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Introduction

The Kite Runner tells the story of Amir, a young boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, who betrayed his best friend Hassan (by allowing him to be raped), the son of his father's Hazara servant, and lives in regret. The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of the monarchy in Afghanistan through the Soviet invasion, the mass exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the rise of the Taliban regime. Hassan dies before the end of the book, and before Amir has a chance to see him again.

It is also important to understand that there are various interpretations of this book, ranging from the way in which the Taliban treated its "own" people to the relationship between the two boys being a representation of the microcosms of society.