Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

287 reviews

kakankatten6000's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 I would like to preface this review by saying that I read the Swedish translation of this book, therefore some small details may be different from the original work.

I really enjoyed this book, it had a profound affect on me. In hindsight the plot is quite simple not that it does not allow for thought; Its simple yet impactful story is one of its biggest strengths.

There are few books that are emotionally powerful enough to make me cry, this book did make me tear eyed at several moments but one part made tears run down my face:

Amirs dad dies of cancer only a few weeks following Amir finally getting married to his long-spun crush. To see that Baba died a happy man felt so deserving and made me incredibly emotional.

I have immense respect for Khaled as a author, managing to summon such great emotion in me. I am incredibly grateful for the emotional experience this book gave me.

The book also documents Afghanistan's tragic history and the Taliban's brutal regime. Maybe not super accurately but it gives you a basic understanding, this really builds the world around you and you cant help but get consumed by the tail.

The book has quite large religious undertones which I enjoyed personally. I am not religious but I do find the the concept of fate very interesting which the plot is quite centralised around.

I did find the middle part of the story quite slow and boring. It did of course have several great moments, but I couldn't shake the feeling that maybe it could've been a little bit more densely packed. Despite this the build-up was worth it and the ending was truly amazing. To put in perspective if I could rate the parts of the story independently: 

Intro: 4.75
Middle: 3
Ending: 5

I recommend this book if you enjoy stories surrounding the complexity of human relations, fate, want to read a fiction built around real life events, or enjoy stories of characters going from assholes to heroes. 

Thanks Leo

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Pedophilia and Violence

jenjones83's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I had a love-hate moment with this book. I couldn’t relate to the story so it was very sad to me and I had a hard time connecting with this book. However, I did find the story very tragic. I feel so bad for all of the people in this book. It was a great story but I don’t know that I would want to read it again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Hate crime, Infertility, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and War

eed8's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, and Blood

allison_18's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and War

rose_of_thenile's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

An easy read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Minor: Ableism

unspeakabill's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, and War

kamranapologist123's review against another edition

sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The book, I honestly loved it so, so much. The themes of brotherhood was displayed throughout the entire book, yet it was subtle and I wasn’t expecting the plot twist at all. The emotive language of Hassan and just him in general, I literally aspire to be like him now.

Hassan’s death was kinda of a surprise, so I didn’t get to deep it tbh

 

But overall, the book was really, really good. You could see Amir’s development, ‘For you, a thousand times over.’ Anything that reminded him of Hassan would shed him to tears and I’m really happy Assef got what he got. I’d read this book a thousand times over.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and War

Moderate: Cursing, Vomit, Police brutality, and Medical content

Minor: Alcohol

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Genocide, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, and Classism

Minor: Animal death, Drug use, Incest, Forced institutionalization, and Car accident

kate_lynn's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

atlanticgiantpumpkin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I try not to give every book I read a five star review, but this may be the best book I have ever read. Not my favorite, but definitely the best. I feel like everyone should read this. Maybe keep it among older high school students and college, but I feel like it should be required reading, up there with To Kill a Mockingbird. I cried for Hassan, I cheered on Sohrab, but most importantly, I empathized with Amir. I watched his growth and his change and watched his personality warp as did the political climate of Afghanistan. There are themes of love, family, fear, shame, justice, courage, and possibly most important, finding one’s home. There are metaphors and symbolism that rivals those of classic authors, and it’s astounding that this was the first book the author had published. This also makes me weep for all the Afghans who, after finally ridding themselves of the Taliban, were forced into their cruel subjection again. This book rarely holds back punches as it should. Sometimes, the reality of the world outside your little bubble needs to stab you repeatedly so you understand the truth.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail