Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Les cerfs-volants de Kaboul

This was a very heavy read, I had to take breaks while reading. But it's a masterpiece, incredibly well written, especially considering this was the author's debut, I'm impressed.

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okiecozyreader's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Finally read THE KITE RUNNER for a chat with my hometown bookstore tonight @anovelideabookshop.

I can see why it’s on so many lists- both of books you should read and books that people are banning. Khalid Hosseini writes in the introduction of my copy how he writes to tell himself a story. But after September 11th, his wife demanded he send his work to a publisher to show them a different side of Afghanistan. I thought it was interesting he also has a MD in internal medicine.

KITE RUNNER is the story of Amir, the son of a wealthy, hardworking businessman. His father has a servant whose family has worked for them for 40 years, who has a son of similar age Hassan, who is a Hazara - a shunned ethnic group. Hassan is very loyal to Amir and Amir is not as good of a friend to Hassan. When a tragic event occurs, Amir’s guilt makes him miserable, and he can no longer face Hassan. About the same time, the Afghanistan country is invaded by Russia and he and his father escape to the United States. In THE KITE RUNNER, we see how the Afghanistan culture changes with all of the power struggles and how Amir’s loving family and friends change him for the better.

“For kite runners, the most coveted prize was the last fallen kite of a winter tournament. It was a trophy of honor, something to be displayed on a mantel for guests to admire.” P47

“Now, no matter what the mullah teaches, there is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft. Do you understand that?”
…
"When you kill a man, you steal a life," Baba said. "You steal his wife's right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness. Do you see?" P16

“It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime, Amir, he said.” p125-126

“Returning to Kabul was like running into an old, forgotten friend and seeing that life hadn't been good to him, that he'd become homeless and destitute.” P218

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jonp's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad 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

4.75

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sareidle's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Oof. I knew this would be a heavy, heartbreaking book going in, but I was still in tears for most of the second half. I was forced to confront the loss of innocence and childhood that is part of war and violent regime changes. While it was difficult to read about, I felt that the portrayal of trauma and grief was true to life.

Additionally, I think that Kite Runner pairs very well with A Thousand Splendid Suns in showing how the Taliban affected life across gender, class, and ethnicity.

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