Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the approval of his father and resolves to win the local kite-fighting tournament, to prove that he has the makings of a man. His loyal friend Hassan promises to help him - for he always helps Amir - but this is 1970s Afghanistan and Hassan is merely a low-caste servant who is jeered at in the street, although Amir still feels jealous of his natural courage and the place he holds in his father's heart. But neither of the boys could foresee what would happen to Hassan on the afternoon of the tournament, which was to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realises that one day he must return, to find the one thing that his new world cannot grant him: redemption.
The Kite Runner
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Amazon Review
The Kite Runner of Khaled Hosseini's deeply moving fiction debut is an illiterate Afghan boy with an uncanny instinct for predicting exactly where a downed kite will land. Growing up in the city of Kabul in the early 1970s, Hassan was narrator Amir's closest friend even though the loyal 11-year-old with "a face like a Chinese doll" was the son of Amir's father's servant and a member of Afghanistan's despised Hazara minority. But in 1975, on the day of Kabul's annual kite-fighting tournament, something unspeakable happened between the two boys.
Narrated by Amir, a 40-year-old novelist living in California, The Kite Runner tells the gripping story of a boyhood friendship destroyed by jealousy, fear, and the kind of ruthless evil that transcends mere politics. Running parallel to this personal narrative of loss and redemption is the story of modern Afghanistan and of Amir's equally guilt-ridden relationship with the war-torn city of his birth. The first Afghan novel to be written in English, The Kite Runner begins in the final days of King Zahir Shah's 40-year reign and traces the country's fall from a secluded oasis to a tank-strewn battlefield controlled by the Russians and then the trigger-happy Taliban. When Amir returns to Kabul to rescue Hassan's orphaned child, the personal and the political get tangled together in a plot that is as suspenseful as it is taut with feeling.
The son of an Afghan diplomat whose family received political asylum in the United States in 1980, Hosseini combines the unflinching realism of a war correspondent with the satisfying emotional pull of master storytellers such as Rohinton Mistry. Like the kite that is its central image, the story line of this mesmerizing first novel occasionally dips and seems almost to dive to the ground. But Hosseini ultimately keeps everything airborne until his heartrending conclusion in an American picnic park. --Lisa Alward, Amazon.ca --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'Beautifully nuanced, and the moment of Amir's ultimate betrayal is genuinely shocking. It is a passionate story' -- Literary Review
'If you liked The God of Small Things, then you'll love The Kite Runner ... compelling' -- Image Magazine
'My top fiction book of the year ... marvellous' -- Joanna Trollope, Books of the Year, The Observer
'Told with simplicity and poise, it is a novel of great hidden intricacy and wisdom like a timeless Eastern tale' -- Daily Telegraph
'If you liked The God of Small Things, then you'll love The Kite Runner ... compelling' -- Image Magazine
'My top fiction book of the year ... marvellous' -- Joanna Trollope, Books of the Year, The Observer
'Told with simplicity and poise, it is a novel of great hidden intricacy and wisdom like a timeless Eastern tale' -- Daily Telegraph
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
170 of 173 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
At Times Heart-Warming, At Times Heart-Wrenching, But Always Riveting!,
5 Jun 2008
By bobbewig
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
When it was suggested that I read The Kite Runner, I put off doing so for a long time because I am primarily a "thriller/suspense/mystery" type-of-guy. That was a mistake that I'm glad I eventually corrected. The Kite Runner is an astonishing, powerful book that had me riveted from the first to the last page. It is a story of fierce cruelty and yet redeeming love, as well as of an intimate account of family and friendship. Both transform the life of Amir, the main character, who comes of age during the last peaceful days of the Afghani monarchy; just before Afghanistan's revolution and its invasion by Russian troops. Hosseini is a masterful writer whose prose and narrative style ooze emotion. If you have any hesitancy about reading this book, as I did, put your doubts aside and rush out to get yourself a copy of The Kite Runner. You'll be very glad you did. It is not only a book that will keep you from doing anything else but turning the pages, it is a book that will stay in your head and heart for years to come. It is that good!
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
By Ian
Format:Paperback
A wonderful book which pulls all the emotional strings, making you think that it is an autobiography. Maybe a touch too contrived towards the end but that is a tiny critiscism of one of the best books I have read in a long time. I hope they don't try and make a film of it, the characters should stay alive in the brilliant word pictures.
26 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By Sancho
Format:Paperback
I have been reading novels for decades, but in all those years of reading, THE KITE RUNNER 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.Reminds me of DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE, BOOKSELLER OF KABUL, UNION MOUJIK, CRY THE BELOVED COUNTRY, which are all titles with unique settings and gripping stories and characters
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.Reminds me of DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE, BOOKSELLER OF KABUL, UNION MOUJIK, CRY THE BELOVED COUNTRY, which are all titles with unique settings and gripping stories and characters
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Totally enthralling - I couldn't put it down
One of the best stories I have ever read! A real eye opener - very graphic in parts which is disturbing but necessary to get the true picture of the impact of war on the ordinary... Read more
Published 2 days ago by M. Lockett
5.0 out of 5 stars
the kite runner
this book gives an understanding of people who come here to live and work and to survive from aghanistan, better information than the film. Read more
Published 2 days ago by hilary c pearce
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good book
It was well recommended and a good read I finished it quite quickly too which shows a good book to me
Published 3 days ago by Emz
5.0 out of 5 stars
GOOD BOOK TO READ
GREAT, DIDNT WANT IT TO END,WANTED TO KEEP ON READING AGAIN AND AGAIN,I MIGHT ACTUALLY READ IT ALL OVER AGAIN
Published 3 days ago by fortunate karisambudzi
5.0 out of 5 stars
Five star story!
A moving story. A stark reminder that we should never be too proud to admit we are wrong and it's never too late to try to make amends. Saw the film first. Read more
Published 3 days ago by Lynda Willis
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderfully written, couldn't put it down!
This was the best book that I have read since "The Book Thief", a wonderful insight into a country that I knew very little about - well worth a read and highly recommended.
Published 4 days ago by HJ
3.0 out of 5 stars
It's OK, but not to my taste
Clearly well-written, but for me it was not that enjoyable, but I can't figure out exactly why. Maybe all the hype raised my expectations too high?
Could be. Read more
Could be. Read more
Published 8 days ago by Big Ben
5.0 out of 5 stars
Miss Johnson
Excellent book, a brilliant piece of story telling, extremely moving. Very engaging and gripping. The book was brilliant from start to end.
Published 9 days ago by Alice Johnson
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great condition, lovely book to read.
The book was delivered a lot quicker than expected and the condition was very good you could barely tell it had been read. Read more
Published 10 days ago by Sophtg
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another good read
Another good read from an accomplished author following on from A thousand splendid suns opens your eyes to a different culture
Published 11 days ago by Wendy Robins
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