![BY Hosseini, Khaled ( Author ) [{ A Thousand Splendid Suns By Hosseini, Khaled ( Author ) Jun - 01- 2007 ( Hardcover ) } ]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41W6UhA8eLL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
I had never heard of this book until last September at back to school night. My daughter's sophomore English teacher listed the books they would be reading this school year and as he read off Kite Runner, he said "it had one disturbing part". Well, that meant I needed to read it before my daughter did.
I found many more than one part of it disturbing especially as a novel for teenagers. Kite Runner is dark, depressing, descriptive of violence and in my opinion, not a good choice for high school students.
Khaled Hosseini is a talented writer but I fail to understand why high school students should be analyzing a fictional novel dramatizing so many dark topics and adult subject matter. I thought I had read the "one disturbing part" in Chapter 7, homosexual rape, but Kite Runner continues with a series of painful, life altering, distressing and depressing event after event throughout the book to the very last chapter.
I've never read a book with so much trauma happening to it's characters (and then I read Hosseini's other book A Thousand Splendid Suns). Kite Runner starts with a dysfunctional family (a son who does not feel loved by his single father) and a dysfunctional "friendship" between boys due to their cultural cast system. A physical birth disfigurement, cowardice, cover up lies, and betrayal are touched on. War atrocities are covered including more homosexual rape, gun violence, power struggles, and the flight of refugees. This novel also ties in cancer, infertility, adultery, a bastard child, deception, more violence including a public stoning, innocent victims killed in broad daylight, child servitude and attempted suicide. Many reviews mention the main character's courage to seek redemption but I found the circumstances overly dramatized and any meaningful aspects of redemption washed out.
Kite Runner ends with a glimmer of hope for better times but after the countless events of trauma, violence and brutality, emotionally and physically throughout the book, the hopeful ending only makes a dull thud against the depressing, dark, adult topics depicted and graphically described throughout the book.
I fail to see why Kite Runner is being selected over countless other great pieces of literature. I do not feel this book is a necessary read to understanding the complex differences of Afghanistan's culture nor it's history. I am not opposed to high school students being exposed to different cultures or adult topics but of the literary options that are available, I do not feel Kite Runner offers educational value that exceeds the depressing nature of this book and the descriptive imagery of countless depressing adult topics that have happened in Afghanistan and are probably still happening in Afghanistan. I prefer my 15 year old to learn about Afghanistan in a neutral, historical style rather than taking an emotional ride with fictional characters.
It astounds me that over 4,000 readers rate this book with 5 stars. My question to them is how many of them would choose this book over another book for their high school students.
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