Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

129 reviews

amabel_xo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Xenophobia

Moderate: Chronic illness, Alcohol, Death of parent, Death, Classism, Torture, Sexual violence, Self harm, Physical abuse, Infertility, Cancer, Blood, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, War, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Rape, Slavery, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Misogyny, Grief, Genocide, Sexual assault, Islamophobia, Infidelity, Hate crime, and Alcoholism

slayalicious's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Gore, Grief, Body horror, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Infertility, Murder, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Violence, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Pedophilia, and War

audra_etta's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Every time I thought I understood the plotline of the book, I realized that I was wrong. The author somehow creates the main moments of Amir's life at a perfect pace and with this underlying string that finally ties everything together. I thought that the ending was incredibly realistic. Hosseini managed to write an ending that promises a realistically hopeful future. It would be wrong if everything suddenly started looking up for these characters, but there was still this distinct sense of hope that not all was lost.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Death

Moderate: Violence, Islamophobia, War, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Infertility, Self harm, Rape, Racism, and Vomit

Minor: Antisemitism and Ableism

mirandyli's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.75

This is a beautifully written, devastatingly sad story that I remember reading and crying over in high school. Back then I probably would have given this book 5 stars. After reading some other reviews, however, I think it's prudent to amend that rating. To quote another person's review: "This is the sort of book White America reads to feel worldly."

I will say, however, that there is a reason that thousands of people have raved about this book. Khaled Hosseini writes gorgeously. I loved this book and his other books as well.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Classism, Death, Pedophilia, Toxic friendship, War, Islamophobia, Abandonment, Death of parent, Grief, Rape, and Sexual assault

purplepickle's review against another edition

dark emotional 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: Grief, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Death of parent, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Medical trauma, Murder, Death, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, and Self harm

mitchell_1's review

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Trafficking, War, Bullying, Child abuse, Grief, Infertility, Medical content, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Hate crime, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Violence

haijinks's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Rape, Self harm, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, and Suicide attempt

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Whew, this one is rough af, and absolutely not for anyone sensitive to anything assault-related. The writing style wasn't my fav, and I'm not sure if I loved the author narrating either. But it did give me some historical context, which was useful. Sometimes it feels a little like books that do really well are just extremely distressing, and folks mistake that for being enthralling. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Grief, Chronic illness, Death, Hate crime, Infertility, Blood, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Violence, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Toxic friendship, and War

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Terminal illness, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Police brutality, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Excrement, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexism, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Murder, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, and Vomit

Minor: Antisemitism, Body shaming, Body horror, Torture, and Miscarriage

mxcopmy's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Oh yes, Khaled Hosseini has once again stirred my tear ducts like I had never known my tears before. This book put a burn mark on my soul so deep inside. Once again, I closed a story of his with a heavy heart, a lighthearted laugh and a hearty tear.

I really can't get over how much I love Hosseini's work. Having read my all-time favourite (which really can never be surpassed, A Thousand splendid Suns) last summer, I was so enchanted by his writing that I couldn't help but read more of his stories. And this I did by reading the kite runner, or 'de vliegeraar' in dutch. An incredibly affecting story about Hassan and Amir living as friends in Afghanistan and losing their path in friendship. It introduces you to the raw meaning of friendship and the hard divides some people face in terms of social classes. How Hosseini portrays the setting of the wars in Afghanistan also really makes you gasp. He is able to make these enormously vivid and make the pain and suffering tangible. I really can't describe how hard I enjoyed this book. Or at least how much I enjoy Khaled Hosseini's writing style and inspirational stories. His books are a heartfelt experience that touch you deep in your heart and limbs.

I beg everyone to pick up a book by Khaled Hosseini one day. They are so worth it, I promise you.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Hate crime, Murder, Death, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Child abuse, Deportation, Grief, Violence, Gun violence, War, Torture, and Rape

acline's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Death of parent, Child abuse, Rape, and War

Minor: Infertility