Message from Dean - May 8th 2007
I am currently testing out a new version of the APF Bridge Component - If you notice any errors within this demo store please drop me a line.
List Price: $29.95Amazon.com's Price: $18.79 You Save: $11.16 (37%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping.
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9781594489600
Edition: Ill
ISBN: 1594489602
Label: Riverhead Hardcover
Manufacturer: Riverhead Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 352
Publication Date: October 04, 2007
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
Studio: Riverhead Hardcover
Alternate Versions: Click to Display
Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category:
Editorial Review:
Amazon.com Review:
In his debut novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini accomplishes what very few contemporary novelists are able to do. He manages to provide an educational and eye-opening account of a country's political turmoil--in this case, Afghanistan--while also developing characters whose heartbreaking struggles and emotional triumphs resonate with readers long after the last page has been turned over. And he does this on his first try.
The Kite Runner follows the story of Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. As children in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early 1970s, the boys are inseparable. They spend idyllic days running kites and telling stories of mystical places and powerful warriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of their relationship forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could have ever predicted. Even after Amir and his father flee to America, Amir remains haunted by his cowardly actions and disloyalty. In part, it is these demons and the sometimes impossible quest for forgiveness that bring him back to his war-torn native land after it comes under Taliban rule. ("...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.")
Some of the plot's turns and twists may be somewhat implausible, but Hosseini has created characters that seem so real that one almost forgets that The Kite Runner is a novel and not a memoir. At a time when Afghanistan has been thrust into the forefront of America's collective consciousness ("people sipping lattes at Starbucks were talking about the battle for Kunduz"), Hosseini offers an honest, sometimes tragic, sometimes funny, but always heartfelt view of a fascinating land. Perhaps the only true flaw in this extraordinary novel is that it ends all too soon. --Gisele Toueg
Product Description:
A deluxe collector's edition of the phenomenally bestselling The Kite Runner, filled with striking and memorable photographs that bring Khaled Hosseini's compelling story to life.
Since its publication in 2003, The Kite Runner has shipped over four million copies and spent more than two years on the New York Times bestseller list. Taking us from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy through the horrific rule of the Taliban, The Kite Runner is the heartbreaking story of the unlikely and inseparable friendship between a wealthy Afghan boy and the son of his father's servant, both of whom are caught in the tragic sweep of history. Published in the aftermath of America's invasion of Afghanistan, Khaled Hosseini's haunting writing brought a part of the world to vivid life that was previously unknown.
Now this beautifully produced, collectible hardcover enhances Khaled Hosseini's story with unforgettable color and black-and-white photographs of the people of Afghanistan and their surroundings, further illustrating the world in which the story is set and heightening the already powerful experience of reading this incredible book.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
This book was so well written. Shocking, surprising, emotional to say the least, risk taking, adventure, strong, strong emotions. I read this not knowing anything about the book and could nott put this book down. Get it! Read it! You will not be dissapointed in the least. Then read his other book, A thousand splendid suns! We want More Khaled!
Rating: -
It's an excellent STORY that merges fact and fiction expertly while invoking deep human feeling. I initially heard about this book via a BBC broadcast and bought it off Amazon. It was a great buy - the story itself reminded me of reading John Steinbeck's "The Pearl" when I was a teenager. I later bought the movie as well but was utterly disappointed. Key areas of the book are left out including the bathroom scene (readers will know to what I am referring).
Recommendation: Buy the book - forget the movie.
Rating: -
This is probably one of the most IMPORTANT books I've read in a long time, mainly because of the knowledge it has to offer about Afghanistan and its culture. The story, however, speaks for itself, and I would not want to downplay the writing by focusing on the way it opens the readers eyes as to what is and has been going on in Afghanistan, as it does much more than that. Some will tell you this story is about Afghan culture and the destruction of its beauty, while others will tell you it is a story of friendship or sin and redemption. Really, though, it is a story about contradicting forces: the beauty of a culture and the ruin of its country, the gravity of sin and the meaning of atonement, the sincerity of friendship and the devastation of its loss. The brilliance of this novel is not just Hosseini's ability to bring a culture to life, but his ability to depict the human condition at its best and worse simultaneously, working with opposing and disconnected ideas to finally bring them ... Read More
Rating: -
The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, is like an Afghani version of Forrest Gump. Through the eyes of the main character, Amir, we experience the history of Afghanistan, from the 1960s through the present. In contrast to Forrest, however, who accomplished great things despite a handicap, Amir is born into a privileged, upper-class family and yet he struggles his whole life to accomplish anything of significance.
Amir's struggles stem from numerous sources: guilt over the death of his mother, confusion about his role in a multi-class society, and worry about winning his father's approval are some of the sources. Amir is an outsider, struggling to find his place in a fractured society. It takes him over 40 years to make peace with himself and to honor those who suffered as a result of inactions that had been haunting him for so long.
The changes to Afghani society described in the book are too drastic for me to fully comprehend. I was able, however, to relate to Amir ... Read More
Rating: -
Best book I've ever read. The characters are so real, you could almost touch them. By turns heart-wrenching and hopeful.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
|
Amazon Store 