Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

134 reviews

mergwenthur's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

Do not read this book if you are mentally ill 😭 ITS GOOD but man is it heart breaking 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Death of parent, Grief, Gore, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Rape, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Mental illness, War, Self harm, Suicide, and Violence

sadiaa's review against another edition

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Death, War, Grief, Xenophobia, Cancer, Genocide, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Murder, Alcohol, Deportation, Rape, Body shaming, Classism, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical content, Blood, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Suicide attempt

yannea's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

"There are a lot of children in Afghanistan, but little childhood."

This is a story that deserves 5 stars but it took me three months to actually finish the book. It's a heavy and painful read but it shouldn't come as a surprise when the cover has words like "devastating" and "haunting" written on it.

There were three things that pulled the rating down for me. First of all, I couldn't understand why the main character had to a writer. It depicted a very naive American dream because a 22-years-old immediately getting a book deal that pays all of his bills sounds too far-fetched. Maybe I missed something but I just couldn't see how it played any part in the plot.

Secondly, the "face" of the evil was a blonde, blue-eyed sociopath who worshipped Hitler and wore dark round sunglasses like John Lennon. His description made him a cliché cardboard character. Him being born a sociopath felt such a simple explanation of why someone would support Taliban. It's like someone told you to draw a human shaped monster and this is what you draw. It would be much harder to explain why normal common people do evil things. And normal common people have done a great deal of horrible things.

Lastly, it's written in first person with main character that is not very likeable so sitting so many hours with his regret and insecurity is very difficult. It's a spiral - you think something is bad and then takes place something that is worse. And then it keeps getting worse. 

Also if you are triggered by child abuse and explicit violence, then stay away from this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Pedophilia, and Rape

beancastro's review against another edition

dark reflective sad 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Self harm, Murder, Death, Torture, Rape, Miscarriage, Infertility, Genocide, Death of parent, and Medical trauma

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

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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

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. 

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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

bigteo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.25

The first half was amazing and I was engaged throughout the whole book.  I  found myself frequently googling terms often. As it’s a culture I don’t have much exposure to, it was fascinating to read about the rich history, people, culture, etc,.

However, the last arc was a bit of a slog for me personally due to how depressing it was. Keep in mind I read the last half of the book in a single sitting tho. 

I actually did like how the protagonist was unlikeable because it’s not something I often see in books. The outrage at some of his actions means I was emotionally invested (even if it was through anger) with what the character would do next. 

But yeah would recommend it tbh just check trigger warnings because it gets very dark and heavy at parts.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Death, Gun violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Blood, Cancer, Chronic illness, Pedophilia, Murder, War, Violence, Classism, Self harm, and Medical content

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Infertility, Miscarriage, Genocide, Hate crime, Infidelity, and Pregnancy

gizzylove's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is a masterpiece. Absolutely nothing critical I can say about it. I have never cried so much throughout a book. It's beautifully written. Poignant, with lots of life lessons that will stick with me forever. The character development is beautiful, and you find yourself so emotionally invested in Amir's journey of growth, forgiveness, and redemption. And your heart breaks a million times over Hassan and as you read you truly get so much wisdom from a 12 year old boy who didn't deserve all that he endured, and came out still a gentle soul. This book gutted me in the best, most beautiful way possible. A must read. It's the book you'll never stop thinking about. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Cancer, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Child death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Torture, Gun violence, Rape, Violence, War, Emotional abuse, Islamophobia, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Genocide, and Medical trauma

ricksilva's review against another edition

challenging 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

The Kite Runner tells the story of two boys, one rich and one poor, growing up in Afghanistan in the 1970s. During the annual kite-fighting tournament, Amir sets out to win the approval of his father, and makes a series of decisions he will regret for the rest of his life. His search for redemption years later brings his relationship with his childhood friend Hassan to tragic full circle when Amir finally returns to Kabul, a city now beaten down by years of war.

This story is loaded with classically tragic themes. It’s beautifully and often painfully told. While the author’s efforts to bring about symmetry feel a little bit forced at times, the plot twists toward the end take the story in unexpected directions.

The descriptions of culture and setting are fascinating, and the story and characters are powerful.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Genocide, Violence, and War

uncreativeoops's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad slow-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

4.75

That was somehow even more emotional than I expected. Beautiful storytelling and a very honest look at the cruelty of Afghanistan under Taliban rule. The protagonist was... a lot and sometimes very difficult to follow in his decisions but I actually think that it's one of the biggest strengths of the novel to present a character that makes many bad choices, behaves cowardly, and has to deal with the repercussions and his guilt. It also leads to the reader questioning their own belief that they would have chosen better at least a few times.
Listened to this on audio that was read by the author, which i felt was a really nice touch and his voice was easy to listen to. It also ensured that I would not try and mispronounce the names.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Cancer, Child abuse, Medical content, and Death of parent

Moderate: Trafficking, Murder, Suicide attempt, Kidnapping, and Terminal illness

Minor: Genocide