The Kite Runner

By: Khaled Hosseini

Narrated by: Khaled Hosseini

Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins

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; Hassan, as 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, betrayal, and 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 and Schuster Inc. All Rights Reserved. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon and Schuster Audio Division, Simon and 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)

A visceral emotional experience.

I had heard of this book many times of course. The author's performance in reading it perfectly exhibited what was behind his words. Although never in Afghanistan. I was in the military 30 years prior to 9/11, and followed much of the Afghan experiences after that through my interest in international affairs. this book is a gift to all of us.

Deserves every prize and praise

You might think The Kite Runner is overpraised, if you haven't read it, but this truly moving story is astonishingly humane. It's an important book, too, because it helps us Westerners understand some of what the battered Afghan people have been through and reminds us that, as in most geopolitical conflicts, it's the ordinary people, caught in the middle with no dog in the fight, who pay the greatest price.

wonderful story bravo

wonderful novel it let me view Kabul and Afghanistan before the war and the real culture of the middle east bravo thank you for this delightful listen

Captured my heart!

Although this book was a little rough getting through in the beginning, it suddenly captured my attention and had me enthralled up until the end. I loved it!

The Kite Runner

A great story. The author was very descriptive. This was a moving story. It is too bad that the movie cannot even compare to the book.

heart wrenching redemption

My father told me about this recording and that he cried several times. we all need to remember the people affected by cultural restraint, hate, and war. The human heart and connections to each other need to be our salvation.

Never heard an audio book

I had never heard an audio book before and was very skeptical about it, but this book was magical and know I won’t hesitate to listen to many more. Great narration, good pace and performance. Loved it!

Amazing

I’m sad it ended. So I started it again. A gripping story told by a great storyteller.

Wow

Prior to this book, I was not a fan of audio books. I never believed that someone reading a book to me would be worthwhile. This audio changed my view. I was going on a long drive, and a colleague suggested trying Audible. The Kite Runner was the first book I downloaded. It kept me enthralled for the entire trip. It is well read, the character voices are consistent and appropriate. I would highly recommend this audio version of the book. It is better than the movie.

A story of the haves and have nots

Khaled Hosseini weaves a tale of two lifelong friends. There's love, betrayal, lies, deceit, and restoration in this story from the streets of Kabul and across the ocean to California. That's all I'm going to divulge.