Review : The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Tittle       : The Kite Runner
Author    : Khaled Hosseini
Publication date  : April 27th 2004 by Riverhead Trade
Audience  : Adult

The Kite Runner is Khaled Hosseini's debut novel. I actually read A Thousand Splendid Suns (click for review) first, fell in love with his writing and then I decided to read the previous one. The stories are somewhat similar with each other. Both books are set in Afghanistan however, unlike A Thousand Splendid Suns, the main characters of this book are men.

Hasan and Amir were best friends. They always played together, even raised in the same household. Amir was from a rich aristocratic family, while Hasan was only a boy of a servant. Amir was so fond of stories and he used to read them to Hasan, who was illiterate at that time. They were so close to each other, but then one of them show his true color by betraying his best friend.

It's the typical of Hosseini's work to churn with his readers' emotions. The Kite Runner brought me to the state of mind where I wasn't sure if I felt sad, scared or angry because there were a lot of deceits in it. Some of the scene also disturbing, but, since it was set during a war, I thought I had to just swallow it.

If I had to choose between two of Khaled Hosseini's work, my vote goes to A Thousand Splendid Suns because the story is better written and somehow I think it's just more realistic. Having said that, The Kite Runner is still a wonderful debut worth checking out.

As for the rating, it deserves the big 4.

Have you read The Kite Runner? Did you enjoy it?