Did I finish the Book or did the Book finish me? Eine sehr gut geschriebene, tragische Geschichte über den afghanischen Amir und seine Familie. Eine Geschichte über die Geschichte von Afghanistan. Am Anfang hatte ich Schwierigkeiten rein zu kommen, aber kurz vor der Hälfte hat es mich gefesselt und nicht mehr losgelassen. Es passiert so viel einmal (Krieg, Familiendrama,…) und dabei ist eine Sache tragischer als die andere. Ein Buch welches man im Herzen spürt, aber gelesen haben sollte.

I was really intrigued about this book and to find out more about historical Afghanistan. Khaled Hosseini writes in such a beautiful and authentic way. It feels kind of manipulative though that we are supposed to sympathize and feel for Amir the whole time, when from a more objective point of view, he does do some bad stuff. I feel like this is a book I would have loved to read in a book club setting or smt similar to discuss my thoughts

Ein Buch, das weh tut, das manchmal nur sehr schwer erträglich ist in der Grausamkeit der Dinge, die darin geschehen. Und ein Buch, was man überhaupt nicht mehr weglegen kann, weil man wissen MUSS, wie es mit den Protagonisten weitergeht. An einem gewissen Punkt musste ich mich vergewissern, dass es keine autobiografische Geschichte ist, da es sich nicht mehr wie Fiktion anfühlte. Was einem das Buch aber vor allem sehr sehr eindrücklich vor Augen führt, ist das, was in Afghanistan (und vielen anderen Ländern mit ähnlicher Geschichte) verloren ging. Was die jahrzehntelangen Kriege und Bürgerkriege zerstört und vernichtet haben, Heimat und Tradition und das Selbstverständnis eines ganzen Volkes ausgerottet. Bzw. mehrerer Völker... Angesichts der aktuellen Flüchtlingstragödie fast eine Pflichtlektüre für mehr Menschlichkeit und Humanismus und Mitgefühl!

Wir tauchen ein in das Afghanistan der frühen siebziger Jahre, genauer gesagt in Kabul, um Amir zu treffen, einen Jungen, dessen einziges Glück mit der Anerkennung seines Vaters und seinem besten Freund Hassan verbunden ist - dem Sohn des Dieners seines Vaters! Als die Monarchie Afghanistans durch die russische Invasion bedroht wird, wird das Leben dieser Jungen nie mehr dasselbe sein! Dies ist eine der dunkelsten, effektivsten und herzzerreißendsten Geschichten, die ich je gelesen haben! Manchmal sind die Ereignisse extrem schwer zu verarbeiten. Die Gemeinheit, die Ungerechtigkeit, die Tragödien erschüttern einen ins Mark. Ich glaube nicht, dass jemand auf dieser Welt dieses Buch trockenäugig beenden kann. Ein absolutes MUSS! Kraftvoll, provokativ, dunkel, traurig, herzzerreißend und perfekt geschrieben.

I have a lot of thoughts about the book.I went into the book and expected a light romance , because there were some scenes with tension but that was all destroyed <spoiler> because  they are brothers !It doesn’t make any sense!!1. amir wasn't more sad about Hassan being dead after he found out  than they were related2. Amir was also not more  motivated to look for the son, he only looked for the son because the uncle guilt-tripped him (which was justified)=> So we see the relationship didn't contribute anything to plot and I think it was just there so that you couldn’t  take it up as a romance between the two of them, which gives me a bit of homiphobic vibes when you consider that the marketing of the book often gives the reader the impression that there would be a slight romance between hassan and amir. In addition, I think someone should have out called Amir!! That from the uncle "we both know why you, dont we" and "what you did was wrong but ..." was just not enough and the task that he saved the son wasn’t either.It wasn’t enough of a redemption.I liked soraya and hassan was an angel, i will never understand why he did so much for amir.the first 100 pages of the book were the hardest(because of the sad things that happen ), if you can get through them, it’s not as difficult.There are still some scenes that make you angry or sad but not as much as in the beginning.Amir criticized/commented the weight of Soraya which I didn't like.I'm still unsure about my opinion of Amir and Hassan's father ... he did some good things but also bad things, e.g. not saying that they are related, being mean to Amir etc.<\spoiler>All in all the book is quite good but there are a few things that bothered me.That’s why i give it 2.75 ⭐️

Excellent book. However it has some unexpected content that might put people off. I was a bit overwhelmed with it at first as well. I don't mind reading that sort of stuff but I hadn't expected it in this book at all. This actually made me wonder why we don't use trigger warnings on books. Anyway, apart from that this book is so good. I should read more stuff like that, it was a welcome change from all the YA books I usually read! Also I loved the setting. I have never before been confronted with the history of Afghanistan and it was very interesting to read about the land, the culture and the people. I think this is actually the biggest reason why I like this book so much.

this was really dark and traumatic and frustrating and infuriating but also beautiful and hopeful and interesting and captivating? I don't know why but when I read "A Thousand Splendid Suns" last year (on audio) I didn't connect with the book as much as I did with this one. And even though it was a really hard read, I couldn't stop and didn't want to stop. I'm glad I read this.

Man sollte auf jeden Fall genügend emotionale Kapazitäten haben, wenn man dieses Buch lesen will. Nicht, dass es komplett hoffnungslos ist, aber einige Szenen sind schon schwer zu ertragen. Ich fand vieles sehr gut an dem Buch: Den Schreibstil, die Charaktere, die Themen. Aber was für mich etwas herausssticht, ist vor allem auch, dass ich vorher nicht wirklich was über die Geschichte und Kultur Afghanistans wusste und jetzt nach dem Lesen ein ganz anderes Verständnis über das Land und die Menschen habe. Was sehr bereichernd ist.

Captivating read. Very evocative, extremely engaging and full of insights on history and politics in Afghanistan. The story spans over several decades reaching from Afghanistan to the United States. The rise of terror and evil paves the way to illiteracy, ignorance and othering the less privileged in a system ruled by fear. #Humans over race. #Humans over gender. #Humans over political games. #Humans over money.

This book killed me. I don't cry easily reading, but this book brought me to tears several times. The most frustrating thing: I couldn't stop reading it although my heart broke. Recommendig a book that is so full of heartbreaking sadness (maybe a little over the top in the end, if I have to criticize something) is a cruel thing to do, but this book deserves to be read a thousand times over.