The Kite Runner

by Khaled Hosseini

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• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Strong Yet Clichéd First Novel, September 20, 2009

By 

Robert I. Hedges - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Kite Runner

I was given "The Kite Runner" as a gift with a very strong endorsement. I rarely read fiction, and even more rarely read popular fiction, so I was unsure what to expect. Critics near and far have showered the book with praise, and as I began to read I realized that Mr. Hosseini has a rare gift for nuance and a well-turned phrase. Many of his passages are beautifully written, and the emotional impact of his writing is very high. I genuinely enjoyed the interaction of the two friends, Amir and Hassan, from very different backgrounds, coming to grips with their diverging but intertwined lives in war-ravaged Afghanistan. I found character development to be quite good, although perhaps a bit predictable, with important events and people being seen in a very black or white manner (which is perhaps understandable, as this is a first person novel). I thought the most interesting character was Baba, Amir's father with a looming persona. I likewise appreciated the introverted and subservient Hassan; I found Assef to be a cartoonish version of evil: a necessary plot device, but not rendered as carefully as the rest of the characters.

While the general narrative is well written, there are occasional pauses for turgid and repetitive dialogue that slow the book down substantially. Having said that, the sentence construction and pacing is still better than most other contemporary fiction that I have read (which is an admittedly small sample). What I found a bit irritating were the large number of plot contrivances that are absolutely not within the scope of reality. I was especially annoyed by the way that Assef turned out to be the mystery executioner, the mystery of Hassan's lip scar and subsequent surgery, the convenient uncle working for the INS (in a subplot that seemed to go on forever, yet didn't further the overall message of the book), and the avenging slingshot scene. If you couldn't see the significance of those developments long before they played themselves out, you weren't paying attention.

In spite of the drawbacks, the book is still a good piece of modern fiction, with interesting characters and an intriguing story with numerous twists and turns: even if you can see through the foreshadowing immediately (and you will be able to), the book will likely still hold your attention for a few hours. As an aside, the book does deal with sadism, cruelty, and rape among other unsavory topics; if you have difficulty reading about the dark side of humanity, I recommend avoiding this book.

I think Mr. Hosseini has written a noteworthy first novel; it is not without blemish, but shows immense talent and a high level of craftsmanship. I can only imagine that his writing career will be long and prosperous.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unforgetable and Heartfelt, June 14, 2009

By 

M. Chau - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Kite Runner

Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner is an unforgettable and heartfelt story of an Afghan boy's search for redemption. Even after Amir's move to California following the fall of the Afghanistan monarchy, after the Soviet Union's invasion, and after the Taliban's takeover, The Kite Runner still offers the possibility of redemption for Amir. Hosseini fuses love, honor, and loyalty with lies, betrayal, and sacrifices into a compelling novel that depicts the power of shame and salvation while opening a window into the trials and tribulations of a country wracked by a civil war, foreign invasions, religious tensions, and ethnic cleansings. Through its unfailing rendering of Amir's journey to redeem himself, The Kite Runner hints that the individual, as well as mankind, can free itself from its past, and that it is only when it stands by and watches can evil claim its victory. Most importantly, through the intertwining lives of its characters and their haunting pasts, The Kite Runner offers hope where it is least expected.

The Kite Runner begins in the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul in Afghanistan, and transits through several locations, including Peshawar in Pakistan and San Francisco, California in the United States. While the settings of Afghanistan and the United States differ markedly, they provide a vital contrast that helps to hone in on Khaled Hosseini's attempt to depict the harsh political and social climates of the Afghanistan monarchy. While the Pashtun Baba, Amir's father, is a close and loyal friend of Ali, Baba's Hazara servant and the father of Hassan, the circumstances surrounding their friendship are more than just the consequences of a society ingrained in its religious beliefs. This camaraderie is adopted by their sons, Amir and Hassan, both of whom are so naturally connected that it leads the readers to suspect that there is something more to what Hosseini is willing to reveal. The important idea is not that the friendship had developed, but that it did so in such a severe environment where if society had found out, it would have led to Baba's and Amir's excommunication. It is only later on in the United States is Amir able to freely contemplate the repercussions of his mistakes, his lies, and his past.

While The Kite Runner is centralized around Amir's struggle toward his personal redemption, Hassan, Amir's friend/servant, is an enduring character whose silence speaks ten times the volume of his actions. Born in a shack as the son of a Hazara servant, Hassan is the epitome of what a true friend is. Despite his inherent social inferiority to the Pashtun Amir, Hassan never expresses any contempt or jealousy towards Amir, even when Amir betrays him at his weakest moment. Hassan's undying loyalty, childlike innocence, and immeasurable honor define him to be a character whose impression remains upon the story's characters and the readers long after he is gone.

"I sat on a park bench near a willow tree. I thought about something Rahim Khan said just before he hung up, almost as an afterthought. There is a way to be good again. I looked up at those twin kites. I thought about Hassan. Thought about Baba. Ali. Kabul. I thought of the life I had lived until the winter of 1975 came along and changed everything."

Khaled Hosseini has a remarkable ability to draw the readers into the story, and to feel the pangs of guilt, the bursts of joy, the tremors of anticipation, and the agonies of regret that the characters feel. The Kite Runner takes the readers on an emotional coaster ride through the various dimensions of human emotions, and leaves them off balanced and hungry for more. An important element of The Kite Runner is the gradual suspense that Hosseini builds into each chapter, each sentence, and each word, only releasing it at the very end. Hosseini constantly alludes to the consequences of what a life surrounded by social, political, familial, and economic conflicts can bring about, but it is through Amir's eyes that the readers become inevitably identified with the story's message.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Kite Runner- An Epic Tale of Betrayal, Friendship and Redemption, June 8, 2009

By 

Dedaldino Jolomba (Springfield, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseni is a classic tale of fathers and sons, of friendship and betrayal that takes the reader from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy to the present day horrific Taliban control.

The memorable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy, Amir, and the son of his father's servant, Hassan, gives the audience a sense of familiar yet unfamiliar experiences under harsh authority. The Kite Runner is a beautifully written novel set in a country that is about to be completely destroyed by greed and violence. It is about the power of friendship, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of forgiveness. It gives meaning to the power of fathers over sons, the love between family, their sacrifices, and their betrayals.

The Kite Runner, the first Afghan novel to be written in English, tells a complex and suspenseful story of family, love, and friendship during a chaotic in Afghanistan. For the first time told in fiction, it brings to mind the large image of the complex characters and situations that will make you think hard about friendship, good and evil, betrayal, and redemption. The old fashion narration and contemporary style of writing make this book an enjoyable and remarkable read. I would recommend this book to older audience, due to the graphic scenery, who is looking for a powerful and touching first debut.