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The Kite Runner  By  cover art

The Kite Runner

By: Khaled Hosseini
Narrated by: Khaled Hosseini
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Editorial review


By Seth Hartman, Audible Editor

THE KITE RUNNER CONTINUES TO SOAR

Like many of my favorite titles, The Kite Runner came into my life when I was in middle school. The novel was sold to me as a coming-of-age tale set in a changing Afghanistan. While that is technically a solid gist, author Khaled Hosseini’s masterwork is so much more than that.

This story centers around Amir, a sensitive boy born into a wealthy Afghan family. The Kite Runner begins in the year 1973, a very tumultuous time in Afghanistan. Amir’s upbringing in the idyllic Kabul region is undercut by the rumblings of political upheaval. As the government faced a swift coup d’etat by the king’s ambitious cousin, Mohammed Daoud Khan, wealthy citizens all over Afghanistan fled as quickly as possible. Amid all of this turmoil, Amir is separated from his servant and friend Hassan after the latter is sexually assaulted. While Amir’s family would escape inside an oil tanker, Hassan is left behind as the revolution takes hold. A good novel would build up to this massive climax and leave it there, but The Kite Runner takes a much more nuanced approach. Amir experiences this trauma from a young age and is then suddenly dumped in America, forced to cope with survivor’s guilt while adjusting to a totally new culture. His journey then becomes a bid to accept his surroundings, grow into the man he hopes to be, and address his checkered past.

I have always been a huge fan of historical fiction. Something about experiencing key moments in time through an intimate perspective just works for me. Listening to the audiobook, Khaled Hosseini's narration adds yet another layer of context to the story. Imagine my surprise, then, when The Kite Runner pulled away from Afghanistan and introduced a culture shock element to the plot. The beauty of this title comes not just from its intricate setting descriptions and steady character development, but also from this tonal shift. This title has something for everyone, but is especially relevant for people who have dealt with a lot of change in their lives.

I will never forget where I was when I first experienced this section of The Kite Runner. I bought the book in the airport for an international flight and cracked it open while waiting for my flight to board. By the time I was on the plane, I was an absolute puddle. My young brain struggled to comprehend such an extreme level of social unrest and the human cost of political upheaval. Despite these unpleasant feelings, I was ready to dive deeper into this beautiful yet demanding story. This is not a tale about bravery, or defying odds, or even revenge in the traditional sense. This is a story about one man’s hope to redeem himself in the eyes of his oldest friend, and if that is not possible, at least do some good in the world for once.

Continue reading Seth's review >

Publisher's summary

Taking us from Afghanistan in the final days of its monarchy to the present, The Kite Runner is the unforgettable and beautifully told story of the friendship between two boys growing up in Kabul. Raised in the same household and sharing the same wet nurse, Amir and Hassan grow up in different worlds: Amir is the son of a prominent and wealthy man, while Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant, is a Hazara - a shunned ethnic minority. Their intertwined lives, and their fates, reflect the eventual tragedy of the world around them. When Amir and his father flee the country for a new life in California, Amir thinks that he has escaped his past. And yet he cannot leave the memory of Hassan behind him.

The Kite Runner is a novel about friendship and betrayal, and about the price of loyalty. It is about the bonds between fathers and sons, and the power of fathers over sons - their love, their sacrifices, and their lies. Written against a backdrop of history that has not been told in fiction before, The Kite Runner describes the rich culture and beauty of a land in the process of being destroyed. But through the devastation, Khaled Hosseini offers hope for redemption.

©2003 Khaled Hosseini (P)2003 Simon & Schuster Inc. All Rights Reserved. AUDIOWORKS. is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division. Simon & Schuster Inc.

Critic reviews

  • Alex Award Winner, 2004

"A beautiful novel...ranks among the best-written and most provocative stories of the year." (The Denver Post)
"Powerful first novel...tells a story of fierce cruelty and fierce yet redeeming love." (The New York Times)

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What listeners say about The Kite Runner

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Loved it!

This is a great audiobook! Such an amazing touching story and I loved it so much!

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Performance

I loved hearing the author read his own work. His voice captured my attention. There are many words in this novel that I would never know how to pronounce. It was great hearing the words spoken correctly.

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Absorbing

The Kite Runner shows the reader the life of an Afganny boy of privileged. His triumphs, his failures, his all too human pettiness. When war changes the politics of his land and the pivileged lose their wealth and power, we see him grow into manhood as he watches his father cope with poverty in the same dignified way he handled prosperity. It's a familiar story of spiritual growth that, at the same time, teaches the reader about an unfamiliar country in turmoil on a very human level. Highly recommend.

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Wonderful Story!!

I agree with the readers that call this a beautiful story. The fact that the narrator is the same as the author makes it even better. Some readers have called the main charcter weak; I call him human. Rather than glossing over the weak part it gives both parts -- good and bad and makes you appreciate the good even more. I liked the historical parts of the story as well as the actual plot.

This is a book I would recommend to others.

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    4 out of 5 stars

a great audio reading

a good story of understand the old time,
it worths its value and helps reading easier.

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    4 out of 5 stars

A Tough Start with a Thoughtful End

Starting out I thought this audiobook was going to be one of the most painful listens I've had. I was annoyed by the narrator's attempt to disguise his accent and developed the firm belief that no author should narrate their own work. Once I made it through the first few hours of the book, I quickly got over the poor narration as I was engaged by the story. The story tests the limits of not only the charaters but the listener. I found the story and characters enchanting and the insight into Afghan culture post and during Taliban captivating. Four stars due to the narration.

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INTERESTING

Great story telling and reality of life in war torn Afghanistan combine to offer a good read. A nice break from the murder and crime mysteries, political and comedy books I enjoy.

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5 stars all the way around

I loved that i learned about culture. The story was amazing and made tear up several times which is a first.

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I actually lost sleep

It was so hard to stop listening to this story, I binged on it and finished it in a fraction of the time it usually takes me to finish a book of this length. Though my heart broke more times than I can count, this beautifully written story and its deeply developed characters will stay with me for a long time. Thank you, Khalid Hosseini.

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Powerful Story

Very powerful story that is well written and well performed. This is the book that got me hooked on Audible.

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