deal. Amir forms a close friendship with Hassan, a servant his own age who lives in his father's house. The two boys don't let class differences bother them and they do much together, from flying kites to reading folktakes. Then something happens to sever the bonds of friendship that Amir and Hassan share and show them just how fragile those bonds can be. It is something that Amir will never be able to forget, nor should he. Hosseini has presented pre-revolutionary Afghanistan with warmth and humor as well as with darkness, something I liked very much. I enjoyed learning about the political climate of Afghanistan during this time, but I also appreciated the fact that Hosseini kept his characters in the forefront of the book and didn't let politics take over, something that, given the current situation, must have been rather difficult to resist. When the revolution breaks out, Amir and Baba must flee to the US and so Amir is parted from Hassan geographically, yet he can't forget the time he let his best friend down in such a horrible manner. Amir and Baba struggle to make a new life in California and, to Baba's credit (and Hosseini's characterization of him), this once proud and powerful man does what needs to be done. He works at a gas station and at swap meets so his son can go to college. As the years pass, Amir establishes himself in his profession and marries happily but one thing still haunts him and darkens his days...Hassan and the day he (Amir) let him down and broke the bonds of friendship the boys once shared. In fact, Amir is so haunted by Hassan's fate that he feels compelled to return to Afghanistan, even though the country is now under Taliban rule and a far more dangerous place than it was in Amir's youth. Just as Hosseini painted a vivid picture of Afghanistan in pre-revolutionary days, he paints a vivid one of Afghanistan under Taliban rule. It is, however, a much darker and more violent picture. Some of the images Hosseini presents in this part of the book are painful to read, all the more so because we know that just such things (and worse) occur. Amir does find Hassan, but to tell you any more of what happens between them would not be fair. I'll just say that the ending of the book is "fitting" and "satisfying," though it might not be the ending all readers are longing for. I think Hosseini did a wonderful job with THE KITE RUNNER. His prose is fluid and unadorned and his characters are quite complex and really "come alive." In fact, at times, it's very difficult to believe we're reading a work of fiction and not a memoir. What I didn't like about THE KITE RUNNER, and the only reason I gave it four stars instead of five (I really would like to give it 4 1/2 stars), is the use of coincidence to drive the plot. Worse yet, much of this coincidence wasn't even necessary. I also think that, despite the dark and violent atmosphere that pervades Afghanistan, some of the events near the book's end, after Amir encounters Hassan once again, as an adult, are a little melodramatic and the book would have been improved had Hosseini left them out or at least portrayed them in a more plausible light. Events in Afghanistan are terrible enough; Hosseini doesn't need to resort to melodrama to make us believe. And, he's too good a writer to do so. Despite a few missteps, I think THE KITE RUNNER is an intelligent and beautiful debut and it is certainly a book I would recommend to anyone, especially to those who love literary fiction that touches the intellect as well as the soul. Personally, I am greatly looking forward to Hosseini's next book. I hope it will be set in Afghanistan as well.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful, Moving and Beautiful
Review: THE KITE RUNNER, a debut novel from Afghan émigré physician, Khaled Hosseini, is a very powerful, very moving book. Although the book is set against a political backdrop, politics takes a backset in THE KITE RUNNER to the more personal and poignant story of two friends, the wealthy Amir and his servant, Hassan and the bond of friendship they share. When the book opens, Afghanistan is living out the last days of its monarchy. Amir , a very lonely, sensitive and artistic boy, whose mother is dead, lives with his wealthy father, Baba, a powerful member of the Pashtun tribe. Baba is a complex character...he's savage in his pursuit of sport, he can brutal and domineering, yet he is sensitive and kind as well. I liked him a great deal. Amir forms a close friendship with Hassan, a servant his own age who lives in his father's house. The two boys don't let class differences bother them and they do much together, from flying kites to reading folktakes. Then something happens to sever the bonds of friendship that Amir and Hassan share and show them just how fragile those bonds can be. It is something that Amir will never be able to forget, nor should he. Hosseini has presented pre-revolutionary Afghanistan with warmth and humor as well as with darkness, something I liked very much. I enjoyed learning about the political climate of Afghanistan during this time, but I also appreciated the fact that Hosseini kept his characters in the forefront of the book and didn't let politics take over, something that, given the current situation, must have been rather difficult to resist. When the revolution breaks out, Amir and Baba must flee to the US and so Amir is parted from Hassan geographically, yet he can't forget the time he let his best friend down in such a horrible manner. Amir and Baba struggle to make a new life in California and, to Baba's credit (and Hosseini's characterization of him), this once proud and powerful man does what needs to be done. He works at a gas station and at swap meets so his son can go to college. As the years pass, Amir establishes himself in his profession and marries happily but one thing still haunts him and darkens his days...Hassan and the day he (Amir) let him down and broke the bonds of friendship the boys once shared. In fact, Amir is so haunted by Hassan's fate that he feels compelled to return to Afghanistan, even though the country is now under Taliban rule and a far more dangerous place than it was in Amir's youth. Just as Hosseini painted a vivid picture of Afghanistan in pre-revolutionary days, he paints a vivid one of Afghanistan under Taliban rule. It is, however, a much darker and more violent picture. Some of the images Hosseini presents in this part of the book are painful to read, all the more so because we know that just such things (and worse) occur. Amir does find Hassan, but to tell you any more of what happens between them would not be fair. I'll just say that the ending of the book is "fitting" and "satisfying," though it might not be the ending all readers are longing for. I think Hosseini did a wonderful job with THE KITE RUNNER. His prose is fluid and unadorned and his characters are quite complex and really "come alive." In fact, at times, it's very difficult to believe we're reading a work of fiction and not a memoir. What I didn't like about THE KITE RUNNER, and the only reason I gave it four stars instead of five (I really would like to give it 4 1/2 stars), is the use of coincidence to drive the plot. Worse yet, much of this coincidence wasn't even necessary. I also think that, despite the dark and violent atmosphere that pervades Afghanistan, some of the events near the book's end, after Amir encounters Hassan once again, as an adult, are a little melodramatic and the book would have been improved had Hosseini left them out or at least portrayed them in a more plausible light. Events in Afghanistan are terrible enough; Hosseini doesn't need to resort to melodrama to make us believe. And, he's too good a writer to do so. Despite a few missteps, I think THE KITE RUNNER is an intelligent and beautiful debut and it is certainly a book I would recommend to anyone, especially to those who love literary fiction that touches the intellect as well as the soul. Personally, I am greatly looking forward to Hosseini's next book. I hope it will be set in Afghanistan as well.
Rating:
Summary: The Kite Runner
Review: This is a truly magnificent book! Without a doubt one of the very best stories I have ever read, not just because it is so beautifully written, but also because it is an important story. It takes place during the last thirty years of turbulent history in Afghanistan, and deals with a family and their love for each other and for their country. Author Khalid Hosseini no doubt has drawn heavily on his own life experiences to bring us this story. He was born to a wealthy family in Kabul Afghanistan and came to America as a political refugee in 1980. In The Kite Runner, Amir is the son of a prominent Pashtun family; his best friend, Hassan is the son of their servant man and a Hazara, a much hated ethnic minority. Despite their ethnic differences, Amir and Hassan are close friends throughout their childhood, both of them always mindful of Hassan's servant status. The two boys grow and learn, one of them privileged, the other deprived, both of them secure in the bosom of a prominent Pashtun family, both loved by the patriarch of that family, while the winds of change blew ceaselessly over the Afghan landscape. This story traces the lives of Amir and Baba his proud Father, and of Hassan and Ali his Father and faithful servant to Baba. In July of 1973, the people of Afghanistan woke to learn that while their King Zahir Shah was away in Italy, the Afghan monarchy had been ended in a bloodless coup led by the King's cousin Daoud Kahn. For a while there was peace in their lives but it was not to last. Before the end of that decade came first the Russians with soldiers, tanks and helicopter gun ships, and when they left, came the years of wanton destruction by the countless tribal war lords. This was to be ended, they thought mercifully, by the arrival of the Taliban, who at first brought order to the chaos, but later proved to be the most ruthless of killers. Amir and his Father left Afghanistan when the Russians arrived and came to America to settle in an Afghan community in San Francisco. However, the ties to their homeland and to the family they had left behind were to haunt them for years. One day, Amir received a telephone call from a friend in Pakistan and decided he must return. What he found there was a revelation of the awful changes which had been brought to his homeland and its people since his childhood. Don't buy this book because it is about that part of the world which changed our lives, don't buy it because it is a story about Muslims, don't even buy it because it is in a way a modern "Gone With The Wind" a story of a strong family in turbulent times. Buy it because it is a wonderful meaningful story, beautifully, sensitively written, by a man whose first language was not even our language, but who has mastered it as few of us have, and who has shown an unusual understanding of the workings of the human mind in times of great mental and physical stress.
Rating:
Summary: Afghanistan, The Taliban, and Family Love
Review: "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini is one of those marvelous books that opens up our hearts and minds. This book puts a name and face to the people we are helping to free. This is a book at once so magnificent,it is difficult to comprehend and describe. How could we be fighting for freedom in this far off land, Afghanistan, and not understand the people; their heritage, their land and what they lost? This book transports us to a very different time in the 1960's. Amir and Hassan, friends, raised in the same household, but in different worlds. Amir is the son of a wealthy businessman, and Hassan is the son of the servant, Hazara. There may be a difference in the lives they led, but they became fast friends. Amir would learn to read and Hassan would not. Amir would have the most beautiful toys and particularly kites, and Hassan would be able to help Amir play with the toys and run (fly) his kite. Amir was the spolied son, Hassan was the intelligent and intuitive servant's son. Their lives would intertwine even when separated. When the Russian army invaded, Amir and his father fled to the United States, California. Amir grew up in a different land, but with the same Afghanistan culture. He and his father became close. Amir married, went to college, all the while wondering what happened to his childhood friend, the one he betrayed. As time marched on, Amir lost his father to cancer and was summoned to Pakistan to meet with an old family friend. This turns out to be a life renewing event. Amir searches for news of his friend, Hassan. The search takes him back to Afghanistan, to an orphanage, a meeting with a member of the Taliban, a search for his lost city and culture and for a prize he will cherish, for the truth and for the life he regains. This is a gritty book, the beauty and violence of this country, Afghanistan, comes to life. The customs and food and smells of the city; the desolation of life and the loss of the country to madmen who are running it with only their imagined vulgar needs and wealth in mind that destroys a culture so varied and rich.
We can imagine we are there, and we can share in the sights, the smells, the utter disregard for human life. But we can never know what these people have lost. A book, I will cherish, so will you. prisrob
Rating:
Summary: The Kite Runner
Review: I have been a voracious reader for over 30 years, and this is one of the best books I have ever read. I just completed it while staying in NYC. Every chance I had to gobble a few words I did. Profound, astonishing, exquisite are some of the adjectives I would venture to use in describing this book, but to be honest with you, there are no adequate words that gives justice to this superior novel. Anyone who reads this book will not be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: An incredible tale...one of the best books I have ever read!
Review: After finishing this book I feel compelled to share it with every reader I know. I have sent copies to my friends, and family, as well as shared it with my reading groups at work and on line. The story begins in Afghanistan in the 1970's. Amir remembers his childhood as a benevolent string of happy days, childhood memories that last a lifetime. It is this part of the book that I enjoyed through the author's eyes. Today we see Afghanistan as the war torn land depicted on the evening news, to read of the early days through the eyes of Hosseini is a delight. The joy and love for his native country literally pours out, to fill the pages with his memories of a country filled with beautiful, hospitable, and kind people. Amir's friendship with a young servant boy is pivotal to the story, as a horrific event changes their relationship forever, thus effecting Amir's life in a way that he never expects. The political climate changes, and he flees to the USA with his father, where he learns to let his guilt simmer in the back of his mind. It is many years later when he is called back to Afghanistan, and comes face to face with the outcome of the betrayal, along with it's reciprocating factors. The Taliban is entrenched in a country filled with all too many citizens that live in fear. The beauty he once knew is covered by rubble. As Amir follows the path that was set in motion decades prior, the reader can't help but feel totally immersed in his plight. I will give no more away, but promise you an end that is a touching portrayal of hope and justice. Kudo's to this author who in his first book has given us a novel that fills the reader with a longing for more. He is a force to be reckoned with and worth watching....Kelsana 5/9/2004
Rating:
Summary: astonishing debut
Review: Rarely have I read a first novel of such depth and power. It tells the story of a complex relationship between a boy and his family's servant, who is his age, and could be classified as being on the border between a friend and a subordinate. After the boy, Amir, betrays the trust of his friend, he emigrates to America with his father, in order to escape the political persecution of their family. But, he will eventually have to return to his homeland and make amends for his cowardly boyhood act. This is a brutal, moving and brilliant novel. If it is indeed the first Afghan novel translated into English, as one review claims, what a pity we've been missing the chance to read writers of this one's caliber.
Rating:
Summary: An Instand Classic , A Masterpiece, SPECTACULAR !!!!!!!!!!
Review: I have never given five stars before, but I am doing so now.
THIS ONE DESERVES IT.
I wanted to start it over, as soon as I read the last page.
There wasnt one time when I wished that it would end ( I foten do, even when I like a book)
This is oneof the most beautful books that I have read in many many years.
It is a yet undiscovered classic. Its a coming oof age tale, an epic , a story of betrayal and love, an age old retelling, with new twists of a troubled relationships between father and son
and between country and invader.
Its the saga of rich boy and servant, best of friends, in a country that would soon be forever changed, with drastic results.
This is a classic, a masterpeice and a truly beautiful piece of work.
BRAVO Dr Hosseini !
BRAVO !!!
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