Rating: 
Summary: IT KNOCKED ME OUT
Review:
THE KITE RUNNER was not my "typical" type of read (often going for the light hearted sappy fiction to escape reality), but this book came highly recommended. It was one of those books that you could not put down and when you were done you wanted more! It is fiction based on fact and it was such a believable story that it felt more like fact than fiction. I learned so much about a culture that I knew nothing about (and had made assumptions regarding) and was fascinated from the moment I started reading. Not only do you feel like you are learning about a different culture, way of life, etc. you get involved with all the characters and I actually could feel what they were feeling as it was described. This was by far, the best book I have read so far apart from THE LOSERS CLUB: Complete Restored Edition by Richard Perez, another Amazon pick. If I were stranded on a dessert island and could only take two books with me, THE KITE RUNNER and THE LOSERS' CLUB would be it.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the journey
Review: Set against the dynamic political world of Afghanistan, Kite Runner directs out attention to a very human story with a universal theme.
As a young child, Amir plays with Hassan, a servant who's almost exactly his own age. Although they spend many happy hours together, they never forget their differences. Hassan makes Amir's breakfast each day. Hassan can't read and Amir reads to him, sometimes making up stories while pretending to read. Hassan is one of those people who seem always happy, despite misfortunes of his class and his physical deformity.
One day the boys' relationship is transformed forever by an experience outside their control. Amir's shame and guilt overpowers him and ultimately leads to even more pain. Amir and his father eventually settle in America, where is proud father now works in a gas station. As an adult, Amir returns to Afghanistan and gains the opportunity to repay Hassan for his long-ago actions.
As other reviewers noted, some parts of the plot involve coincidences that may bother some readers. Amir's wife, Soraya, seems almost too wise and loving. But the story is gripping -- not the page-turning of a good mystery novel, but the drama of the characters and immediacy of the settings, whether banal American or exotic Middle Eastern.
Parts of the novel are extremely painful to read, as the first-person narrator describes his actions with unsparing honestly. And the last chapter offers a model of lyrical writing.
My book club chose this book. Otherwise I might not have picked it up. I'm glad I did.
Rating: 
Summary: Guilt, Love, Forgiveness (From America to Afghanistan)
Review: This is a wonderful book. We read this book in my book club this month and not one person said a negative word about it.
The author takes a subject extremely familiar to him: lovely Afghanistan in the 60's and early 70's, to the Russians invading, to fleeing to America, to returning to Afghanistan to find the Taliban in control. Also familiar to the author is the difference between certain classes of people in Afghanistan.
Hosseini took all of these topics and wrote a touching and beautiful novel out of them. He begins with a moral dilemna and a search to redeem himself. This search takes him from Afghanistan to America and back.
Bottom line: Great first book for Hosseini. I anxiously await his next. Good book club book.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous Heartwarming Reading
Review: A beautifully written "story" that touched my heart. I couldn't put it down -- it made a flight from the west coast to the east coast a real pleasure. Then, when I finished it, I was sorry that it was over. Equally impressive was Hosseini's ability to end the book in exactly the right place with exactly the right tone. I eagerly await his next book.
Rating:
Summary: I cried...
Review: Not many things do this to me... but this amazing book did. I cried. The characters were so amazing... my feelings for them so real. After reading this piece of beauty... I felt as if I, myself, grew as a person along with the characters. Any book that does that, is a must-read.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing story
Review: I have been reading novels for decades, but in all those years of reading, this is possibly the best story I have read that has a non-western setting. An Afghan friend recommended this book to me, and of course I was skeptical at first. I never expected it to be such a powerful, deep moving, well-written and touching story that happened to be set in Afghanistan.Set in Afghanistan, in Kabul in the 1970's, the Kite Runner moves to the U.S.A and back. It includes fascinating characters like Amir who lived a privileged life as the son of an affluent man, and Hassan the son of a poor servant who perks for Amir's privileged life. The two become good friends, a friendship which is tested when Hassan is raped, a scene witnessed by Amir who made no effort to come to his friend's rescue. Yet Amir is haunted by that moment of cowardice even as he leaves for the USA. Even though it is a fiction, this haunting story with spectacular, yet uncomfortable scenes creates in the reader a sense of reality that is difficult not to believe. I easily felt like I was reading the real life story of a young boy, who grows up still haunted by his past cowardice. The characters are real and alive, the setting in Afghanistan and America is superb, the plot is outstanding and the pace of the novel is fast and captivating.. All in all, this emotionally gripping story provides an insight and understanding of the human tragedy in Afghanistan. The author successfully touched on human emotions, stirring guilt, sadness, anger, and happiness throughout the book. Also recommended: DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE, CRY THE BELOVED COUNTRY
Rating:
Summary: Power of fiction
Review: The Kite Runner probably has the same kind of impact today that Helen Hunt Jackson's Ramona had years ago. She was an authority on Native American affairs, but when her dry reports were not noticed, she turned to fiction, and wrote an engaging novel that had an impact and became widely read for generations. The Kite Runner is beautifully written, cleverly constructed, truthful. It gives an intimate portrait of Afghanistan and its people. Yes, some of the plot turns seem fantastic or improbable, and it has all the makings of a movie or mini-series. It's a page-turner that will make a difference to those who read it.
Rating:
Summary: On My Top Ten List
Review: This is a powerful novel; the type you think about for years after.
I found myself thinking about what I was doing here in America during the same time period. What a contrast! Anxiously awaiting the next novel by Hosseini--he has a masterful gift for meaninful, engaging storytelling. I think you'll be glad you read this book.
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