We travel back to early 1970s Afghanistan, to Kabul, where we meet Amir, a young boy whose only source of happiness is tied to his father’s approval and his best friend, Hassan—the son of his father’s servant.

As the monarchy in Afghanistan comes under threat from the Russian invasion, the lives of these boys will never be the same.

This is one of the darkest, most powerful, and heart-wrenching stories you will ever read. At times, the events are so difficult to absorb that you may need to close the book, take a break, and gather your composure before continuing. The cruelty, injustice, and tragedies shake you to your core, cutting deeply, as if tiny shards of glass are lodged beneath your skin.

I don’t think anyone could finish this book without shedding tears. This is my third time reading it, and I still cannot stop crying!
Definitely a MUST-READ—powerful, provocative, dark, sad, and heartbreaking. It’s brilliantly written and the author’s finest work!

"Tank you wery match."
Sohrab squeezed my soul then and there. I love this kid so much.

I love Hassan too much too. But there's no normal way of talking or writing anything without crying whenever that name comes up. I cannot believe a name can make me cry anytime anywhere now.

But Hassan never asked for sympathy. But my heart ... (Sorry, I just wailed for the umpteenth time while writing this sentence...) is so broken at the moment. I don't think I will ever get healed from this pain and sorrow.

I am grieving. I will grieve for Hassan forever.

And grieve for Amir, Amir's father, Ali, Rahim and that boy who died that one night during the escape of Amir and his father to Pakistan.

If at all you want to hate a character in this book, hate Assef. The sociopath and the rapist.

*8th August, 2020:

The Kite Runner, 2003, Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner is the first novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. Published in 2003 by Riverhead Books.

It tells the story of Amir, a young boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, whose closest friend is Hassan.

The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of Afghanistan's monarchy through the Soviet military intervention, the exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the rise of the Taliban regime.

عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «بادبادک باز»؛ «بادبادک پران»؛ نویسنده خالد حسینی؛ تاریخ خوانش در ماه مارس سال دوهزاروپنج میلادی

عنوان: بادبادک باز؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم زیبا گنجی؛ پریسا سلیمانزاده اردبیلی، مشخصات نشر تهران، مروارید، 1383، در 422ص؛ شابک9645881927؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده 21م

عنوان: بادبادک باز؛ مترجم: مهدی غبرائی؛ مشخصات نشر تهران، نشر همراه، 1384، در 456ص؛

عنوان: بادبادک پران؛ مترجم: منیژه شیخ جوادی؛ مشخصات نشر تهران، پیکان، 1385، در 383ص؛ شابک 9789643284953؛

عنوان: بادبادک باز؛ مترجم: مهدی غبرائی؛ مشخصات نشر تهران، نیلوفر، 1386، در 368ص؛ شابک 9644482972؛

عنوان: بادبادک باز؛ مترجم: صدیقه ابراهیمی؛ مشخصات نشر تهران، دایره، 1387، در 393ص؛ شابک 9789646939694؛

عنوان: بادبادک باز؛ مترجم: مژگان احمدی؛ مشخصات نشر تهران، بهزاد، 1388، در 331ص؛ شابک 9789642569410؛

عنوان: بادبادک باز؛ مترجم: پیمان اشراقی؛ مشخصات نشر تهران، نگارستان کتاب، 1389، در 508 ص؛ شابک 9786005541557؛

عنوان: بادبادک باز؛ مترجم: سمیه یداللهی؛ مشخصات نشر تهران، شهرزاد، 1389، در 376ص؛ شابک 9786001710421؛

عنوان: بادبادک باز؛ مترجم: رقیه فیروزی؛ مشخصات نشر قم، رخ مهتاب راتا، 1392، در 338ص؛ شابک 9786007076026؛

عنوان: بادبادک باز؛ مترجم: حسین بخشی؛ مشخصات نشر تهران، آوای مکتوب، 1393، در 368ص؛ شابک 9786007364055؛

داستان از زبان «امیر» روایت می‌شود، «امیر» نویسنده ای اهل «افغانستان» و از تبار ایل «پشتون» و ساکن «کالیفرنیا» هستند، که برای نجات یک بچه، راهی «افغانستان» می‌شوند؛ افغانستانی که در تحت حاکمیت «طالبان» است، و یکی از دشوارترین دورانهای تاریخ چند هزار ساله‌ ی خویش را سپری می‌کند، و به بهانه ی همین سفر «امیر» به «افغانستان»، ایشان داستان زندگی‌ خویش را نیز برای خوانشگر بازگویی‌ میکنند

نقل از متن کتاب: (ناراحت شدن از یک حقیقت بهتر از تسکین یافتن با یک دروغ است
**
حسن اینطوری بود؛ لعنتی آنقدر بی غل و غش بود که پیش او آدم همیشه حس میکرد ریاکار است
**
بابا گفت: «خوبه.» اما نگاهش حیران بود؛ «خب هرچی ملا یادت داده ول کن، فقط یک گناه وجود دارد والسلام؛ آن هم دزدی است - البته برخی هم آن یک گناه را دروغگویی میدانند؛ هر گناه دیگری هم نوعی دزدی است؛ میفهمی چی میگویم؟» مایوسانه آرزو کردم و گفتم کاش میفهمیدم؛ و گفتم «نه بابا جون»؛ نمی‌خواستم دوباره ناامیدش کنم.؛ بابا با بی حوصلگی آهی کشید؛ با اینکار دوباره دلم را سوزاند، چون او اصلاً آدم بی حوصله ای نبود؛ یادم آمد که تا هوا تاریک نمیشد، هیچ وقت به خانه نمیآمد، همیشه ی خدا تنهایی شام میخوردم؛ وقتی میآمد خانه، از «علی» میپرسیدم بابا کجا بوده؟ هر چند خودم خوب میدانستم که سر ساختمان بوده، سرکشی به این، نظارت به آن؛ مگر این کارها حال و حوصله نمیخواست؟ از تمام آن بچه هایی که داشت برایشان پرورشگاه میساخت متنفر بودم؛ گاهی وقتها آرزو میکردم، کاش همه ی آنها با پدر و مادرهایشان مرده بودند؛ بابا گفت «اگر مردی را بکشی، یک زندگی را میدزدی؛ حق زنش را از داشتن شوهر میدزدی، جق بچه هایش را از داشتن پدر میدزدی؛ وقتی دروغ میگویی، حق کسی را از دانستن حقیقت میدزدی.؛ وقتی تقلب میکنی، حق را از انصاف میدزدی، میفهمی؟) پایان نقل از متن کتاب

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 19/05/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

“There is a way to be good again.”
I don’t think I possess the words to describe how this book made me feel. I didn’t imagine this would have such a strong impact on me. Not only is this a fabulously crafted story, but also such a touching reflection of the conditions of the war stricken countries that a lot of people are ignorant of.

I haven’t been moved to this extent by any book for a long while. Why did I even put off reading this for so long?
I’m sure this will remain one of the most unforgettable of my reading experiences.

My Therapist is going to have a field day with me this week

Distraught doesn't even come close to how I am feeling right now.

The Kite Runner is following the narrative of Amir a wealthy boy in Afghanistan and his relationship with his servants son Hassan. After a Kite Tournament, a tragedy ensues and the lives of both boys changes forever.

After reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, i was already introduced to this author and the way his writing will suck you in and literally spit you out!
This book was no different, but the trauma from reading this was hitting me left right and centre and for someone who can handle most, i truly couldn't with this book and had to take MULTIPLE breaks.
There's not enough adjectives to describe how this book impacted me but I promise you when you read this one whether you like it or hate, you surely WONT forget it.

⋆｡°✩Characters⋆｡°✩

Amir- The fact I had to read this book through the narrative of Amir will never sit right with me! I know he goes through his penance/ redemption arc but frankly i don't give a damn. The self entitled attitude from young Amir IRKED the hell out of me. I know his relationship with his dad was not to his liking but his behaviour and actions will never justify his choices personally for me.
Although happy with his choices in the end. I'm not quite ready to forgive and forget.

Hassan- There are genuinely people like Hassan in this world and it breaks my heart when you see them so subservient to others who just don't deserve it. From the little we got from him his heart was sooo pure and good and i just wish we had more from him or his own POV.

Baba/ Rahim Khan- So disappointed and disgraced with their choices! More so Baba than Rahim. I wish Rahim had said something sooner and not when all was lost!

Sohrab- omggggg writing this trying not to cry! Sohrab is the most bravest boy and i want nothing but the best for this fictional boy! He replaced the absence of Hassan for me but broke my heart the most because it felt like he was reliving and going through the same unfortunate traumatizing circumstances like his dad.

This is definitely one of those books that has altered my brain chemistry and will sit on my traumatised reads of all time shelf. Although i am deeply affected by this novel, I would highly urge everyone to read it once. And once is more than enough.

n  “For you, a thousand times over”

“People say that eyes are windows to the soul.”

“In the end, the world always wins. That's just the way of things.”

“Better to get hurt by the truth than comforted with a lie.”

“One time, when I was very little, I climbed a tree and ate these green, sour apples. My stomach swelled and became hard like a drum, it hurt a lot. Mother said that if I'd just waited for the apples to ripen, I wouldn't have become sick. So now, whenever I really want something, I try to remember what she said about the apples.”n




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⋆｡°✩Pre Review ⋆｡°✩
Ok after a Thousand Splendid Suns, I think I am now ready for my heart to be ripped out again with this one!
*inhale…exhale* … let’s go!

4 to 4.5 (I need half stars!)

This was a very interesting and well written story of Afghanistan and how it has changed over the last 50 years or so. It was fascinating to get the impression of things from someone who lived through it. While a fictional story, it is obvious that the author drew from his own experiences.

In America, we get an impression of how things are/were through the media and word of mouth. Without actually doing research or talking to someone who who lived through it, you really don't get the big picture.

If you like historical fiction, stories from the middle east, and/or father/son/family stories then this is a book not to be missed!

Consciência a quanto Obrigas


O Menino de Cabul é um livro de História narrado em histórias. Porém, ocupa-se sobretudo dum percurso comandado pela Consciência. Aquela sentinela incansável que nos atormenta, sempre com um dedo acusador a apontar cada erro! Aquele farol que nos dita os passos até à redenção — o auto-perdão que concede a tão almejada paz!

É possível escapar à guerra que acontece lá fora, mas não à que fervilha cá dentro!

O Menino de Cabul recorda-nos que a nossa missão como membros da Humanidade é consagrarmo-nos vencedores absolutos dessa malfadada Guerra Interior — de Batalha em Batalha, bravamente, até à vitória final

So I started Kite Runner two nights ago after finishing Blink. It took me a week or so with Blink since I wasn’t very enthralled, making it easier to put it down at night when it was my bed time.

Kite Runner, I started over a long weekend and could not for the life of me put it down. I was so hooked I even found myself reading Bing’s copy when I was over at Deesh and Bing’s this weekend playing an invigorating (and might I add victorious) game of girls vs. boys Cranium and then Cheez Geek (Cheez Geek one of the 3 new things this week).

The Kite Runner. Must be the most disturbing, haunting book I’ve yet to read. The close seconds would be A Child Called It and Night. They both broke my heart but not in the way Kite Runner did. I was in tears maybe four separate times during the past two days it took me to finish the novel. A coming of age story with pre–war Afganhistan and the post-Taliban arrival as the backdrop of the story.

I tend to take note of books I know my dad will enjoy and as I read them I jot down notes on post its for my dad and flag the relevant pages. I flagged the story about Amir and Hassen tying bumble bees with string and letting them fly a bit before yanking them back. My dad used to do exactly the same thing to dragonflies when he was younger growing up in Vietnam. Then as I got deeper and deeper into the book and found myself tearing up, I started to doubt whether my dad, a vet would enjoy going down memory lane. I took breaks and called Mary Ellen to relay the story and basically to pull me out a little. Relief.

The refugee stories seem to make vivid my parents’ stories post Vietnam.

I kept imagining I was reading about my dad. Funny how war is pretty much the same no matter where it is. I usually don’t read war books so this is somewhat new to me. Before Kite Runner, the only books I’ve read with war in the background were Anne Frank’s diary, The Hiding Place, and Night. All heart breaking in their own respect but I never felt so invested in events unfolding with each turn of the page as I did with Kite Runner.

So aside from making me cry so easily, Hosseini also managed to make me laugh several times out loud. One scene when Amir, in such a detached manner, thinks to himself as someone is experiencing an eye injury, “Oh that’s vitreous fluid.. I read about that, that’s vitreous fluid.” I used to work for an ophthalmologist.

So here are a few quotes I jotted down into my reading journal…

“There is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft..”

“If there’s a God out there, then I would hope he has more important things to attend to than my drinking Scotch or eating pork.”

“Children aren’t coloring books. You don’t get to fill them with your favorite colors.”

“We plucked the stinger off a bee and tied a string around the poor thing and yanked it back every time it took flight.”

“John Wayne didn’t really speak Farsi and he wasn’t Iranian.”

“And the beggars were mostly children now, thin and grim-faced, some no older than five or six. They sat in the laps of their burque-clad mothers alongside gutters at busy street corners… Hardly any of them sat with an adult male- the war had made fathers a rare commodity in Afghanistan.”

“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.”

‘I’m so afraid…. Because I’m so profoundly happy, Dr Rasul. Happiness like this is frightening. They only let you be this happy if they’re preparing to take something from you.”

I wrote the last one down because that’s how I feel when I feel very happy. I get extra wary of freak accidents.

“I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded, not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up and slipping away unannounced in t

عن تلك الرغبة الأبدية لدى آبائنا في أن نكون النُسخ المُصغرة منهم !!
ويظلوا مُرددين ( لم أكن هكذا أبداً ) ..
بقصد أو بدون قصد , ينسون أو يتناسون أننا نحمل دمائهم فقط
هذا لا يعني بالضرورة أن نحمل صفاتهم , طباعهم وهواياتهم
نحن لسنا استنساخ لهم , نحن فقط أبنائهم
( الأطفال ليسوا كُتب ملونة , لا يمكن أن تلونهم بألوانك المُفضلة ) هذه الخلاصة :

عن مقابلة الإحسان بالإساءة
والخير بالشر
والحب باللامبالاة
هكذا
( لأجلك ,, ألف مرة أخرى ) ..
( وفي ,, وفي ككلب ) ..

عن أفغانستان وحربهم مع روسيا
ومن ثم طالبان
ومن ثم أمريكا
( هناك كثيراً من الأطفال في أفغانستان لكن قليلاً من الطفولة ) ..

عن تجار الدين , في كُل مكان وفي كُل بقعة من الأرض
( الأشخاص الوحيدون القادرون على أكل اللحم الآن هم طالبان ) ..

وعن العنصرية أيضاً في كُل مكان
( هذا الولد الهازارا !! ) وكأن جنسك جريمة مُلاصقة لك !!

عن مئة شعور شعرت به أثناء قراءة هذه الرواية , ما بين الحب والكرة , الشفقة والجحود
هذه من الرواية القليلة التي تستطيع بأحداثها أن تعصف بمشاعرك وبك

مُفضلة جديدة تُضاف للقائمة
وكاتب مُفضل آخر , عليّ مُتابعة باقي أعماله بشغف :))

شاهکار بود کتاب . 
بعد از خوندن کور سرخی از عالیه عطایی فکر کردم چقدر از فرهنگ و درد کشور همسایه مون کم میدونم و این کتاب رو خریدم.
قدری توصیفات خالد حسینی قشنگ و کامل بود که انگار با امیر و حسن توی کابل توی اون کوچه پس کوچه ها بادبادک بازی کردم، بچگی کردم‌ و درد کشیدم. 
چقدر به امیر حسودی کردم برای داشتن حسن کنارش و چقدر اشک ریختم برای حسن.
 هر خط خوندنش مثل چرخوندن چاغو توی جیگرم بود.
ترجمه زیبا گنجی و پریسا سلیمان زاده بی نقص بود.
1400/10/20

20 years have passed, and the troubled Afghanistan is still swaying in the storm, just like Amir's heart before redemption.

Yes, redemption.

The Kite Runner seems to be a book about Islamic country and Muslims, but I feel that Hosseini worldview, values ​​and religious views are all Westernized. Although he grew up in Afghanistan and did not move to the United States until he was probably 15, his thoughts when he wrote this novel can be said to be almost completely Westernized. In the novel, he even revealed a seemingly calm sense of superiority in the details many times.

This is very disappointing to me.

The reason is not that Hosseini tells the story from a pro-western standpoint. If the writer is a native American, I would not feel disappointed at all, because clearly, I would be a book that looks at this ancient and mysterious Eastern country from the perspective of Westerners. But Hosseini is of Afghan descent, and the work is also a debut work that has been a bestseller for many years. So I will definitely read this book with a bit of "reading for the sake of respect", hoping to get a glimpse of the daily life and behavior of the Afghan people in the war. However, the fact is that his impression of Afghanistan stopped before the age of 15 (similar to the age when Amir went abroad in the book). After moving to the States, he may have been deeply influenced by Western education. As a result, the two parts of the story gave me a strong sense of estrangement. The pure simplicity of the first half contrasted with the various tendencies and routines in the second half, resulting in a cliff-like drop in readability after entering the second half.

In my opinion, only the first half is worth reading.

The premise of novel is the friendship between the rich young master Amir and the servant's child Hassan. As a Pashtun, Amir has never regarded Hassan, a Hazara, as his best friend.

Of course, Amir was still young at that time, so he didn't think there was anything wrong with his class superiority. Although he is not the kind of bully, he still enjoys the feeling of being a 'noble'. So although Hassan always admires Amir's talent and status, Amir never stops teasing, mocking, despising and disdaining Hassan. In the end, Hassan's unprovoked and unrequited kindness to Amir is condensed into one sentence at the climax of the first half of the book: "For you, a thousand times over."

I think this sentence is the key point of this novel. The Kite Runner not only refers to Hassan, the kite chaser, but also refers to Amir who chases kites for atonement at the end of the book. Hassan's thousand times over to Amir eventually turned into Amir's thousand times over to Sohrab (Hassan's orphan). It seems that this story has a beautiful and perfect ending at the end.

But my heart knot has not been untied.

I think the reason why The Kite Runner is widely praised is that he bravely faces the cowardly, selfish, and ugly side of human nature, and then comforts himself by confessing and atonement, so that readers who feel the same can be healed. Because such a representative story will touch the pain points of many people - after all, we may have made some mistakes when we were young and ignorant or impulsive, causing harm to others, and then continued to live with regret or guilt for a certain period of time. This is the secret buried in the deepest part of our hearts that we are most reluctant to reveal. Although we know that this is a mistake, we may choose to remain silent because of face, shame to admit, fear of being blamed, or involvement in interests. However, this ugly tumor is always attached to the wall of our hearts. It is peaceful and normal on days, but it will suddenly break out one night and suffocate people.

I was not healed by this book.

Because in my opinion, not only does Amir and Hassan not have pure friendship, but Amir's motivation for atonement is more to heal himself than to save Hassan’s orphan whom he has never met.

Is there really love without reason in this world? I don't believe it. Even if it is love at first sight between men and women, they must be attracted by each other's appearance, figure, temperament, talent, personality, conversation and other conditions. Therefore, I think Hassan's loyalty to Amir is only because he is grateful for the respect and love of Amir's father as a slave.

And the plot that Amir returns to his homeland to save Hassan’s orphan with long-term guilt is even more difficult for me to accept. Not to mention that the part of saving people from the mansion of the bully in his youth seems too childish, even his decision to take the risk of returning home is driven by the author's abrupt and bloody setting of "he is your brother". There is no doubt that this "brother" stalk that came out of nowhere further weakened the already negligible "friendship" between Amir and Hassan.

The ending of this book is also bloody (you can say touching), because at least Hassan left a trace of blood in this world. Although it is a long way to heal Sohrab's spiritual trauma, fortunately there is a glimmer of hope. However, all this can only be seen by the living, so "the spirit in heaven" is just a kind of intangible carrier for the living to comfort themselves when making up for some regrets. And Hassan can no longer see all this, he has died before Amir "became a good man", and he will never get Amir's apology; even if Amir tries hard to chase, he will never get back the kite that belongs only to him and Hassan.

Therefore, although the ending described in the book seems ideal, it is actually an out-and-out tragedy. And we live in reality, so we should be more alert: many times, this world will not leave you a chance to make up for your mistakes; many mistakes, once made, will be regretted for life. The most difficult thing in life is to face your own fears. But if we can realize that some people, some things, and some risks must be bravely protected, faced, and undertaken, perhaps we will have the courage to create miracles, and perhaps we can avoid leaving regrets in the lives of ourselves and our relatives and friends.

Look closely at the kite flying freely in your heart, and never let it get lost.

2.5 / 5 stars

I AM SO EMOTIONAL DON'T TOUCH ME.
This story was beautiful and I learned so much from it and man. Just so good.
I also read this for #diversathon (even though I'm finishing it about a week later) and I really feel like I learned so much about a culture that I really knew nothing about. It was eye opening and interesting and so educational.
The characters were beautifully written and Amir was fantastically developed. Overall the plot was engaging though the pacing lacked at times. The message was beautiful and the ending made me cry.
Read this book IT IS GREAT.