Books : The Kite Runner Illustrated Edition

Rating: - Incredible
What a writer. Though very sad. This story is also full of hope and redemption.

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Rating: - I am still sobbing!
This book contains everything a story needs to be successful! And the main ingredient is talent. Khaled Hosseini, the author, has a natural talent to write beautifully. Every page will capture you, some swallow you in. It's not the kind of book you finish and close and go on with your day. I am honestly still wiping tears from my face. Some parts give me the chills - "Time is selfish, it keeps the details to itself", "Like the devil, cancer has many names." Maybe I am not quoting the book 100% accurately, but that's the idea of the quotes...their meanings. I am deeply moved by this book. Definitely one of the best!

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Rating: - Epic! Beautifully written. Pulls you in.
I know the author doesn't like the use of cliche's (or at least his writer character, Amir, doesn't) but I just couldn't put this book down. What a brilliant writer. I wish I could write like him. I don't know what I can say about this book that already hasn't been said. It is brilliant. And has taught me a little bit about Afghanistan that I never could quite get from our Western media. But as a Muslim American of eastern European decent who likes to read chick lit and lighter reads, it was wonderful to read about people of my own faith. I loved reading the beautiful Arabic words and being entrenched in the traditions of how we greet one another and the various customs. In Bulgaria, they also use "Kaka" (for women) and "Kako" (for men) when greeting someone older. I love these terms of endearment/respect from some of these ancient cultures ... traditions that continue. And it was nice to read a story where there weren't little inuendos against other faiths or peoples that is all over our western media and published works. It was unbiased. Just beautiful. And my heart bleeds for those who suffered under the Taliban. You have a new fan, Mr. Hosseini!

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Rating: - A beautiful story, beautifully written
I had just finished reading his second novel, "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and knew I would have to order this book also. Incredible! Both books are so beautifully written, I couldn't put them down. He brings the Afghani people to life, and brought me to tears several times. He is definitely one of the best storytellers of our time. Don't miss this book.

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Rating: - A Modern Classic
I've read some good books in the last several years. Lately I've read a fair amount of good novels, fiction in particular. "The Double Bind" by Chris Bohjalian, "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy and "House of Sand and Fog" by Andre Dubus are a few examples.

I didn't know what a GREAT novel was until I read "The Kite Runner".

It has been a long time, maybe the first time in fact, that for me personally a book has been so incredibly moving that it brought me to tears. I had forgotten how deeply satisfying great writing can be to read and I can only hope that I have the opportunity to read more than one novel as great as this. "The Kite Runner" is a tour de force of modern literature, one that digs deep into the soul of its characters and exposes their greatest faults and vulnerabilities for the world to see. It seeks to breach the core of human suffering, to cross-examine it and to show how in moments of weakness we revisit this suffering upon each other time and again whether it be with our words or our actions. It examines the fight against the tide of change and the hardships of war. It preaches a powerful message about integrity, about knowing and accepting the truth about ourselves and each other and the consequences we face when we dishonor that truth. Most of all, it demonstrates that the bonds of love and family yet hold strong despite the worst of circumstances.

Author Khaled Hosseini brings us all these elements in the form of Amir, a Pashtun and a Sunni Muslim whose life begins as one of privilege in Kabul, Afghanistan. Brought up with him in the same household is Hassan, a Shi'a from Hazarajat. Hassan's religious sect and place of origin make him a lower-class citizen and though he and his father Ali work as servants in Amir's house, the divisions of class are invisible to the boys and they are the best of friends. Nursed from the same woman while they were infants, the boys are told they have been bonded for life but this very bond would be tested in Amir's struggle to win his Baba's affection. Hoping to gain his father's pride through a raucous Afghan sport known as kite fighting, Amir wins the tournament but his shining moment would be forever marred by an event that he would keep secret for many years afterward. This secret would not only destroy his friendship with the staunchly loyal Hassan but it would also affect many of his personal relationships throughout his lifetime.

From the beginning, the novel paints a vivid picture of life in Afghanistan and makes of Amir a sullen and sensitive boy that suffers the constant and quiet criticism of his father. His confusion on his father's emotional distance begins transforming into resentment as he observes a special bond going on between Baba and Hassan, Baba reserving the customary suffix of endearment ("jan") for a servant instead of his own son. Their strained relationship would change once they were forced to flee Afghanistan for the US in 1981 in the wake of a Soviet invasion, followed by the ruthless sweep of the Taliban regime. Their life in America versus life in Kabul is a stinging contrast - as Afghans they were well-to-do, but as American citizens they fight borderline poverty in the small city of Fremont, CA. Though Amir manages to make a life for himself and become the writer he'd wanted to be since his childhood, the memory of Hassan haunts him in everything he does. Amir is eventually given the chance to redeem himself but by this time the reader is somewhat apathetic toward him, his cowardice and selfishness creating skepticism as to whether he has the courage needed to carry out such a task.

The revelations of this powerful story are born from a beautifully strategic storyline and the reader will become so absorbed by Hosseini's exquisite narrative that in subsequent readings of the novel, they will gain a new appreciation for his subtle foreshadowing. More than once my hand flew to my mouth in shock as I audibly murmured "Oh God, no" when the climactic moments in the novel came to pass, the realization of what was about to transpire hitting me like a ton of bricks.

Hosseini also provides an eye-opening depiction of Afghan cities under the dictatorial thumb of the Taliban, providing many factual elements including a public stoning of a man and woman claimed to be adulterers in Kabul's own soccer stadium. His inclusion of true events lend an important history lesson to his story and serve to educate those oblivious to the tyranny of a radical Islamic group and the devastation of a people and their country.

Bottom line: A five-star rating on this book simply doesn't do it justice. Were there five more stars on Amazon's rating system, I'd give it all ten and then some. "The Kite Runner" is bound to become a new classic, rivaling the works of renowned authors like John Steinbeck, Harper Lee and Ernest Hemingway. I am of the opinion that it should become required reading on high school English curriculums, as its ageless and resonating themes of family, friendship, love, loyalty, betrayal and redemption transcend the fickle and minute realm of popular fiction.