Book · 2003
The Kite Runner
by Khaled Hosseini
A boy in Kabul watches his best friend get assaulted, says nothing, and spends the rest of his life trying to buy back the silence.
What does Reddit think of The Kite Runner?
Within that sub it's shorthand for one thing: the book that ruins your week emotionally. It shows up on "good cry" compilations (↑123) and gets called "the only book that has made me really cry" by one commenter, who adds they "can't read another of Hussein's books," even while calling it great (↑172). Another let it sit on a shelf for two years before tearing through it in two days (↑173). The contested part isn't whether it's good, it's whether it's Hosseini's best. Multiple commenters redirect newcomers toward A Thousand Splendid Suns instead, calling it "equally heart wrenching" or the one that brings "the most tears" (↑329, ↑307). Mentions have been choppy rather than declining, from a 2020 high of 100 down to 40 in 2022 and back up to 75 in 2024.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · guilt and redemption
- · the 'good cry' book
- · Hosseini's most famous, not necessarily best
- · Afghanistan through character
Common praise
- + It's the first title people summon when a suggestmeabook thread asks for something to cry over, part of recurring 'good cry' style lists (↑123).
- + One reader let it sit unread for two years then "tore through it in two days" once they started (↑173).
- + It delivers, per one commenter, "a deep insight about the middle east in the most effective way possible" (↑200).
Common criticism
- − Multiple commenters rank Hosseini's other novels above it; A Thousand Splendid Suns gets called "equally heart wrenching" or worse to sit with (↑329, ↑307).
- − It's bleak enough that one reader says they "can't read another of Hussein's books" afterward, even while calling it great (↑172).
- − Almost none of this crosses into r/printSF or r/Fantasy, 7 and 5 mentions respectively, so its reach stops at general fiction readers.
Who it's for
This is the book to hand someone who explicitly asked for something devastating; suggestmeabook's "good cry" compilations put it near the top every time. Readers who want insight into Afghanistan through character rather than history point here first. Don't start here if you're already fragile; more than one commenter admits it left them unable to pick up anything else by Hosseini for a while.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for The Kite Runner?
Top-upvoted quotes across the subreddits where this book is mentioned. Click through to read the full thread.
“A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Though I can recommend anything by Hosseini for a good cry. My personal favourite is And The Mountains Echoed. His most well known work is The Kite Runner. But the one that brings on the most tears is A Thousand Splendid Suns.
“Khaled Hosseini, people mostly know the Kite Runner, but A Thousand Splendid Suns & And the Mountains Echoed are equally heart wrenching. I absolutely love his books.
“The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (fiction). It will give you a deep insight about middle east in the most effective way possible.
“Nobody said The Kite Runner? That book sat on my shelf for two years. Once I started reading it I tore through it in two days.
“The Kite Runner is the only book that has made me really cry. Can't read another of Hussein's books. Great, but too heartbreaking.
“In an effort to be more helpful than u/nosleepforthedreamer, I see threads like this and they always make me curious. I compiled a list of frequent responses in my iPhone notes called “Books For A Good Cry”. Disclaimer: I have not read any, and I excluded from it those I have read (like Where The Re…
“Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls The Road by Cormac McCarthy The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khalid Hosseini
“Honestly too many new books to read for a reread. But Kite Runner. Too sad. I can’t.
Convinced? Pick up The Kite Runner
What else does r/suggestmeabook read?
Other books mentioned in the same sub, ranked. Shared-sub overlap with this title breaks ties.
Project Hail Mary
Andy Weir
A high-school teacher wakes up alone on a spaceship with no memory of how he got there and one job left: save Earth.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
J. K. Rowling
A neglected eleven-year-old discovers he belongs to a hidden magical world, enters Hogwarts, and learns that wonder carries history and danger with it.
All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries)
Martha Wells
A security robot hacks its own governor module, gains free will, and spends its days streaming soap operas instead of killing anyone.
Mistborn: The Final Empire
Brandon Sanderson
A street thief gets recruited into a heist crew plotting to overthrow a god-emperor who has ruled unchallenged for a thousand years.
Circe
Madeline Miller
An exiled witch on a deserted island turns men into pigs and spends three thousand years deciding what she actually wants.
The Count of Monte Cristo
Alexandre Dumas
A framed sailor rots in an island prison for fourteen years, escapes with a fortune, and spends the rest of the book collecting on every debt of vengeance.
The Kite Runner — frequently asked
Is The Kite Runner too sad to read?+
For some readers, yes. One commenter says it's "the only book that has made me really cry" and admits they "can't read another of Hussein's books" afterward, despite calling it great (↑172). Another says flatly it's "too sad" to reread (↑107). It's a fixture on r/suggestmeabook's 'good cry' lists (↑123), so the emotional weight is the point, not a flaw.
Is The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini's best book?+
Reddit is split. It's his most recognized work, "people mostly know the Kite Runner," but multiple commenters redirect readers to A Thousand Splendid Suns and And the Mountains Echoed instead, calling them "equally heart wrenching" (↑307) or the ones that bring "the most tears" (↑329). The Kite Runner is the famous one, not necessarily the favorite.
Does The Kite Runner explain much about Afghanistan?+
Readers think so. One commenter says it "will give you a deep insight about the middle east in the most effective way possible" (↑200, r/suggestmeabook). That's the main non-emotional case Reddit makes for it, separate from its reputation as the crying book.
Is The Kite Runner popular outside r/suggestmeabook?+
Barely. Of 481 total mentions, 468 come from r/suggestmeabook alone, with just 7 on r/printSF and 5 on r/Fantasy. It's a general-fiction recommendation people reach for when someone wants a gut-punch read, not a genre-community staple that gets debated on craft or worldbuilding terms the way printSF or Fantasy picks do.