Book Review | The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

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Rating

5 stars – a remarkable tale of friendship, honesty and compassion

Description

Winter, 1975: Afghanistan — a country hidden in the corner of Asia, ruled over by a fading monarchy on the verge of an internal coup. But in Kabul, twelve-year-old Amir has his own concerns. He is desperate to win the annual kite-fighting tournament to prove to his father that he has the makings of a man. Amir’s friend Hassan is a low-caste Muslim and the son of a crippled servant but nevertheless the two boys play together and defend each other against the neighbourhood’s bullies. However, during the tournament, Amir takes advantage of Hassan’s guileless devotion and commits a terrible act of betrayal which is to shatter their lives and define their future.

Why did you choose to read this book?

Because I think I may be the last person in the world to read it and have heard so many good things about it – and I was not disappointed!

The Book Review

There has been a lot of hype about this novel and I admit that I had reservations about reading it – what if it didn’t live up to the hype? I had absolutely nothing to be afraid of – this book goes down as one of the best I have ever read.

The novel follows the life of Amir; a 12 year old boy growing up in Kabul, Afghanistan and his friendship with Hassan, the son of his father’s servant.

Woven into a condensed history of Afghanistan is a tale of friendship and compassion, of honesty and betrayal. It veers from heartbreaking to heartwarming and at times had me literally holding my breath in anticipation of what might come next.

While reading The Kite Runner I realised how ignorant I have been to the war that raged across this country and the devastating consequences it had on her countrymen. Hosseini is a storyteller of the highest degree and in this novel has delivered a hard-hitting tale which also educates the reader.

I will definitely be reading this book again – and if you haven’t read it yet highly recommend you pick up a copy as soon as you can.

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