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intereact!Khaled Hosseini
Retail Price (not our price): $15.00
ISBN: 1594480001
ISBN-13: 9781594480003
Publication Date: 2004-04-27
Format: Paperback
Pages: 400
Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
1) Product Description
The timely and critically acclaimed debut novel that's becoming a word-of-mouth phenomenon...2) Amazon.com
In his debut novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini accomplishes what very few contemporary novelists are able to do. He manages to provide an educational and eye-opening account of a country's political turmoil--in this case, Afghanistan--while also developing characters whose heartbreaking struggles and emotional triumphs resonate with readers long after the last page has been turned over. And he does this on his first try.The Kite Runner follows the story of Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. As children in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early 1970s, the boys are inseparable. They spend idyllic days running kites and telling stories of mystical places and powerful warriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of their relationship forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could have ever predicted. Even after Amir and his father flee to America, Amir remains haunted by his cowardly actions and disloyalty. In part, it is these demons and the sometimes impossible quest for forgiveness that bring him back to his war-torn native land after it comes under Taliban rule. ("...I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded, not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.") Some of the plot's turns and twists may be somewhat implausible, but Hosseini has created characters that seem so real that one almost forgets that The Kite Runner is a novel and not a memoir. At a time when Afghanistan has been thrust into the forefront of America's collective consciousness ("people sipping lattes at Starbucks were talking about the battle for Kunduz"), Hosseini offers an honest, sometimes tragic, sometimes funny, but always heartfelt view of a fascinating land. Perhaps the only true flaw in this extraordinary novel is that it ends all too soon. --Gisele Toueg
Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5
1) Thought-provoking... [Rating: 5 out of 5]
Amir and Hassan were close friends throughout childhood. Amir betrayed Hassan when he left him to be beaten by bullies. Even after emigrating to America and becoming a successful writer, Amir is haunted by this incident. When Amir hears that Hassan and his wife have been murdered during the Taliban takeover, he returns to his native Afghanistan to rescue Hassan's son. Amir arrives in Kabul and finds out that the boy has been enslaved by a Taliban official. Amir's quest to rescue Sohrab is full of dramatic plot twists and Amir learns much about himself and his family along the way. This is a novel that reads like a memoir. The characters are incredibly realistic and the details of life under the Taliban are chilling. I kept thinking about this book long after I turned the last page.2) Cultural Understanding [Rating: 5 out of 5]
I was required to read this book for a graduate class on multiculturalism. I had only heard of the movie but had not seen it. Once I picked up "The Kite Runner" I was drawn in and could not put the book down for an entire weekend. It is definitely NOT an uplifting book, but its a real eye-opener as far as understanding a different culture, and is beautifully written. A lot of times I kept forgetting it was fiction! It's not light reading, but I definitely recommend it.3) Absolutely Worthwhile Read (If you can forgive a little emotional manipulation) [Rating: 4 out of 5]
Immensely painful to read in sections, this book proves that Hosseini is as adept at crafting misery as Hollywood movies are adept at crafting happy endings. The protagonist is so selfish and cowardly at the start that I had trouble empathizing with him, but he certainly redeems himself in the end. The book's descriptions of Afghani culture both before and after the start of the war are fascinating, and the Taliban come across as incredibly sinister and frightening, a visceral impression I never obtained from any of the histories I have read of Afghanistan. The view of race relations in a society outside of the United States is also interesting. The ruins of Kabul and Afghani society are an indictment against the helplessness and apathy of the world powers that allowed this destruction to happen. It is a book worth reading, if only to understand that people are capable of any redemption as long as they can make it possible to forgive themselves.4) My favorite book :-) [Rating: 5 out of 5]
This is my all-time favorite book ever - thank you so much for such a touching story.5) pking [Rating: 4 out of 5]
I have discovered that a mark of a good book is one which makes you want to learn more. As I scroll through other reviews I find that I am drawn to the less flattering ones and find that their negative views are one based on historical and political inaccuracies in the work. Thank you for stepping up and pointing these out. Now I will go out and read more about Afghanistan. So to all those people out there that knew the history before, perhaps you will think more kindly of this book now that you know that it is for many a starting point. It is the springboard that will launch people to seek out knowledge. That is a mark of a good book.