The Kite Runner Paperback – March 5, 2013

*SPOILERS AHEAD* -the quotes are all from the book and this review is based on the audio book read by the author.-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I only started the audio book yesterday and I couldn't turn it off until now because I finished it a few seconds ago. It is the first time I read a non-British or non-American novel and to tell the truth, I listened to the audio book without having high expectations since I knew this novel was a best seller and I like to stay away from best sellers because they are, most of the time, a disappointment.However, this is not the case. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini it is certainly the most delicious piece of literature I've had the pleasure to lay my eyes on (or listen to), an outstanding novel that will be remembered for many generations to come...it will always be in my mind and heart, to say the least.I have tears in my eyes right now and my heart is swelling with overflowing emotions. The suspense made my heart skip many times, but the ending left a satisfied smile plastered on my face and I don't know what else to say because my mind is busy remembering those precious and cherished times from the main character's past as if they were my own memories. I feel like I went to another world and lived Amir's life and came back to this life, wondering about my own life too.The kite runner was so good, so sad, so real. There were no perfect characters and no imperfect characters. They all were human, they were despicable, they were lovely. I read this book or I should say, I listened to this book like when I eat my favorite cake: I can't stopped eating it and the only most important thing in this world is that small moment of pleasure, nothing else matters.Many people were mad at the main character because they thought he was heartless or committed many mistakes. We have to keep in mind that Amir was only a kid longing for his father's love, so everything that mattered to him was to make his father to look at him as a dear son, this just shows us the huge impact a father/mother's treatment can make to their children's lives. Although Amir was only a kid, that's no excuse for the cruel things he did to his best friend, the ever so kind and gentle soul, Hassan. His love and loyalty towards Amir never wavered even though he knew about his betrayal and everything he's done. He always loved him unconditionally. Hassan was my favorite character, he reminded me of Petey from another great book "Map of the harbor Islands".I cried for Hassan as if he was my best friend, I even wished to meet him, to be greeted one day by a man with such a pure soul and gentle smile like his. I admit I was mad at Amir many times for the things he did or I should better say, for the things he didn't do for Hassan, like rescuing him from that horrible time..." on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975" ...I wasn't mad at the fact that he was afraid, he was only a kid so it's understandable but I was mad at how good he was at pretending he didn't know nothing afterwards or that he was worried more about the blue kite than about his friend's condition, or so I thought.I wondered many times how I would react in Amir's place...that's why I couldn't hate him like others do...because he was just human and humans have feelings. We are selfish sometimes, we feel jealousy and envy, we are cowards or at least have something we are afraid of, we lie, we steal, we hurt, we love. Life becomes beautiful where love is involved. I believe that we should live our lives in love with the world and the people in it and not waste our short life by hating and rejecting people just because they are different. This book dealt with many issues of hate, status, politics, religion, poverty, wars, sins, the importance of your bloodline but most importantly, the importance of redemption and love over everything else."...there is a God, there always has been. I see him here, in the eyes of the people in this [hospital] corridor of desperation. This is the real house of God, this is where those who have lost God will find Him... there is a God, there has to be, and now I will pray, I will pray that He will forgive that I have neglected Him all of these years, forgive that I have betrayed, lied, and sinned with impunity only to turn to Him now in my hour of need. I pray that He is as merciful, benevolent, and gracious as His book says He is."Amir discovered later on that his life has been like a lie because his father kept a secret from everybody...this cost the suffering of many people, including himself. Amir also made many people suffer because of his lies and betrayal..."like father, like son""But better to be hurt by the truth than comforted with a lie."Amir suffered for the things he did, his conscience didn't leave him alone during all his life. He physically and mentally grew up and changed from a selfish, afraid boy to a responsible, valiant man. I forgive him because I also love him. :)"A boy who won't stand up for himself becomes a man who can't stand up to anything."Let me quote another great character, Rahim(oh! another good thing is that all the characters here are important and we learn something from all of them):"A man who has no conscience, no goodness, does not suffer."..."Forgive yourself"He said this to Amir because Amir always thought of himself as unworthy, despicable, dirty, a sinner."When guilt leads to good"Amir's guiltiness lead him to discover who he really was and what he really wanted. I love the fact that he risked his life to save Hassan's son as a way to redeem his sins, as a way to ask for forgiveness and he changed for him, suffered for him, felt for him. I was so sad for Hassan's son, Sohrab, just to think that many children has gone through the same things as him makes me shiver from terror.I'm afraid to say it has become my favorite book because The Count of Monte Cristo remained as my favorite book of all time for many years but now that I think about it, The Kite Runner is more realistic and touched me deeply on so many levels unlike the former which is a bit unrealistic but both novels are magnificently created for greatness.There was not a single time I felt bored or tired. It is not a short novel, thus I'm amazed that I finished it so fast, I wasn't even aware of it, for my mind was glued to the story. I will listen to it again and buy the book because I want to run my fingers through the pages and re-read my favorite parts. And as you can see, the top-notch writing was perfect and so was the unfolding of the story. The characters captivated me the most, though.And finally, I loved this small story written by little Amir:"That same night, I wrote my first short story. It took me thirty minutes. It was a dark little tale about a man who found a magic cup and learned that if he wept into the cup, his tears turned into pearls. But even though he had always been poor, he was a happy man and rarely shed a tear. So he found ways to make himself sad so that his tears could make him rich. As the pearls piled up, so did his greed grow. The story ended with the man sitting on a mountain of pearls, knife in hand, weeping helplessly into the cup with his beloved wife's slain body in his arms."I tell ya, this book is AMAZING!

The Kite Runner is a poignant historical fiction tale set against Afghanistan’s turbulent backdrop, following Amir, a boy wrestling with guilt and loyalty, and his steadfast friend Hassan. The coming-of-age journey of Amir, Hassan, and later Sohrab gripped me—father-son drama, Hassan’s selfless sacrifice, and Amir’s hard-won redemption hit all my sweet spots. The historical weave and emotional stakes, like gaining a father’s fleeting approval or overcoming betrayal, shone bright. Yet, some turns—like a villain’s convenient reappearance—stretched believability, piling on drama when subtlety might’ve sufficed. The prose, while clear and engaging, lacked the lyrical flow I crave, though it never bogged down. This story surprised me, delivering more depth and heart than I’d expected—a near-perfect blend of what I love in a book. Standout lines linger: “I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded, not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night,” and “A man who has no conscience, no goodness, does not suffer.”

The guy who wrote it is a physician and the book is fiction. It would be interesting to know if it is at all autobiographical. I just looked up on the Internet:[...]Doesn't sound strictly autobiographical. Well, the guy can write good fiction--I can't believe this is his first book. This book has a great plot, great characterizations and it draws you in and keeps you hooked. One of the blurbs on the book said that this book haunted them for days afterward. I can understand that.It's about a boy who grows up in Afghanistan, with his father, a manservant and the servant's son. His mother passed away during childbirth and the servant's wife ran off. So the boy and the servant's son are good friends, but the servant and his son are Hazara, which I suspect is somewhat like being black in America. They are "less than". They are not educated, generally speaking, and are discriminated against. So the boys are friends when Amir, the main character, is home from school. But he would never really claim the Hazara boy, Hassan, as a friend in public. The book, roughly divided in thirds, would be like this: First third of the book: childhood and growing up in Afghanistan, second third of the book would be arriving in America and adjusting to American life and his much-changed relationship with his father as a result of their reduced circumstances in America and the last third of the book is about Amir's return trip to Afghanistan. His relationship with his father is troubled. It seems that he is not the boy that his father wanted or planned on. He can never fulfill his father's dreams and they have little in common. His father has a friend, Rahim Khan who visits and befriends the boy and gives him good advice. And he has his friendship with Hassan, the servant boy. But something tragic happens, which I won't tell here, which leaves Amir with lifelong guilt and self-hatred. It's not enough that his father hadn't loved him fully; he's now filled with self-loathing and trying to pretend that everything is okay in his world and keeping his shame all bottled up inside. His return to Afghanistan is a chance at redemption and is very action-packed and has many twists and turns. The book surprised me, often, which I really like. I have read so many books that to be surprised is, for me, the sign of a really creative author.I feel like if I say much else about the book, I really will ruin it. I will say that there is violence and tragedy-this is the Middle East we are talking about. But there are only a few incidents-it's not like the whole book is one bloody war because they basically leave when things start to fall apart. He comes back when the Taliban are in charge and his description of them, and their actions, are very enlightening. Their actions are not spiritual in any way that we would recognize-quite the opposite. But to see them depicted in fiction, and to hear Afghani characters despise them and what they have wrought on their country is good, I think. I believe that Afghan mothers want what mothers want world wide-for their kids to be healthy and have a chance at education and a happy life. And for the most part, few Afghans have that and I feel a deep sense of sorrow about that and my good fortune at being born in this country. That being said, the book is not deeply, horribly sad. It does have its sad parts, it does have its happy parts. It's a great tale written by an author who is very gifted. He writes very well, has a good tale and good characters. We've all read "coming of age" tales about Western boys (in school if nowhere else)-this is like an Afghan version of that. I would recommend this book and I would recommend starting it on a weekend where you'll have few interruptions.