The Kite Runner Illustrated Edition | 
| Author: Khaled Hosseini
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $16.76
You Save: $13.19 (44%)
New (33) Used (14) Collectible (2) from $15.43
Avg. Customer Rating:  23 reviews
Sales Rank: 8683
Media: Hardcover
Edition: Ill
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 1594489602
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9781594489600
ASIN: 1594489602
Publication Date: October 4, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 18 more reviews...
 What a wonderful book! June 13, 2008
I couldn't put this book down! I was so emotionally involved in this book. There were times I couldn't stop reading, yet there were times I didn't want to read anymore. There's no way to predict what's going to happen next. I cried like a baby while I read this book...I felt like I was in 6th grade reading Where the Red Fern Grows again. READ THIS BOOK!
AN INCREDIBLY HONEST STORY OF CRUELTY, GUILT, & FORGIVENESS June 9, 2008
One of the best books I've read in years. The author is adept at making you feel rage, disgust, fear, pity, sadness (at one point, I was outright sobbing).
The first third of the book is really hard to read; it was so depressing that I didn't know if I could finish it. But the back cover promised it was a story of redemption, so I plugged on--even though I didn't believe it was possible for Amir to be redeemed. I found myself appalled at his cowardice and his mental cruelty toward Hassan, which seemed to spring from both jealousy and a sense of superiority.
Early in the novel, the young Amir learns what irony means. It's not until near the end of the book that we realize irony was at play all along--Amir felt his blood status made him superior to Hassan; he later learns that they have the same father, the same blood running through their veins.
Khaled Hosseini crafts a wonderful villain. His brutally honest portrayal of Amir's thoughts (and his resurgent guilt) is something few authors could describe so intimately. His creation of the sadomasochist Assef was equally expert.
Because this book is set in today's Afghanistan, the Taliban of course plays a role in the story. Hosseini's descriptions of how this fanatic group has destroyed his country and left its citizens filled with blind dread of the Taliban shows how ignorant Americans are when we say or think that all Muslims are extremists who support terrorism. Like us, they are human beings seeking love, acceptance, friendship, happiness, and, sometimes, forgiveness.
Awesome story telling with lots of twists June 2, 2008
I loved this story. It is well written and kept me very interested. I could hardly put it down. The story itself is realistic in a way that's not predictable and at the same time down to earth. The emotions seem very real and the way that children see the world and how we grow into who we are as adults-I was so impressed. Definately would recommend this book. It also softens your heart to the plight and people of Afghanistan. The people that live there hate the Taliban as much and probably more so than we do. I actually learned a lot about the culture from this book. Also the book itself, this version, is very nice. The pages are pretty and the illustrations add a lot to the character.
 Just awful! May 7, 2008
0 out of 5 found this review helpful
This book was just awful. Boring, and without an interesting plot, the whole book can be summed up in four words: "Afghanistan really, REALLY sucks!"
One of the most beautiful tales you will ever read March 25, 2008
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
I rarely re-read any books, I've only re-read maybe three or four in my entire life; Khaled Hosseini's first novel, The Kite Runner, is one of those books. Set in the country of Afghanistan, The Kite Runner tells the tale of the heartache of a nation at war and the guilt of a man who must live with the terrible sins of his past. The story weaves in and out of the present time in 2001, effortlessly gliding back and forth from past to present, showing off the true creative genius of the author. The story centers on Amir, a young man who grew up in Kabul Afghanistan before the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1979. Amir lives a privileged life; the son of a wealthy, respected, and well liked man named Baba, he struggles throughout his young life to find the favor of his distant father. His best friend is Hassan, the son of Baba's servant and lifelong friend Ali. Hassan is a Hazara, a member of an ethnic minority which has been long been persecuted by the Pashtun majority, of which Amir and Baba are a part, but despite the historical rivalry between these two groups Amir and Hassan grow up as friends, going to see westerns like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and The Magnificent Seven (Special Edition), reading stories in the branches of a fruit tree in the front lawn, and flying kites in the cold winter months.
Amir's first words as a child were 'Baba,' while Hassan's were 'Amir,' and from the very beginning of this tragic story those two words set the stage for every action these two characters make. Everything Amir does is to win the favor and affection of his father, while Hassan's goal is to do the same with Amir. This ultimately leads to Amir betraying Hassan in the worst way imaginable. For the rest of his life Amir wanders though life wondering 'what if?' and trying hopelessly to live down the endless streams of guilt and regret which plague him from the moment the act is committed onwards.
I'll be completely honest, I was forced, at least at first, to read this book. I had to read it for an English class and otherwise would never have thought to pick up a book about Afghanistan, no matter how popular it may be, if not for my teacher making it required reading. However from the opening pages I could not put this book down, and even when I finished it I could not get the story out of my head. This story is the most beautify troubling story I've read in a long time, a tale which will haunt your heart and soul for ages to come and stain the inside of your eyelids with the pictures of death, hope, despair and love which are painted onto the pages of this book as well as any canvas.
The Kite Runner is a masterpiece of epic proportions, one that will forever remain the standard by which I judge books of this kind. Hosseini is truly a great writer, with his follow up book A Thousand Splendid Suns providing an even more depressing look at the nation that is Afghanistan. One can only hope that he has many more stories to come.
Re-read value; EXTREMLY high.
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