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GradeSaver (TM) ClassicNotes The Kite Runner

Study Guide

By Khaled Hosseini

(1069)

| Paperback | 9781602591127

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85 Reviews

15 people find this helpful

I didn't know how good this book would be when I picked it up. It has been a long time since I came across such a moving and impressive epic.
This book made me think about what we have done to other people in our life. When we make a choice or decision, be it small or quick, do we know what ... (continue)

I didn't know how good this book would be when I picked it up. It has been a long time since I came across such a moving and impressive epic.
This book made me think about what we have done to other people in our life. When we make a choice or decision, be it small or quick, do we know what consequences it would bring to other people? How have other people's lives been changed by our action taken in the nick of time? And when we recognise our mistake, are we big enough to admit it and make atonement? If we are the victim of somebody else's wrongdoings, are we prepared to forgive and forget?
This book has such a profound impact on me and I recommend it to everyone. Hosseini's new book is due out next month and I look forward to another great read.

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Tracy W said on Apr 11, 2007 | 1 feedback

5 people find this helpful

Flawed but still highly recommended

I was tempted to give this book five stars right at the beginning. I've almost decided it's worth all the stars there can be because the beginning of the story is one of the best I've read in years. But alas, not all good things can be sustained.Indeed, the theme - redemption of ... (continue)

I was tempted to give this book five stars right at the beginning. I've almost decided it's worth all the stars there can be because the beginning of the story is one of the best I've read in years. But alas, not all good things can be sustained.Indeed, the theme - redemption of past sins - is very human and the setting - Afghanistan - is fascinating, and the first half of the story is so finely written that I don't believe anybody can put it down once they start reading the book.But halfway through the story, it gets more and more bland and mundane. The transition from the settling-down-in-America phase to the getting-a-call-from-Afghanistan phase feels contrived. The plot gets more and more cliched and predictable. I felt like I had to finish reading the book because I'd read more than half of it already, not because it was a gripping tale.Fortunately, the ending is appropriate and well-written. Overall it's still a good book, and a nice start for budding writer Khaled Hosseini. It almost deserves five stars, but... just almost. Still, despite its flaws, it is worth recommending this book to anyone.

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Holmes said on Feb 12, 2008 | 1 feedback

5 people find this helpful

A thou after reading this book

It's sad story. Thou it's a fiction story but child abuse, regrets that a person is carrying till his deathbed did happen in real life. There are people still fighting each other due to the difference in religion or the color of their skin. All these, are so real in life. It's really sad that t ... (continue)

It's sad story. Thou it's a fiction story but child abuse, regrets that a person is carrying till his deathbed did happen in real life. There are people still fighting each other due to the difference in religion or the color of their skin. All these, are so real in life. It's really sad that these are happening around the world be it in a third world country or an advanced country. This story has reminded me how fortunate I am and I should treasure the people around me before it's too late.

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Freya said on Nov 1, 2007 | 2 feedbacks

Surpising and moving

When I first approached the book, I was prejudiced about what I was about to read. Luckily, I was wrong.
I expected a story about Afghanistan, emphasizing the differences between the country and the United States, but I found a beautiful story about friendship, childhood and adulthood. A story that ... (continue)

When I first approached the book, I was prejudiced about what I was about to read. Luckily, I was wrong.
I expected a story about Afghanistan, emphasizing the differences between the country and the United States, but I found a beautiful story about friendship, childhood and adulthood. A story that could have taken place anywhere, but with little details about Afghan life that, instead of disorienting the reader, gave me a candid vision of the Afghan people.
The novel talks about friendship, loyalty, wars (specially the internal ones), but overall it's a very human story.

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Johnbo said on Jan 24, 2012 | Add your feedback

1 person find this helpful

I had read the Italian translation and I bought the English because I wanted to see how it had been translated. I compared, thoroughly the first four chapters only to find that the Italian translation is more like an approximation and some things had been taken out, or simplified.
The book reads ... (continue)

I had read the Italian translation and I bought the English because I wanted to see how it had been translated. I compared, thoroughly the first four chapters only to find that the Italian translation is more like an approximation and some things had been taken out, or simplified.
The book reads well. It takes you smoothly, with tears and heart pangs, to the end. It's not a masterpiece, but it's a good book on growing up, on coming to terms with the past, and has that Afghani background that made it, when published, a very hot topic.

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fran_ces said on Dec 22, 2011 | Add your feedback

Painful Reading

This is a painful reading because it scrubs off the skin of Afghanistan layer by layer and reveals the pain people suffered from Taliban and endless civil wars.
We may all hear stories about Afghanistan, but we only hear them not knowing them. Do we know a professor can actually turn into a toothle ... (continue)

This is a painful reading because it scrubs off the skin of Afghanistan layer by layer and reveals the pain people suffered from Taliban and endless civil wars.
We may all hear stories about Afghanistan, but we only hear them not knowing them. Do we know a professor can actually turn into a toothless beggar on street? Do we know people chop off their legs for money only sufficient to feed their kids a few weeks? Do we know how many children are abandoned because their fathers are murdered and mothers forbidden to work? And how on earth we have the faintest idea that these kids are sent to orphanage and traded as sex slaves?
Sohrab is only one of those millions kids. I'm glad the author is writing books about the situation in Afghanistan and bringing awareness to the issues. If we ever sympathize Sohrab in the story, we should think more how we can assist those suffering at this moment.

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Bus Reader said on Sep 18, 2011 | Add your feedback