Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

27 reviews

imaginefishes's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I was originally skeptical of starting this book due to its length and what I believed to be touching on heavy topics, and the start of the book was somewhat slow to get through because of that. However, as the story progressed, I found I couldn't help but be drawn more and more to the book, and I genuinely could not stop thinking about it. The book is deliciously tightly woven together, where certain things certain characters say make an appearance throughout the book much like they sometimes would in our memories and lives, and the author touches on so many social issues pertaining to the context of Afghanistan, which, many of which remain unsolved and continue to be perpetuated today, especially with the recent insurgence of the Taliban. I find this book to be as relevant now as it was nearly 20 years ago, and the way the plot points and how each character is written is truly marvelous and leaves such a lasting imprint on your memory.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual violence, Violence, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Rape, and War

Moderate: Bullying, Grief, Self harm, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Pedophilia, Body horror, Ableism, Gun violence, and Murder

Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Terminal illness, and Slavery

The plot points on

paedophilia and rape

were quite shocking, especially initially, and it is truly horrifying to realise these are real things that happen to real people, real children in Afghanistan (and the rest of the world), and the violence and ideology held by Assef which eventually led him to

become one of the leaders of the Taliban and partake in an ethnic cleansing of his own

was really quite vile and again, extremely shocking when it happened.

Luckily, not all hope is lost, and he manages to get some sort of payback, however little.

However, what I have to say is I really did not enjoy the company of the main character - while it is understandable he did what he did, I found it enraging how

Hassan was always the one to come to his rescue, even in death, via Sohrab and his use of the slingshot, though it does make sense in the context of the book and his societal standing.

The book is rife with tragedy, but that small sliver of hope by the ending managed to bring it back a little, thankfully, and

somewhat redeem Amir from the demon he once thought he was

.

himangi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Violence, and War

Minor: Vomit

ryleehmln's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Violence, War, Xenophobia, and Genocide

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Cancer

dannythestreet's review against another edition

emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Violence, and War

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Infertility, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Torture

Minor: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, and Racial slurs

violet_rose's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book deserves all the hype it gets. One of the best books I’ve read in a long time. Incredibly, heartbreakingly sad, you think you’ve reached rock bottom but it just keeps getting worse, with both the war in Afghanistan and the protagonist’s personal struggles. I have never read something that explores the Afghani perspective of the war as in depth as the Kite Runner does; reading it with the hindsight of 2021 only makes it more sad. 

Hosseini’s prose is elegant and beautiful; his method of storytelling captivated me just as much as his lovingly crafted characters: Amir, the conflicted protagonist; Hassan, the devoted and loving servant; Baba, Amir’s indomitable father. 

Explores themes of the horrors of war, sexual assault, racism, classism, terrorism in a skilful and meaningful way. Everybody should read this book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Racism, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Self harm, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Minor: Child death

iamamockingbird's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Beautifully tragic. Made me cry a lot.  

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, and Slavery

Moderate: Rape

tstiltsxx711's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Islamophobia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Violence