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29 Local Warehouse Literature- A to Z

The Kite Runner

by Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner Cover

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Make this your next book club selection and everyone saves.

Get 15% off when you order 5 or more of this title for your book club.

Simply enter the coupon code HOSSEINIKITE at checkout.

This offer does not apply to eBook purchases. This offer applies to only one downloadable audio per purchase.

The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father's servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption, and it is also about the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.

The first Afghan novel to be written in English, The Kite Runner tells a sweeping story of family, love, and friendship against a backdrop of history that has not been told in fiction before, bringing to mind the large canvases of the Russian writers of the nineteenth century. But just as it is old-fashioned in its narration, it is contemporary in its subject—the devastating history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years. As emotionally gripping as it is tender, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful debut.

PICTURE A BOOK CHANGING LIVES. NOW MAKE IT HAPPEN. Starting June 15, 2010 through August 31, 2010, visit this campaign page and join the “Hosseini” group--and find out how you can make a difference!

Watch a video about the campaign here:

Watch a video from Khaled Hosseini introducing his online book group discussion where readers can ask him questions through his website here: ...

Review:

"Hosseini's book is more than a typical coming-of-age story. Rather it is about personal salvation, betrayal, and redemption." Albuquerque Journal

Review:

"Rather than settle for a coming-of-age or travails-of-immigrants story, Hosseini has folded them both into this searing spectacle of hard-won personal salvation. All this, and a rich slice of Afghan culture too: irresistible." Kirkus Reviews

Review:

"Brilliant...both as a political chronicle and a deeply personal tale about how childhood choices affect our adult lives." Publishers Weekly, starred review

Review:

"A wonderful work.... This is one of those unforgettable stories that stay with you for years. All the great themes of literature and of life are the fabric of this extraordinary novel: love, honor, guilt, fear redemption.... It is so powerful that for a long time everything I read after seemed bland." Isabel Allende

Review:

"In The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini gives us a vivid and engaging story that reminds us how long his people have been struggling to triumph over the forces of violence — forces that continue to threaten them even today." New York Times

Review:

"A haunting morality tale." USA Today

Review:

"His passionate story of betrayal and redemption is framed by Afghanistan's tragic recent past.... Rather than settle for a coming-of-age or travails-of-immigrants story, Hosseini has folded them both into this searing spectacle of hard-won personal salvation. All this, and a rich slice of Afghan culture too: irresistible." Kirkus Reviews

Review:

"Like Gone with the Wind, this extraordinary first novel locates the personal struggles of everyday people in the terrible sweep of history." People

Review:

"To many Western readers, [Afghanistan's] can be an exhausting and bewildering history. But Hosseini extrudes it into an intimate account of family and friendship, betrayal and salvation that requires no atlas or translation to engage and enlighten us." Washington Post

Review:

"A beautiful novel...a song in a new key. Hosseini is an exhilaratingly original writer with a gift for irony and a gentle, perceptive heart...one of the most lyrical, moving and unexpected novels of the year." Denver Post

Review:

"By page seven...I was sold, and hoped only that the book would continue to hold me in the same embrace. And embrace it does — or better said, encompass. Hosseini does tenderness and terror, California dream and Kabul nightmare with equal aplomb." The Globe and Mail

Review:

"[A] passionate story about guilt, honour and forgiveness, enlivened both by its capacity to offer a valuable insider's view into a country much in the news, and by its wisdom about how life is all about the choices we make." Literary Review

Synopsis:

The timely and critically acclaimed debut novel that's becoming a word-of-mouth phenomenon...

Synopsis:

An epic tale of fathers and sons, of friendship and betrayal, that takes us from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy to the atrocities of the present.

The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father's servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption, and it is also about the power of fathers over sons-their love, their sacrifices, their lies.

The first Afghan novel to be written in English, The Kite Runner tells a sweeping story of family, love, and friendship against a backdrop of history that has not been told in fiction before, bringing to mind the large canvases of the Russian writers of the nineteenth century. But just as it is old-fashioned in its narration, it is contemporary in its subject-the devastating history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years. As emotionally gripping as it is tender, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful debut.

Video

About the Author

Khaled Hosseini was born and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan, the son of a diplomat whose family received political asylum in the United States in 1980. He now lives in Northern California, and is a physician. The Kite Runner is his first novel.

What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 52 comments:

girlymeyers, September 16, 2011 (view all comments by girlymeyers)
This book is one that describes childhood fun and dreams with shame and disloyalty. Then, later of regret and trying to make amends to a long lost friend. It will make you cry, laugh and keep you turning each page. I throughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys a magnificent read.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(5 of 7 readers found this comment helpful)
bookgirl94, March 14, 2011 (view all comments by bookgirl94)
This book was amazing. People had told me how good it was and I had put off reading it, but I'm so glad that I read it. It was powerful and wonderfully written.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(6 of 12 readers found this comment helpful)
BerlinerinPoet, January 31, 2011 (view all comments by BerlinerinPoet)
I was late to find this gem from the literary world, but I absolutely loved it. Hosseini's touching style and engaging writing opens a new world to the western reader. It brings a humanizing element to a part of the world little known to us. I read it in less than a week, due to the compelling nature of the friendship between the two boy protagonists. The story will break your heart, but it is unforgettable.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(6 of 12 readers found this comment helpful)
View all 52 comments

Product Details

ISBN:
9781594480003
Author:
Hosseini, Khaled
Publisher:
Riverhead Trade
Subject:
General
Subject:
General Fiction
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Copyright:
Edition Description:
Mass Market
Publication Date:
20040427
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
from 12
Language:
English
Pages:
400
Dimensions:
8.19x5.06x1.01 in. .71 lbs.
Age Level:
from 18

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Related Aisles

The Kite Runner Used Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$2.95 In Stock
Product details 400 pages Riverhead Books - English 9781594480003 Reviews:
"Review" by , "Hosseini's book is more than a typical coming-of-age story. Rather it is about personal salvation, betrayal, and redemption."
"Review" by , "Rather than settle for a coming-of-age or travails-of-immigrants story, Hosseini has folded them both into this searing spectacle of hard-won personal salvation. All this, and a rich slice of Afghan culture too: irresistible."
"Review" by , "Brilliant...both as a political chronicle and a deeply personal tale about how childhood choices affect our adult lives."
"Review" by , "A wonderful work.... This is one of those unforgettable stories that stay with you for years. All the great themes of literature and of life are the fabric of this extraordinary novel: love, honor, guilt, fear redemption.... It is so powerful that for a long time everything I read after seemed bland."
"Review" by , "In The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini gives us a vivid and engaging story that reminds us how long his people have been struggling to triumph over the forces of violence — forces that continue to threaten them even today."
"Review" by , "A haunting morality tale."
"Review" by , "His passionate story of betrayal and redemption is framed by Afghanistan's tragic recent past.... Rather than settle for a coming-of-age or travails-of-immigrants story, Hosseini has folded them both into this searing spectacle of hard-won personal salvation. All this, and a rich slice of Afghan culture too: irresistible."
"Review" by , "Like Gone with the Wind, this extraordinary first novel locates the personal struggles of everyday people in the terrible sweep of history."
"Review" by , "To many Western readers, [Afghanistan's] can be an exhausting and bewildering history. But Hosseini extrudes it into an intimate account of family and friendship, betrayal and salvation that requires no atlas or translation to engage and enlighten us."
"Review" by , "A beautiful novel...a song in a new key. Hosseini is an exhilaratingly original writer with a gift for irony and a gentle, perceptive heart...one of the most lyrical, moving and unexpected novels of the year."
"Review" by , "By page seven...I was sold, and hoped only that the book would continue to hold me in the same embrace. And embrace it does — or better said, encompass. Hosseini does tenderness and terror, California dream and Kabul nightmare with equal aplomb."
"Review" by , "[A] passionate story about guilt, honour and forgiveness, enlivened both by its capacity to offer a valuable insider's view into a country much in the news, and by its wisdom about how life is all about the choices we make."
"Synopsis" by , The timely and critically acclaimed debut novel that's becoming a word-of-mouth phenomenon...
"Synopsis" by , An epic tale of fathers and sons, of friendship and betrayal, that takes us from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy to the atrocities of the present.

The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father's servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption, and it is also about the power of fathers over sons-their love, their sacrifices, their lies.

The first Afghan novel to be written in English, The Kite Runner tells a sweeping story of family, love, and friendship against a backdrop of history that has not been told in fiction before, bringing to mind the large canvases of the Russian writers of the nineteenth century. But just as it is old-fashioned in its narration, it is contemporary in its subject-the devastating history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years. As emotionally gripping as it is tender, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful debut.

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