The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Author: Khaled Hosseini

Reading Level: Adult

Publisher: Penguin Group

Rated 10/10

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.

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 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

MY REVIEW
This book is brilliant, one of the best books I have read in awhile. I'm one of those criers who cry when I see or read anything sad, this book had me in tears. When it came to the part of what happened to Hassan that changed everything between the boys, I had to put the book down for an hour because I couldn't stop crying and thinking about it. I wasn't prepared for that because I went into this book reading very few reviews or anything about it. This book is full of history and the culture of the people in Afghanistan, I'm not gonna lie, before this book I never knew what a Hazara or a Pashtun was. I didn't know people in Afghanistan had people and differences like that, I was ignorant to everything, not something I'm very proud of either.

This book tells the story of two young boys, one Pashtun(Amir), and one Hazara(Hassan) in Afghanistan before any of the wars broke out during the 70s. Amir is a boy who lives in wealth and Hassan is the son of Amir's father's servant. Hassan would do anything in his power for Amir and one day after a kite fighting competition while kite running to get a kite for Amir he comes across the neighborhood bullies and something terrible happens that Amir happens to see but does nothing to stop. Amir carries the guilt with him even when he moves to America. Now 25 years later Amir's father's old friend asks him to come to Afghanistan. While there he is told about his family's dark secret and his connection to Hassan he knew nothing about and he finds a way for redemption by helping Hassan's son when he could never help Hassan. I'm warning people this is no fairy tale with a Disney ending. This is a story about friendship,culture,death,politics, religion, war, family, love, honor,and redemption, a story that will stay with you long after you're done reading it.