For you a thousand times over !

This book has been beautifully written and it is a heartbreaking story. It has left me emotionally devastated. How one can be so happy and in a sudden the whole life changes.

The major portion of the book takes place in Afghanistan while rest in Pakistan and America. I liked it more because I have been to all the cities mentioned in the book of Pakistan and I could relate a little better. The book gives you a great insight of the Afghani culture and a great picture of how many areas of Afghanistan were back in the days. Painting the picture of characters and surroundings is like natural to Khaled Hosseini, he is just too good at it.

Moreover I learned the true meaning of selfless Friendship.

بادبادک‌باز داستان زندگی پسری افغان و پشتون به نام امیره که به همراه پدرش در کابل زندگی می‌کنه. مادر امیر در هنگام به دنیا اومدن امیر مرده. فردی به اسم علی با پسرش که همسن امیره به عنوان خدمتکار توی خونه با امیر و پدرش زندگی میکنند که از قوم هزاره هستند. (سرگذشت قوم هزاره خیلی غم انگیزه اگر علاقه داشتید به صورت جداگانه در ‌موردشون بخونید تا ظلمی که به این مردم رفته رو بفهمید) امیر و حسن هم بازی هستند اما حسن به مدرسه نمیره و سواد نداره. رابطه‌ی امیر با پدرش چندان گرم نیست و امیر فکر می‌کنه پدرش اون رو مقصر مرگ مادرش می‌دونه و برای همین هرگز اون رو نبخشیده. امیر به نویسندگی خیلی علاقه داره و ب��یار کتاب میخونه حتی گاهی برای حسن. یک روز در مسابقه‌ی بادبادک بازی امیر به کمک حسن نفر اول میشه و اون روز یکی از معدود روزهایی هست که احساس می‌کنه پدرش بهش افتخار می‌کنه، اما این روز، روز خوبی نیست. توی همین روز اتفاقی برای حسن می‌افته که امیر با اینکه شاهد ماجراست کاری برای کمک به حسن نمیکنه و این اتفاق باعث میشه سایه‌ی یک عذاب وجدان تا آخر روی زندگی امیر باشه و همین اتفاق به نوعی باعث بسیار از وقایع بعدی داستان میشه که برای فهمیدنش باید زحمت خوندن کتاب رو به خودتون بدید. داستان بسیار روان بیان شده و پیچیدگی خاصی نداره، فضاسازی ها بسیار خوب و تصویریه. غم زیادی توی داستان هست و اطلاعات جالب و البته مختصری هم راجع به تاریخ سیاسی افغانستان داره. خیلی سعی داره غم تحمیل شده از طرف طالبان به مردم افغانستان رو بیان کنه. البته از نظر من غمی که توی کتاب هزار خورشید تابان بود بیشتر بود یا شاید چون قبلاً اون کتاب رو خونده بودم انتظار چنین چیزی رو داشتم و اینطوری حس کردم.ه

This book was very powerful, very disturbing at times, and now I see why Khaled Hosseini is sometimes on lists for school reading, because this has a lot of great themes and nuggets of deep underlying meaning in it. This book was both tragic and uplifting, and it made me feel a range of emotions, frustrated to touched. However, I felt really disconnected from the setting. I was really interested in reading about Afghanistan, but I never felt immersed in that world. At times it seemed unrealistic, which was strange because I've never experienced the culture there, so I have nothing to judge it on. Because much of the story is political, I also was a bit bored at times. The audiobook I was listening to was considerably shorter than the physical novel I have on hand (I suppose I may have accidentally bought an abridged version or something), which was frustrating. I think this book's moral could resonate with a lot of people and the story itself is very unique (even though occasionally hard to understand because of the unfamiliar and under-explained setting).

Outrightly Stunning !!

I just tried to re - read this book, it feels so different amidst the Afghanistan crisis!

A blend of classic, drama, historical fiction, thrill, empathy, with conspicuous themes of guilt and redemption : this book is Khalid Hosseini's tour de force ( the so called masterpiece). The finest fiction book that I've read as of date because one would rarely find a work of fiction that seems so realistic right from its inception to its culmination. The book depicts the fact that time is a greedy thing and can steal all the details for itself; and yet, when the truth is revealed, it can change the course of a whole lifetime. Awe-inspiring is the appropriate word for this book.

I have a penchant for a line from this book: History isn't easy to overcome. Neither is religion.

ببساطة مطلقه : هناك نوع من الأدب يجبرك على أن تكره الكتابه والقراءة
لان هذا النوع يضعك فى مواجهة الواقع القمئ الذي تتجاهله انت بكل خسه

نوع يضعك فى مواجهة معاناة البشر ويجعلك تتضافر معه وتتفاعل مع احداثه
نوع يجعلك اكثر ايجايبيه وتخرج من برجك العاجى لتنزل الى ارض واقع اخترت انت ان تتجاهل وجوده او على اكبر تقدير تتأثر بمشهد تراه امامك على شاشة التلفاز لتنساه بعدها بخمس دقائق وانت تشاهد فيلم او رياضه ما.

هذا العمل يصدمك ويذكرك بانسانيتك المنسيهليقول لك استيقظ فهناك بشر آخرون يعيشون فى هذا العالم .

بشر يستحقون دعمك وعواطفك الانسانيه لتخرجها لهم

هذا العمل كتب عن ارض منسيه وشعب نسى .كتب عن ثقافه انحدرت وتحضر اختفى من امه تعيش فى العالم

هذا العمل لا يذكرك فقط بتجاهلك لانسانيتك بل يتطرق الى مناقشة نقائصنا الانسانيه بطريقه مذهله (حتى لو كانت تشوبها بعض التقليديه )لكنها مذهله

يا ساده فى هذه الارض حضارة اختفت وبشر هلكوا واناس انتهكت آدميتهم لاننا
ببساطه نسينا ما نستحق من اجله الحياه وهى انسانيتنا

" لأجلكَ ألف مرّة وأكثر "

حسنًا هذا العمل من نوعيّة الأعمال التي لا أعرف ماذا أكتب في مراجعتي عنها ، رواية مُنهِكة ، لا تلبث إلّا أن تأخذ نفسًا عميقًا فور الانتهاء منها ، قرأتها بمعدّل أربعين صفحة يوميًا ، أردتّ أن تطول المتعة أكثر ، لكن كان لابدّ لها أن تنتهيَ، دائمًا يخونني عقلي في الكتابة عن عمل بهذه الروعة، حسنًا سأحاول لملمة شتات نفسي ، و كتابة بعض الكلمات ، علّها توفي الكاتب بعض حقّه!

ما هذا الإبداع يا ابن الأفغان!، ممكن نوصف الرواية بأنّها تحفة خالدة، كميّة مشاعر مختلِطة بشكل رهيب، الكاتب دخل في تفاصيل التفاصيل، حتمًا ستجد نفسك هنا ، ستجد نفسك في كثير من المواقف _إلّا إن كنت ترى نفسك مثاليًا_، لا أريد أن أحرقَ أحداثًا على أحد.

الحبكة قويّة جدًا ، و أودّ الإشادة بترجمة" إيهاب عبد الحميد" ، ترجمة أكثر من رائعة ، ستبقى "أفغانستان" حيّة في أذهاننا بهذا العمل.

لن تتسّع المراجعة لكتابة ما أعجبني من اقتباسات ، في النهاية هي رواية رائعة و أرشّحها لجميع عاشقي الأدب_ لو بتحبّ الوصف و التفاصيل اقرأ الرواية ، لو مبتحبّش التفاصيل أبوس ايدك لا تقرب الرواية و كفى_.
بالمناسبة شفت الفيلم و هو سيّء جدًا ، و خالد الحسيني جه روّش و ظهر في آخر مشهد ، الفيلم مريع يا إخواننا

Loving story and dark at the same time.
Interesting to read about culture and what happened to the country.
Thought it was not my book, but I enjoyed it and read through it pretty quickly.

I think Khaled Hosseini has added some personal aspect of his life into the story since he is an Afghan born American writer and so is the narrator of the story.

The plot of the story is dark from the beginning since the backdrop is the tumultuous situation of war-torn Afghanistan but when it is the children who suffer so horribly, it seems to have come with a warning.

The characters have depth and their faults and dilemmas which makes them seem so real.

But the story seems to loosen its hold in events before and after the tragedies. Writing tragedy is a stronghold of Khaled Hosseini but this time and especially around the meeting and saving of the boy by the narrator was too cinematic and convenient to be real.

This book is a very good read and you'll like it more if you haven't read 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' because that book raised the standards too high and 'The Kite Runner' is a pretty downer from it.

این دوازده روز من با این کتاب زندگی کردم , اشک ریختم , خندیدم , به فکر فرو رفتم و یاد این جمله افتادم که زمان معلم خوبیه و هرچیزی رو که در وقت خودش از روزگار یاد نگیری برای تو با جدیت هرچه تمام تر تکرارش میکنه و سخت ازت دوباره امتحان میگیره تا درس زندگیت رو یاد بگیری و از بر بشی , بادبادک باز همین رو برای من یادآوری کرد , داستان امیری که به وقتش از حمایت یک عزیز (حسن) شونه خالی کرد و سالها بعد همون ها رو به پسر اون عزیز(سهراب) پس داد و در آخر رو به سهراب پسر حسن گفت "جانم هزار بار فدایت" و میشد یک دل سیر برای این جمله اشک ریخت برای تمام وقت هایی که مثل امیر توی زندگی مون حرف هامون رو خوردیم و قدم هامون رو برنداشتیم و کار از کار گذشت و نادم و سر خورده منتظر امتحان بعدی زمونه نشستیم , عاشق این کتاب شدم عاشق قلم خالد حسینی عاشق اینکه نمیدونم از ذهنش بوده یا تماما از زندگی واقعی کسی مثل امیر برداشت شده , هرچه که بود به قدری میشد با نوشته اش هم حسی کرد و لمسش کرد که حد نداشت , دلم برای آدم ها سوخت , آدم هایی که به جای دسته بندی های درست با قوم هاشون دسته بندی میشن و سرنوشت هاشون رو به این قومیت ها میبازن و از این دنیای عجیب با دل شکسته پر میکشن و میرن و باقی ماندگان این قوم ها هم در سوگ از دست دادگانشون میشینن و به این فکر میکنن آیا خدایی هست ؟ و بادبادک باز خدا رو در بیمارستان دیده بود , در سختی ها , در نذرها و در سر نبریدن گوسفندها و در لبخند کج سهراب پسر حسن لب شکری که چقدر حس شیرین و قشنگی رو در اخر برای منِ مخاطب به هدیه گذاشته ...

n  NOT A BOOK REVIEWn

n   “I caught one final blurry glimpse of Hassan slumped in the backseat before Baba turned left at the street corner where we’d played marbles so many times.
I stepped back and all I saw was rain through windowpanes that looked like melting silver.”n

It’s hard to talk about a book this favorite without fearing to sound biased. That’s practically the reason I can’t talk about the Harry Potter novels, for I can’t talk about the crystal-clear flaws that clearly without ending up to justify all of them. I read this one quite some time after A Thousand Splendid Suns, which had changed my opinion about Khaled Hosseini entirely, for I was quite apprehensive of a work that highly rated. And frankly enough, I believed he couldn’t get better than that one, however I was proved entirely wrong.

It’s quite unnecessary to relate any of the plot in here, for I’ve known people who boast that they haven’t read a single book in their life know the story. Probably a courtesy to the somehow lesser-known movie… Anyway I had decided to give it a shot after the most unstudious boy from my 11th grade told me that I must, must read this book.

What would be the best way to describe this one? Perhaps a ‘slice of life’ will be the most appropriate, which I last encountered in Ishiguro’s novel, though honestly this one is much closer to me. For it has profuse elements from all that life has to offer, much more than Hosseini’s other novels, which tend to speak on a specific subject microscopically. This one is based on an identical subject too, but the tone of the narrator, i.e. Aamir changes quite frequently and consistently. There’s a subtle tone of humor induced more than often throughout the tale, which also makes it stand apart from the other three Hosseini has written. And it’s one of the few times I personally had felt the unrefined vulnerable and somehow poignant effect of using a first-person narrative. Which doesn’t deal much with interior monologues either, but does its best to state everything the way it is, or was. And the character sketch is the most applaudable part, for I know that it takes something seriously out of the line to create a much less than perfect protagonist, like Aamir. Especially today, when mostly people want their protagonists to be ‘cute’ (I have never known anything quite as ridiculous before I joined Goodreads, sadly).

n   “That was the night I became an insomniac.”n

But let’s stop for a while from the ‘big’ words, and savor the book for the sheer brilliance that it resonates to the heart of a general reader as I. To tell the truth I still feel goosebumps when I read the finishing paragraphs, and I have read the entire novel more than a dozen times. And that’s something. For me, at least.

n   “Only a smile. A tiny thing. A leaf in the woods, shaking in the wake of a startled bird’s flight.”n

On the downside, I don’t think I can read any more of Hosseini without comparing it to the standard of this novel. And I think it best to end my unsolicited rambling now

The novel of Amir and Hassan is a powerfully, well-written story. Amir is the son of a Pashtun aristocrat who lives in Kabul, Afghanistan. Hassan is the son of a Hazara servant, Ali. The boys have a strong friendship growing up. Their favorite activities are Amir reading stories to Hassan, and them competing in the kite flying competition. Their friendship remains despite lies, jealousies, politics, sexism and cruelty. The distance between them does not dim the memories of each other, or the feelings the boys have for each other.

This impressive novel reads like a fictional biography. We witness everything through the eyes of Amir. I want to label it a coming-of-age story, but it is so much more. The narrative is heart warming yet filled with danger. There is the rape of a child, and the violence of war and of cruel rulership written within this fictional account. We feel the friendship and the effect of lies. Amir's father tells him that the greatest sin is theft. He said, There is only one sin. And that sin is theft . . . . When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. (225) This is powerful to me, but not as heart felt as Hassan's comment to Amir, "For you, a thousands times over." This statement expresses his closeness and loyalty to Amir. This powerful story will stay with me for a long time. I recommend it with the warnings listed above.

Page 78. That's the page that made me cry and curl up into a ball. I'll remember page 78 for a long, long time - if not for the rest of my life.

What can I say about The Kite Runner? Hosseini set out on a mission - to portray Afghanistan with accuracy and emotion - and in several scenarios, he succeeded. Amir's progression as a protagonist captured me, and even if he was unlikeable, his growth ultimately won me over. Though the book's magic blew me away in the beginning and dissipated toward the end (not sure exactly why, there was something off-putting about the plot/foreshadowing), I loved the themes ranging from redemption to honor to sacrifice. While I wouldn't say the characters themselves have a place in my heart forever, I can see myself discussing the literary elements of this novel far into the future. I'll end this with a quote that stuck out to me and epitomizes Hosseini's writing style:

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 the middle of the night.