The Kite Runner

By: Khaled Hosseini

Narrated by: Khaled Hosseini

Length: 12 hrs and 1 min

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)

Fantastic, gripping read

I have never written an Audible review before, but was compelled to write this one. I was hesitant to commit to a very lengthy unabridged book, but... wow. I couldn't put it down. I think it's good to warn people, however, that the content is disturbing-- children get brutally hurt, I'll just say that. The themes of loyalty and redemption are what make it so worthwhile. The author is the perfect person to read this work-- his pronunciations and obvious passion for the story really come through. The character development was excellent-- I felt I knew these people. I loved getting a sense of Afghanistan and learning more about the history and traditions. This is a GREAT read.

This worth the effort

Very good book the narrator is exellent and I had to remind myself that it is a story and not a real life account by him. Wonderfull and keeps you going

Wow, such an overwhelming story. Must read.

What can I say, shocking, awe struck, amazed, disgusted, heart breaking, exciting, and so much more. This book kept me wanting more the entire time. The characters are magnetic. The storyline is epic. This book is so good. One of my all time favorites.

Re-read, re-listen and think

I have read the book and listened to the audio so many times. It reminds me that the afghan people have been through son much more than many of us as Americans realize or appreciate. It’s a heartwarming but difficult story.

amazing perspective change

loved the story, the heart break and the author did a great job describing all the places I know from the news with such personal detail.

I never write reviews

Not one time during this audible did I zone out in distraction. I binged and finished it in 3 days because I was spoiled with a couple days of long train rides.
I discovered my new favorite author. I read “A Thousand Splendid Suns” years ago and loved it too. I encourage everyone to read or listen to this book. It was a delight hearing it from the author himself. Thank you for delighting the world with your novels.

A true work of art

A profoundly written, deeply moving book.
It will forever be embedded in my mind. A true work of art.

A Must Read

The Kite Runner has been adapted for Broadway and stars Amir Arison. My son read this book - required reading in his high school English class a number of years ago. He read it from cover to cover. It was the only book he enjoyed… and finished. That in itself was enough for me to download this Audiobook. Very well done. Truly a must read. Thank you for this wonderful story. We also saw the play, which honors the book’s multiple storylines very well and very respectfully.

a very well written story about a jerk

I read this book as a teenager and left it. and listened mean to it as an adult 15 years later, I don't see this as a story about love redemption and forgiveness, I see this as a story about guilt and self-loathing. it reminds me of dostoyevski. amir is the main character and he is written as harboring a lot of negative feelings towards himself, and either reader do not feel any kinship or empathy for him. he treats people like crap. his character growth is not about inner work, it's about him finding external validation by "being good again" by helping out the Sun of his best friend he betrayed in a very terrible way. and him wanting to help his best friend's son feels like he is trying to undo his bad karma rather than having genuine love. and then only feeling affection towards his ex best friend once he is dead and then having all these font memories. which is also very human. but it's annoying. and it's inauthentic and contrived and does not feel good. there are also a lot of coincidental cliches that happen, like finally getting revenge on the bad guy who bullied the main character in his best friend as kids. the parts that I really enjoyed about the book was the Afghan history and hearing the author read his own story. the writing itself is also well written and enjoyable and easy to follow.

Wtf

This book is beautiful but extremely dark and it is worth the read. I will recommend this book to anyone.