Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

134 reviews

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

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

zee_reads_books's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Xenophobia, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Infertility, Torture, Suicide attempt, Cancer, Grief, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death of parent, Blood, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Murder, Hate crime, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Rape, Pedophilia, Medical trauma, Mass/school shootings, Islamophobia, Gun violence, and Death

lucyyyyxxxx's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Mass/school shootings, Child abuse, Genocide, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Death, Death of parent, War, Ableism, and Cancer

r34d3r's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Classism, Cancer, Child abuse, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, War, Murder, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Blood, Grief, and Child death

thescenery's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

 

For you, a thousand times over.

My family has a big dispute over this book. My father loved it, my mother hated it. I feel like I'm setting things right by saying I loved it, but also hated it. The 3.75 was cause by its beginning. For the first 50%, I was having a hard time connecting with it. It was too hard of a read for no reason at all. After 50%, though, you understand that reason. Once I understood it why Amir was our main character, why he was the one telling the story, it was easier to read and understand and enjoy.

Amir is a case of very flawed character, a little unlikable, a little annoying, but it is part of its grandeur. He is the kind of character you have to have a lot of patience with, because sometimes he makes it a little bit too hard, and that's why it took me one month to finish it. The book makes it hard for dragging it so long before getting to its point, but once you get it, the book devours you just as you devour it.

It's cruel and harsh and beautiful, and I hated it and loved it. Hated it for taking so long to tell the reader why, loved it for its development after the said why.

It was an intense, good experience overall! A good read, a good book. I can finally have my opinion in the family dispute and talk grandly about it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, War, and Violence

Moderate: Cancer and Child abuse

figwood's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Religious bigotry, Mass/school shootings, Police brutality, Bullying, Rape, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Chronic illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, War, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Genocide, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, Animal cruelty, Classism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Blood, Cancer, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Racism, Death of parent, Miscarriage, and Misogyny

circehighgarden's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Colonisation, Cancer, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, and Violence