The Kite Runner Audio CD – CD, May 21, 2013

*SPOILERS AHEAD* -the quotes are all from the book and this review is based on the audio book read by the author.-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I only started the audio book yesterday and I couldn't turn it off until now because I finished it a few seconds ago. It is the first time I read a non-British or non-American novel and to tell the truth, I listened to the audio book without having high expectations since I knew this novel was a best seller and I like to stay away from best sellers because they are, most of the time, a disappointment.However, this is not the case. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini it is certainly the most delicious piece of literature I've had the pleasure to lay my eyes on (or listen to), an outstanding novel that will be remembered for many generations to come...it will always be in my mind and heart, to say the least.I have tears in my eyes right now and my heart is swelling with overflowing emotions. The suspense made my heart skip many times, but the ending left a satisfied smile plastered on my face and I don't know what else to say because my mind is busy remembering those precious and cherished times from the main character's past as if they were my own memories. I feel like I went to another world and lived Amir's life and came back to this life, wondering about my own life too.The kite runner was so good, so sad, so real. There were no perfect characters and no imperfect characters. They all were human, they were despicable, they were lovely. I read this book or I should say, I listened to this book like when I eat my favorite cake: I can't stopped eating it and the only most important thing in this world is that small moment of pleasure, nothing else matters.Many people were mad at the main character because they thought he was heartless or committed many mistakes. We have to keep in mind that Amir was only a kid longing for his father's love, so everything that mattered to him was to make his father to look at him as a dear son, this just shows us the huge impact a father/mother's treatment can make to their children's lives. Although Amir was only a kid, that's no excuse for the cruel things he did to his best friend, the ever so kind and gentle soul, Hassan. His love and loyalty towards Amir never wavered even though he knew about his betrayal and everything he's done. He always loved him unconditionally. Hassan was my favorite character, he reminded me of Petey from another great book "Map of the harbor Islands".I cried for Hassan as if he was my best friend, I even wished to meet him, to be greeted one day by a man with such a pure soul and gentle smile like his. I admit I was mad at Amir many times for the things he did or I should better say, for the things he didn't do for Hassan, like rescuing him from that horrible time..." on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975" ...I wasn't mad at the fact that he was afraid, he was only a kid so it's understandable but I was mad at how good he was at pretending he didn't know nothing afterwards or that he was worried more about the blue kite than about his friend's condition, or so I thought.I wondered many times how I would react in Amir's place...that's why I couldn't hate him like others do...because he was just human and humans have feelings. We are selfish sometimes, we feel jealousy and envy, we are cowards or at least have something we are afraid of, we lie, we steal, we hurt, we love. Life becomes beautiful where love is involved. I believe that we should live our lives in love with the world and the people in it and not waste our short life by hating and rejecting people just because they are different. This book dealt with many issues of hate, status, politics, religion, poverty, wars, sins, the importance of your bloodline but most importantly, the importance of redemption and love over everything else."...there is a God, there always has been. I see him here, in the eyes of the people in this [hospital] corridor of desperation. This is the real house of God, this is where those who have lost God will find Him... there is a God, there has to be, and now I will pray, I will pray that He will forgive that I have neglected Him all of these years, forgive that I have betrayed, lied, and sinned with impunity only to turn to Him now in my hour of need. I pray that He is as merciful, benevolent, and gracious as His book says He is."Amir discovered later on that his life has been like a lie because his father kept a secret from everybody...this cost the suffering of many people, including himself. Amir also made many people suffer because of his lies and betrayal..."like father, like son""But better to be hurt by the truth than comforted with a lie."Amir suffered for the things he did, his conscience didn't leave him alone during all his life. He physically and mentally grew up and changed from a selfish, afraid boy to a responsible, valiant man. I forgive him because I also love him. :)"A boy who won't stand up for himself becomes a man who can't stand up to anything."Let me quote another great character, Rahim(oh! another good thing is that all the characters here are important and we learn something from all of them):"A man who has no conscience, no goodness, does not suffer."..."Forgive yourself"He said this to Amir because Amir always thought of himself as unworthy, despicable, dirty, a sinner."When guilt leads to good"Amir's guiltiness lead him to discover who he really was and what he really wanted. I love the fact that he risked his life to save Hassan's son as a way to redeem his sins, as a way to ask for forgiveness and he changed for him, suffered for him, felt for him. I was so sad for Hassan's son, Sohrab, just to think that many children has gone through the same things as him makes me shiver from terror.I'm afraid to say it has become my favorite book because The Count of Monte Cristo remained as my favorite book of all time for many years but now that I think about it, The Kite Runner is more realistic and touched me deeply on so many levels unlike the former which is a bit unrealistic but both novels are magnificently created for greatness.There was not a single time I felt bored or tired. It is not a short novel, thus I'm amazed that I finished it so fast, I wasn't even aware of it, for my mind was glued to the story. I will listen to it again and buy the book because I want to run my fingers through the pages and re-read my favorite parts. And as you can see, the top-notch writing was perfect and so was the unfolding of the story. The characters captivated me the most, though.And finally, I loved this small story written by little Amir:"That same night, I wrote my first short story. It took me thirty minutes. It was a dark little tale about a man who found a magic cup and learned that if he wept into the cup, his tears turned into pearls. But even though he had always been poor, he was a happy man and rarely shed a tear. So he found ways to make himself sad so that his tears could make him rich. As the pearls piled up, so did his greed grow. The story ended with the man sitting on a mountain of pearls, knife in hand, weeping helplessly into the cup with his beloved wife's slain body in his arms."I tell ya, this book is AMAZING!

At once dark and illuminating, contemporary and historical, opaque and transparent, The Kite Runner is a shimmering coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of the last thirty years of Afghan history. Weaving a rich tapestry of literature using many brilliant and contrasting threads, Khaled Hosseini tells the complex tale of a young Afghan-American at conflict with both himself and his environment.The Kite Runner is most importantly about the cracks and fissures that inevitably develop in human relationships, whether between a boy and his stoic father, a young man and his new wife and eccentric in-laws, or a deeply troubled boy-man and his best friend. Indeed, human frailty is on full display in what is already regarded as a classic of contemporary Afghan-American literature.Clearly a gifted novelist, Hosseini both entertains and edifies in this his first major work. Excellent character development, vivid imagery, and a flowing, unrestrained style characterize the author's impressive literary debut. He infuses his characters with such passion, his scenes and dialogue with such feeling, and his story with so many twists and turns. Just as surely as we experience Hosseini's considerable gifts as a writer, though, we struggle to warm up to The Kite Runner's deeply flawed narrator, Amir.Early in Amir's recounting of the events that shape his life, we learn that he suffers from many of the same insecurities we all experience while growing into adulthood. During his early years in Kabul he struggles to gain his larger-than-life father's affection. In Amir's mind, he never quite measures up to his father's lofty expectations. Instead, his 'Baba' remains cold and distant, and only when Amir wins a sort of aerial combat with kites known as 'kite running' - a custom in the wealthier Kabul suburbs we learn - does Amir finally gain his father's approval. In the process, though, Amir betrays his best friend (and servant), Hassan, and remains stubbornly at war with himself.Hassan, perhaps the most striking of Hosseini's characters, embodies the many qualities and attributes Amir admires. A warm, gentle soul without an ounce of guile, Hassan repeatedly demonstrates his loyalty to his Agha (master), Amir. While valuing his companionship, Amir secretly resents Hassan's innocence and the way in which he seemingly glides through life while easily earning praise from Baba. Amir rewards Hassan's unflinching commitment by treating him at times as a brother and at times as a rival. Amir subjects Hassan to a kind of benign cruelty, one moment manipulating him, the next offering him his love.Interestingly, by birth Hassan is relegated to the lower tier of Afghanistan's caste system. The product of a sexual liaison between Baba and a peasant woman, Hassan is born hare-lipped and poor - two strikes in a rigid, intolerant Afghan society. Yet, he is infinitely rich in so many ways. Hosseini imbues Hassan with those qualities that make the Afghan people great - strength, pride, and resiliency. Indeed, the remainder of Hassan's short life in Afghanistan and subsequently in Pakistan parallels the fall of a proud society of Afghan people - first to the Soviets in the 1980s and then to the Taliban in the 1990s.By contrast, Hosseini's Amir is a study in contradictions. While Amir persists in reminding Hassan of his low station in Afghan society, he helps him learn to read and write. Nevertheless, throughout the story the two remain true to the Cain and Abel roles to which Hosseini assigns them. Amir eventually leaves Hassan to a brutal assault at the hands of the Faustian Assef. He then enters his adulthood regretting this betrayal of the one individual whose love for him was unconditional.The Kite Runner is first and foremost a story of redemption... of a boy's becoming a man, recognizing only once it is lost all he had in a unique sibling relationship. Amir ultimately atones for his youthful failings. By saving Sohrab, Hassan's son, from Assef and then the hopelessness of life in a Pakistani orphanage, Amir eventually rewards Hassan for his loyalty, sacrifice and love.Amir eventually adopts Sohrab, and the circle is complete. Sohrab will ultimately enjoy the many privileges that his father was denied both by Amir and an unforgiving Afghan society.Hosseini crafts a beautiful story, both entertaining and instructive. Through the dual lens of Afghan politics and the experiences of an extended Afghan family we learn so much about the Aghan people and their heritage. In this masterpiece, the reader is taken on a magical journey from Afghanistan to America (and back).Since as a nation we remain deeply invested in Afghanistan, the author's timing could not have been better. Indeed, Hosseini helps us gain an appreciation for this remote country and its culture during yet another turbulent period in its modern history.A superb first novel! We can only wonder what this magnificent author will do for an encore...