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The Kite Runner (Paperback) (平装)
by Khaled Hosseini
| Category:
Friendship, Afghanistan, Fiction |
| Market price: ¥ 158.00
MSL price:
¥ 148.00
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| Stock:
In Stock |
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MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
It is a well-told powerfully story of devotion, loyalty, betrayal and redemption between two boys; one is the son of a wealthy Afghan businessman, and the other is the son of a poor servant. |
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AllReviews |
1 2   | Total 2 pages 15 items |
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Los Angeles Times (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-24 00:00>
...explores issues of character and country, the subtle and not-so-subtle ways that narrative and history intersect. |
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Washington Post (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-24 00:00>
[A] poignant debut novel...The Kite Runner offers a moving portrait of modern Afghanistan. [Rating: A]. (Entertainment Weekly) A powerful book...an intimate account of family and friendship, betrayal and salvation. |
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USA Today (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-24 00:00>
...a haunting morality tale set in Afghanistan and California, covering nearly 40 years. |
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People (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-24 00:00>
...this extraordinary first novel locates the personal struggles of everyday people in the terrible sweep of history. |
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The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-24 00:00>
Hosseini shows how an engaging novel begins- with simple, exquisite writing that compels the reader to turn the page. |
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J. Norburn (MSL quote), Quesnel, BC, Canada
<2007-01-24 00:00>
Hosseni's debut novel is both powerful and engaging. The Kite Runner is a novel about loyalty, betrayal, and redemption.
So few English language novels are written about life in Afghanistan that our impression of this country is based almost entirely on the evening news. Hosseni gives us a glimpse of Afghanistan before the Russian invasion and the subsequent rise of the Taliban and provides interesting insights into Afghani culture.
The Kite Runner is the story of Amir, an Afghani boy whose life is defined by an act of cowardice that leads to an even more insidious betrayal. Years later he is given the opportunity to atone for his sins - to be good again.
Amir's actions (and inactions) are despicable, but he remains a sympathetic character. His selfish and cowardly acts are the actions of a child, one desperately seeking the approval of a father whose love is elusive. I appreciated that Hosseni didn't `water-down' the extent of Amir's betrayal in an effort to make his actions seem less reprehensible.
Unfortunately (for me at least) Hosseni opts for an overly sentimental ending to the Kite Runner. I suppose a lot of people liked the ending, but to me it felt too contrived. In the final chapters of the novel Amir suffers a beating which allows him to atone for his sins, he has an unlikely encounter with his childhood nemesis (who suffers a well deserved fate), and there is a melodramatic suicide attempt. The novel culminates in a sentimental moment when Amir flies a kite with a young boy in the park and then `runs' the kite with childlike abandon. The events of the final chapters are intended to tug at your heart strings and make your eyes grow misty.
While I was a little disappointed by the ending, I highly recommend The Kite Runner. All in all, this is a very good novel (a solid 4 stars) but it could have been a truly exceptional novel (worthy of 5 stars) had Hosseni stayed the course and resisted the temptation to wrap his novel up in a big, fat, sentimental bow.
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Sam (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-24 00:00>
The Kite Runner tells the story of life in a totalitarian regime through the eyes of a young boy in 1960s Afghanistan. Amir lives with his father and servants in a mansion in the town Kabul. He's a member of the privileged class without much empathy for anyone else at first. Amir often plays with Hassan, the servant's son, but doesn't see him as an equal person to be respected. He is there to play with, serve, and nothing more. But Amir enjoys Hassan's company, and doesn't know what he has until it's gone.
When a terrible thing happens to Hassan, partly Amir's fault, it breaks up their friendship. Suddenly, Amir's struggles to fit in and impress his father seem silly, and his life darkens several degrees. Finally, when the situation becomes unbearable, Hassan and his father are forced to leave Amir's house forever.
Fast-forward to 2001. Forced out of their homeland by the Taliban, Amir and his father now live in America. Amir is married, and he finally feels he has left his regrettable past behind him in Afghanistan. But when his past comes back to haunt him and he is summoned to Afghanistan, Amir discovers the most shocking secret of all, one that changes his entire life. But he gets a chance to redeem himself and atone for all he's done.
The Kite Runner is a fast-paced novel about growing up in a place that's not meant for growing up in. Haunting and compelling, this book will stay with the reader long after he or she reads it.
We see Amir grow from an entitled boy in Afghanistan to a compassionate man with a first-hand understanding of justice and loyalty.
Though the ending is a bit inconclusive, you'll want to read and reread The Kite Runner until you see all its little twists and turns, all its mysteries, and all its secrets. Richly woven together with intensity, regret, and desperation, it's well worth the read.
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Michael Dellosso (MSL quote), Hanover, PA
<2007-01-24 00:00>
I read this book because it was recommended to me. I'm glad I did. Normally, a book about Afghanistan life wouldn't appeal to me. But The Kite Runner was so much more than I expected . . . I was pleasantly surprised. Hosseini writes with passion and emotion and his vivid details and complex characters bring the story alive. The story jumps you from many different angles and tugs at the heart strings while at the same time stoking the fires of anger. Hosseini opens a window and shows the reader the real Afghanistan, before and after the fall of the monarchy, in all its glory and disgust.
I highly recommend this book. Its characters will linger in your mind long after you've closed the cover.
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Bunkster Brown (MSL quote), MA
<2007-01-24 00:00>
Anything that I could say about this book would seem insufficient. It is one of the most memorable, moving books I have ever read. I finished it seven or eight months ago, and I find myself still thinking of the images and characters. Books I've read since have paled in comparison. The book is unique, captivating, a must-read and a can't-put-down. The sub-themes of loyalty (or lack thereof), honor, shame and guilt, retribution, and redemption...to name just a few... made for a powerful book with a poignant message and a lasting impression. I can see myself re-reading this book in the future.
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A reader (MSL quote), Fogelsville, PA USA
<2007-01-24 00:00>
This story lingers in your mind, comes back to you in quiet moments. I was sad when I read the last page because I wouldn't know anything more about these people and their lives.
The Kite Runner transports the reader into another culture, another lifestyle and a sweeter, simpler way of life, where the rules of behavior and living are very clear. Hosseini creates a vivid sense of place and time. You can feel the heat, taste the food and smell the streets. But more impressively, he brings you along the journey in a way that wraps you into the tale, not just as a dispassionate observer, but as a member of the family.
I'd highly recommend this book for teens and adults. It's a powerful coming of age story, a history lesson and a crystal clear window into how very similar all people are, at heart.
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1 2 | Total 2 pages 15 items |
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