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okiecozyreader's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I can see why it’s on so many lists- both of books you should read and books that people are banning. Khalid Hosseini writes in the introduction of my copy how he writes to tell himself a story. But after September 11th, his wife demanded he send his work to a publisher to show them a different side of Afghanistan. I thought it was interesting he also has a MD in internal medicine.
KITE RUNNER is the story of Amir, the son of a wealthy, hardworking businessman. His father has a servant whose family has worked for them for 40 years, who has a son of similar age Hassan, who is a Hazara - a shunned ethnic group. Hassan is very loyal to Amir and Amir is not as good of a friend to Hassan. When a tragic event occurs, Amir’s guilt makes him miserable, and he can no longer face Hassan. About the same time, the Afghanistan country is invaded by Russia and he and his father escape to the United States. In THE KITE RUNNER, we see how the Afghanistan culture changes with all of the power struggles and how Amir’s loving family and friends change him for the better.
“For kite runners, the most coveted prize was the last fallen kite of a winter tournament. It was a trophy of honor, something to be displayed on a mantel for guests to admire.” P47
“Now, no matter what the mullah teaches, there is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft. Do you understand that?”
…
"When you kill a man, you steal a life," Baba said. "You steal his wife's right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness. Do you see?" P16
“It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime, Amir, he said.” p125-126
“Returning to Kabul was like running into an old, forgotten friend and seeing that life hadn't been good to him, that he'd become homeless and destitute.” P218
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Rape, Self harm, and Cancer
Moderate: Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Violence, and Death of parent
sareidle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Suicide attempt, Grief, Self harm, War, Death, Toxic friendship, and Child abuse
Moderate: Blood, Chronic illness, Infertility, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Bullying, and Death of parent
redefiningrachel's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Terminal illness, War, Self harm, Racism, Racial slurs, Murder, Death of parent, Death, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Cancer, Violence, and Rape
Moderate: Medical content, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, and Kidnapping
Minor: Cannibalism
rileydobereading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual violence and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death of parent, Classism, Bullying, War, Cursing, Child death, Cancer, Trafficking, and Infertility
Minor: Racial slurs and Alcohol
tabbiscuit's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Suicide attempt, War, Torture, Body horror, and Child abuse
Moderate: Racial slurs and Death of parent
theemster's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, War, Sexual content, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gore, Cancer, Suicide attempt, Blood, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Genocide, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Torture
areadingrose's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
However, this is not my favorite book by a long shot but I think that’s okay.
This is not a book you pick up one afternoon and just decide to read. There’s a lot of heavy difficult topics in this book that are difficult to just jump into if you’re not mentally prepared. Please read content or trigger warnings prior to reading this book. I didn’t do that and I think I would have had a much different experience reading this if I had done that.
It was extremely well written and I think what the author does well is write a main character who you aren’t sure if you like or not. I went back and forth constantly on whether there were any characters I really liked in this book. It’s just a sad book to me. It gives me a lot of perspective on what it might have been like for children in Afghanistan but it was hard to digest.
I appreciated the way the book ended but I still have a lot of mixed emotions about Amir. I’m not sure if I actually liked him or not.
Minor: War, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Rape, Racial slurs, Pedophilia, Murder, and Violence
b3ttysbooks33's review against another edition
- 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
note: some people criticize the depictions of religion and politics, but I feel that because most of these controversial opinions come from characters who is clearly deeply flawed, the author leaves room for such issues to be discussed rather than dictating a specific narrative.
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Suicide, Terminal illness, War, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Genocide, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Infertility, Islamophobia, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Death, and Suicide attempt
megatron25's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Rape and Suicide
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Racial slurs, and Violence
Minor: Classism
alex_nicole's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Mental illness, Mass/school shootings, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Grief, Violence, Sexual violence, Slavery, Racism, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Infertility, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, Murder, Rape, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Death of parent