Reviews with content warning for Toxic friendship - De vliegeraar

I thought this book was really good. It was mainly plot focused, and the the writing wasn't mind-blowing, but it was heartfelt, full of emotion, and makes me want to learn more about the history of Afganistan.

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jlily_'s review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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

4.0

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mirandyli's review against another edition

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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.

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greatexpectations77's review against another edition

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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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bigteo's review against another edition

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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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