Let me be clear: I didn’t read Kite Runner. I had (have) no intentions of reading Kite Runner. Let me also say that from my limited understanding of the novel, Kite Runner is an example of fluff writing designed purely for entertainment and not discussion. If you’re okay with me having an opinion of a novel I haven’t technically read, then continue. If not—you’re wrong—but you don’t have to read my blog.
It’s obvious Kite Runner is a fluff novel from a simple Google search. Googling “Kite Runner” nets a high rating on Goodreads (a sign the book isn’t required reading at most high schools), a whopping 92% approval rating by Google users (a sign the book was engaging, not always a bad thing), and, the kicker: a critic’s review that the novel will encourage “teens” to view the world and “goodness” in new ways. If this isn’t evidence enough, the top 3 reviews, also included on the initial Google search, are the most poorly written pieces of garbage I have ever read. In the first, a mom gives her five favorite thematic topics from the book and how they made her cry. It goes on to give an astonishingly unprofound message for a conclusion. I didn’t read the second review…well, fully, because it included the word “elucidating” in the first line and I knew it would be pretentious and talk up the novel as a literary masterpiece. The third review includes horrible grammar, punctuation, and even a #thekiterunner tag in it.
It isn’t that people can’t enjoy Kite Runner for what it is, just don’t put it in the same class as novels that genuinely raise questions in unexplored territories. Kite Runner is simply…simple. It isn’t bad by any means—my fellow classmates seemed rather engaged throughout the various discussions had in class. The problem is what these discussions often centered around: plot points, symbols, essentially any way to score points by speaking was rewarded with…points. This isn’t bad until you realize our class is an AP course and novels are just long-winded stories with deeply rooted opinions held by, or not held by, the author. What is the opinion being expressed by Khaled Hosseini? Speak up when your friends are in trouble? Don’t believe your father is infallible? These groundbreaking “opinions” seem geared towards teenagers and it’s because of this obvious target audience that the book doesn’t hold much literary merit.
I would like to reiterate, however, that I don’t dislike Kite Runner. By using my sarcastic persona and poking fun at Kite Runner, I seem like an asshole, but I’m really not. I’m glad my classmates were able to find a novel that made them want to read. That’s more than I can say. I just question the inclusion of Kite Runner considering the vast pool of books most of us haven’t read, and the questions they raise, and how we could discuss or write about them …juxtaposed to Kite Runner, a novel with about as many deep philosophical questions as a piece of toast.
Mr. Wasowski's Personal Favorites (all written by Kurt) 
Just to clarify, I only clicked “Liked” to prove I read your blog, not that I really liked your blog. Had you read the novel and posted this opinion, that would be one thing, but you didn’t. And, because our tastes are being formed not consulted (including my own), the experts at the College Board (writers of the AP ENG exams), found enough literary merit in “The Kite Runner” to suggest it as a title, more than once. Thus, you either accept their suggestions–classical, canonical, and all–or don’t. But you can’t pick and choose. And a number of your classmates, who actually read the novel and thought about the novel (classmates whose opinions I also respect), recognized the value of the text. (Remember the five types of literary knowing from Brit Lit? Knowledge of Texts is just 20% of the function of literature). Thus, in the grand scheme of things, pairing “The Kite Runner” with other texts is not only acceptable, but it’s also advisable. And it’s interesting, some of the criticisms geared toward “The Kite Runner” are the same types of criticisms that “Snow Falling on Cedars” received, which is considered by some to be a contemporary classic and others as merely an entertaining novel. I certainly hope you choose to read “Atonement” and the rest of the texts in AP ENG.
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