Reviews tagging 'Rape'

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

610 reviews

ryliereadss's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.25

This book was much sadder than I expected it to be. Some themes of the book are war, family, guilt, death, and loyalty. The characters were well fleshed out and we watch them age and mature along side historical events. Readers learn so much about their culture and social norms and what life in their country was like before the Taliban took over. I feel like I should have listened to this as an audiobook so I would know for sure how to pronounce certain words and names. This is a fantastic book and I will be checking out the authors other works!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Suicide attempt

chinchillafood's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Genocide, Sexual assault, and Murder

meganrina's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Rape

Moderate: War

gabriella_'s review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.75

This book made me incredibly emotional. I wish I read it sooner. Really satisfying read, excellent character development, and the writing was beautiful and haunting. I absolutely could not put this book down when I was reading it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Islamophobia, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Misogyny, Stalking, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, War, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Grief, Gore, Medical content, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Death, Mental illness, Trafficking, Abandonment, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Xenophobia, Ableism, Child abuse, Hate crime, Suicide attempt, and Torture

_jk_'s review against another edition

dark emotional informative medium-paced

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

3.75

I loved many things about this book but somewhere in the final third the plot exceeded my limit for believable coincidences. In some places, it feels so real it can't be fiction; in others, it reads like the whole narrative was formulated around poetic justice. Despite some letdown at the end, I enjoyed Hosseini's writing style and the immersion into place and culture. I would like to read his other novels, eventually.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, and Rape

lydiature_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

ok so confession: i tried reading this last year but i dnfd right when amir saw what happened to hassan. SA is such a difficult and sensitive subject in general and i (back then) couldn’t grapple with the fact that the main character basically saw someone getting assaulted and wouldn’t say anything. so i dnfd.

cue a couple of days ago. i saw the physical book at the thrift store for 50 cents and i was like 👀 i’m a simple girl. if i see a book (especially a cheap one), i will buy. so i bought it and i decided to try it again like 2 days ago.

this is one of the most heartbreaking books i have read in a long time. it was uncomfortable all the way through. especially since cruelty and all its nuances were explored in various ways. we have the cruelty of assef (the main bully. may god punish his soul) and the taliban, which is more overt and dark. we have the cruelty of cowards, like amir who watches a life altering event occur. in this story, there are victims, abusers, cowards, and everything else in between. sometimes, characters play all roles at the same time. such is life. sometimes, we might wish to be the hero, but like amir, we might realize that there are shades to heroes. it isn’t so black and white like people tell us.

even though i despise amir for what he didn’t do, i felt myself empathizing with him later on. i never excused his act, but i commended him on his actions later on. and that’s what the author i think was trying to convey. being a hero, coward, and abuser aren’t so clear cut.

i was honestly surprised by this story. it kept exceeding my expectations. i felt so many emotions and deep connection with the characters, despite the very difficult subject matter. i’m so happy that i gave this another shot. i’m definitely adding this author to my “automatic buy” list.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, War, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

aallen352's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape

demelzavandermeulen's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book was devastating, but it is a gorgeous read. Maybe take heed if you have a queasy stomach.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, War, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, and Rape

hillamaria's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

5.0

mä en oikeestaan ees tiiä mitä sanoa. Alotin tän kirjan sillä tietämyksellä, että se on surullinen. Turns out parempia sanavalintoja olis ollut vaikka sydäntäriipivä ja sieluamurskaava. Tykkäsin tän kirjotustyylistä ihan huikeasti, ja tykkäsin siitä miten näkökulma vaihtui joskus mutta harvoin. Tuntu että vaikka juoni oli ehkä joissain kohtia rakennettukin hieman sekavaksi se oli kuitenkin ihan kristallinkirkas ja selkeä. Amir oli niin hankala hahmo, ja en vieläkään oikeen tiedä mitä ajatella siitä. Lopussa tuli kans niin paljon juonenkäänteitä että en oo niitä ehtinyt vielä sisäistämään. Tuun ajattelemaan tätä varmaan kuukauden päivät vähintään: tää kirja oli just sellanen ’biography but not really’, ja suosittelisin tätä kyllä kaikille ketä historia yhtään kiinnostaa - ja vaikka ei kiinnostaiskaan, tää olis silti aika hyvä ihan jokaikisen lukea

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death, War, and Violence

hannah_beth_charles's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

In the beginning, I didn't think that Amir could be redeemed after what he did to Hassan but I was wrong. The sacrifices that he made got Amir to a place where he was able to forgive himself for what he did and make it right. I adore how Hassan continued to see the good parts in Amir even when Amir treated Hassan so terribly. Hassan knew his place in the world which, unfortunately, made people like him, Hazaras, perceived as less than human and treated like slaves. Hassan still treated those that did him wrong with respect and kindness and he passed that on to Sohrab. My heart breaks for people living in Afghanistan especially women. There is so much injustice and cruelty happening in that country and is being justified by using a religion that's main message is to spread love. This novel highlighted that Amir, Hassan and Sohrab's story is more than that. It's the reality and nobody is doing anything about it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Suicide

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Bullying, and Death of parent

Minor: Infertility, Pedophilia, and Kidnapping