Chapter 1
Amir will narrate the whole book, except for Chapter 16, which is narrated by Rahim Khan. This first chapter is very cryptic if you haven't read the rest of the book, or at least read a summary of the plot. There, we've warned you. Amir tells us something happened in the winter of 1975 and this event made him what he is today. He gives us some scattered images: a crumbling mud wall, an alley, a frozen creek. Amir remembers a phone call last summer from his friend Rahim Khan. He feels like a past of "unatoned sins" is calling him up. So he takes a walk and looks at some kites, which remind him of someone named Hassan. During the walk, Amir sits on a park bench. He thinks of Baba and Ali, and Kabul, Afghanistan. The chapter ends where it began: "I thought of the life I had lived until the winter of 1975 came along and changed everything. And made me what I am today" (1.3).
Chapter 2
This chapter is a slideshow of Amir's early childhood. Fasten the seatbelts on your recliners! Amir and Hassan get into harmless mischief together as kids. Hassan often takes the blame if the two troublemakers get caught. Amir describes his childhood home, built by his father. It has rosebushes, marble floors, mosaic tiles, and gold-stitched tapestries. Oh, and a crystal chandelier. Baba, Amir's father, has a smoking room in the house but he doesn't let Amir hang out there. Go away, Amir. Some of Baba's cabinets have a few pictures: Amir's grandfather and King Nadir Shah and one of Amir's father and mother on their wedding night. No word yet on Amir's mother. Finally, there's one of little Amir in his father's arms; Rahim Khan stands off to the side. Amir takes us inside the little shack where Ali and Hassan, their servants, live. It's nowhere near as opulent as Baba's house. Amir tells us his mother died giving birth to him and Hassan's mother – her name was Sanaubar – left soon after Hassan was born. One day, as Amir and Hassan are walking past the military barracks, some soldiers heckle Hassan. Apparently, his mum was quite beautiful and a little free with her favors. But the soldiers are really crude, and Amir tries to comfort Hassan. More description of Hassan's mother: Sanaubar, it seems, was really gorgeous and "notoriously unscrupulous." Now, Amir tells us about Hassan's father: the lower muscles on Ali's face were paralyzed by polio. Ali also walks with a limp. The neighborhood kids chase Ali around and call him Babalu or "Boogeyman." Grow up, kids. We hear more about an emerging tension: ethnicity. Ali, Sanaubar, and Hassan are Hazaras, while Amir and Baba are Pashtuns. Looking through his mother's old history books, Amir discovers the inequality between the two ethnicities. Pashtuns are the privileged majority. We learn Sanaubar taunted Ali along with the neighborhood kids. But Ali doesn't feel the need to fight back against his assailants. He loves Hassan so much it doesn't bother him. Little story from the midwife as told to the neighbor's servant: when Hassan was born (with a cleft lip), Sanaubar said to Ali: "Now you have your own idiot child to do all your smiling for you!" (2.30). Amir tells us he and Hassan had the same wet nurse (because Sanaubar left Ali and Amir's mother passed away in childbirth). Ali tells the boys there is "a brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast, a kinship that not even time could break" (2.34). You'll want to remember that. Amir's first word is "Baba." Hassan's is "Amir."
Chapter 3
This chapter is more or less concerned with Amir's relationship with his father, Baba. Amir begins by telling some stories about Baba and slowly shifts into Baba's disappointment in Amir. Amir doesn't tell these stories in strict chronological order. Amir starts with this crazy story about how Baba wrestled a black bear. He swears it's not laaf, "that Afghan tendency to exaggerate" (3.1). Sometimes Amir dreams about Baba and the black bear; in his dreams, Amir can't tell the bear and Baba apart. Amir tells us Rahim Khan gave Baba his nickname, "Toophan agha, or 'Mr. Hurricane'" (3.2). In the 1960s, Baba builds an orphanage. Even though Baba has no architectural experience, he finishes the orphanage. Baba funds the entire project. Baba and Amir celebrate the completion of the orphanage by going to Ghargha Lake. Baba asks Amir to bring along Hassan, but Amir lies and tells Baba that Hassan "has the runs" (3.5). Baba pretty much ignores Amir while they eat beside the lake. During the opening ceremony for the orphanage, Baba's hat flies off in the wind. He's giving a speech; Amir picks up the hat and hands it to Baba. Baba recovers marvelously and there's lots of applause. Amir is very proud – of his father and himself. Amir slips in a few words on his mother: "one of Kabul's most respected, beautiful, and virtuous ladies. [...] [N]ot only did she teach classic Farsi literature at the university, she was a descendent of the royal family" (3.11). In the fifth grade, Amir returns home from school and tells Baba about Mullah Fatiullah Khan, his teacher. Amir repeats what the Mullah said about drinking: "those who drank would answer for their sin on the day of Qiuamat, Judgment Day" (3.13). As luck would have it, Baba is pouring himself a whiskey from the bar. He proceeds to ridicule the Mullah. And he tells Amir all sins proceed from a single sin, which is theft. E.g. "When you kill a man you steal his life" or "When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to truth" (3.32). Baba gets pretty worked up; he even says if a man were to steal a loaf of bread he would "spit on such a man" and "if I ever cross paths with him, God help him" (3.34). Somehow, Amir has woken up the bear-fury of Baba. Amir feels like Baba hates him a little – didn't he did steal his mother's life by being born? Cut to school. Amir always wins a classroom game calledSherjangi ("Battle of the Poems"). It works like this: One person recites a line of poetry, then the next person recites a line that begins with the letter that ended the first line. Amir is dominant in this game and even beats the rest of his class. And he reads all his mother's books. Baba isn't OK with all this literature and reading stuff. Baba tries to get Amir interested in soccer instead, but Amir is hopeless: "I shambled about the field on scraggly legs [...]" (3.40). At some point, Baba takes Amir to a Buzkashi tournament. In this sport, one man rides around on horses with a goat carcass while a bunch of other men, also on horses, do everything they can to stop him from dropping the dead goat in a scoring circle. (This is like kill-the-man-with-the-ball only on horses and with a goat.) On this particular day, the main rider gets trampled and Amir cries on the way home. Baba is not pleased. That very night, Amir secretly listens in as Rahim Khan and Baba talk about him in the study. Baba thinks Amir is weak and that "a boy who can't stand up for himself becomes a man who can't stand up for anything" (3.66). Rahim Khan tries to defend Amir, but Baba still says some pretty terrible things about his son.
Chapter 4
This chapter – simultaneously – develops Amir's relationship with Hassan and Amir's burgeoning interest in writing. Coincidence? Probably not. Amir tells of the story of Ali: Two wealthy young men high on hashish accidentally run over a Hazara husband and wife. The judge orders the men to enlist in the army; in an act of kindness, the judge adopts the orphan left behind by the Hazara couple. This judge is Amir's grandfather. Ali and Baba grow up together. Amir launches into a discussion of ethnicity and friendship. On the one hand, he and Hassan are from different ethnic groups and have history and society in between them. On the other, they have the same nurse and grow up together in the same household. Amir doesn't come to a conclusion whether ethnicity drives a wedge between him and Hassan. What follows are a few warm-and-fuzzy stories about Amir and Hassan growing up together. The boys throw pebbles at goats. They go see Westerns at Cinema Park and they go to the bazaar. Hassan prepares meals for Amir, makes Amir's bed, and polishes his shoes. Amir reads stories to Hassan on a hill north of Baba's house. Amir plays a few "harmless pranks" on Hassan. He tells Hassan "imbecile" means "smart, intelligent" (4.20). Amir and Hassan share a favorite story: "Rostam and Sohrab" from the Shahnamah. It's a story about a father who kills his nemesis, who actually turns out to be his son. Amir plays another trick on Hassan. Instead of reading from a book, Amir starts to make up his own story, although he flips through the pages as if he's reading from them. Hassan loves it. This prompts Amir to write his first short story. Amir, proud of his story, tries to show it to Baba. Baba isn't interested at all; Rahim Khan comes to the rescue and reads Amir's story. Rahim Khan even writes Amir a nice note about the story. Emboldened by Rahim Khan's praise, Amir reads his story to Hassan. Hassan is enthralled and even tells Amir he'll be "a great writer" (4.55). However, Hassan points out a plot hole. Amir knows Hassan is right, but he's also angry. He thinks some mean things.
Chapter 5
In this chapter, there's a sort of hodgepodge of events which set up for events to come in Chapter 7. So, war comes to Afghanistan. It's July 17, 1973. Ali, Hassan, and Amir huddle together in the living room while gunfire and explosions thunder around them until morning. Baba shows up safe and sound at sunrise, having made it through or around the blocked roads. Amir and Hassan decide to go climb their pomegranate tree. (In an earlier chapter, they carved their names in this tree.) On their way there, trouble strikes in the form of Assef, Wali, and Kamal, three neighborhood boys. We learn a little about Assef: he uses brass knuckles, has a German mother, and is known for his meanness. Oh yeah, he also torments Ali a lot. Assef starts talking some nonsense about the new leader Daoud Khan and how he's going to have a man-to-man talk with Daoud Khan next time Daoud is over at his house. Assef will tell him about Hitler and ethnic cleansing and how Afghanistan needs to get rid of the Hazaras. Amir wants to get out of there. (Don't forget Hassan is a Hazara.) Assef, like always, has other ideas: he takes his brass knuckles out of his pocket. Hassan comes to the rescue. In a single movement, he picks up a rock, takes his slingshot out of his back pocket, places the rock in the cup, pulls back the elastic band, and aims it at Assef's left eye. Kobe Bryant probably isn't this coordinated. Assef and his crew back off. It's Hassan's birthday. Baba always gets Hassan something special, like a Clint Eastwood cowboy hat or train set. Think awesome toys instead of reindeer sweaters. This year, Baba presents one Dr. Kumar, from New Delhi, to Hassan. What the deuce? Dr. Kumar performs surgery on Hassan, correcting his harelip. Amir tells us the scar from the surgery heals by the following winter. At which time Hassan stops smiling. (Foreshadowing…)
Chapter 6
In this chapter, we get the skinny on winter kite fighting tournaments, and Amir's dreams of winning this year's tournament. Pay attention. Amir loves wintertime, like most other Afghan kids. Why? It's pretty, there's snow, no school, and, most importantly, kite flying. Baba loves kite fighting, too, so it's a rare connection for them. Amir tells us a little about kite fighting. He and Hassan used to make their own kites with bamboo, glue, string, and paper. To make the kite a fighting kite, the boys coat the string in glass and glue. (The point of the kite fight is to cut the other kite's string with your string – thus the glass.) There's also kite running, which seems just as important as kite fighting. Once a kite is cut, the kite runners chase after the released kite and try to run it down. The big deal kite to run is the tournament runner-up – the last kite cut. Hassan, as it turns, is an expert kite runner. One winter day, Hassan and Amir run a kite. Hassan is a better kite runner than Amir – faster, more athletic, and with better instincts – and Amir struggles to keep up. Hassan runs away from the kite that's just been cut. Amir follows, and they rest on a field by a middle school. Amir doesn't believe the kite is going land anywhere near where Hassan has led them. So he asks Hassan if Hassan would ever lie to him. Hassan says no, and that he'd "sooner eat dirt" (6.31). Amir toys with Hassan. In the end, Amir makes nice and the kite floats down to where they're sitting. Four days before the kite-fighting tournament, Baba casually tells Amir he thinks Amir is going to win this year. Amir starts to imagine all the wonderful things he and Baba will do together and how the two of them will grow closer. Now, Amir really wants to win this tournament. The chapter ends with Hassan and Amir playing cards the night before the tournament. There's some talk about Daoud Khan, televisions, and how Amir will buy Hassan a television some day. Hassan thinks Amir will win the tournament the next day. Amir wins the card game but has the distinct feeling Hassan let him win.
Chapter 7
This is The Big Chapter. The chapters preceding this one prepare you for this event; the chapters following this one deal with its aftershocks. While Amir eats breakfast, Hassan recounts a dream he had the night before. They're both at Ghargha Lake, along with Rahim Khan, Baba, Ali, and tons of other people. No one is swimming in the water because there's a monster at the bottom. Amir, however, jumps into the lake; Hassan follows and swims behind Amir. There's no monster. The crowd on the shore cheers. Hassan and Amir walk out into the street for the kite-fighting tournament. Strangely enough, Amir suddenly gets cold feet. Hassan encourages him: "Remember, Amir agha. There's no monster, just a beautiful day" (7.19). They toss the kite into the air. The number of kites in the sky dwindles. Soon, just Amir's kite and a blue kite are left. Amir gets a lucky gust of wind and cuts the blue kite. He wins the tournament. Baba cheers from the rooftop. In these tournaments, people collect or "run" the defeated kites, but the second-place kite is considered the greatest prize. Hassan runs off after the blue kite. Amir takes his kite back to Baba's house and then heads off to find Hassan. After a little wandering, he spots Hassan in an alley. Assef, Wali, and Kamal are staring Hassan down. Hassan has the blue kite. No one sees Amir. Hassan tries to defend himself by throwing a rock at Assef . He does hit Assef, but the three boys throw Hassan to the ground. Amir interrupts the narrative here with a few memories and a dream. In the first memory, Ali reminds Amir that he and Hassan fed from the same breast. In the second memory, Hassan and Amir go to a fortune-teller. The fortune-teller takes a coin from Hassan and reads Hassan's palm and face. Visibly disturbed, the fortune-teller gives Hassan his coin back. Amir draws back when the fortune-teller comes over to him. In the dream, Amir is lost in the snow. The wind is blowing so hard it immediately erases his footsteps. Someone with parallel gashes on his hand – Baba? – reaches out to Amir and they're suddenly in a summery, light-filled field. Cut back to the scene in the alley. Something is up: Wali and Kamal don't want to participate in whatever Assef has planned. Assef pulls down his pants and rapes Hassan. Amir switches to the future tense. It's the next day, which is the feast of Eid-e-Qorban. The feast commemorates Ibrahim's sacrifice of his son Isaac. According to the custom, each family sacrifices a sheep. Ali, Baba, Hassan, and Amir watch as the mullah slits the sheep's throat. Cut back to the alley scene. Amir has one last chance to intervene. But instead he just runs away. Amir meets Hassan in a ravine near the alley. Each is on his way back to Baba's house. Amir doesn't tell Hassan he saw what happened. Hassan is about to tell Amir, but he composes himself and simply hands Amir the blue kite. Hassan is a mess: his voice cracks, he has a dark stain on the seat of his pants. Amir pretends not to notice. Hassan limps away. Amir returns to Baba's house with the kite. Baba gathers Amir up into his arms. Amir weeps.
Chapter 8
This chapter describes the weeks (and year) following the kite-fighting tournament. Amir rarely sees Hassan – he wakes to find his breakfast already cooked, his clothes folded. Ali asks Amir if anything is wrong with Hassan, but Amir treats Ali pretty poorly and, worse, doesn't tell Ali about the alley. Amir asks Baba if they can go to Jalalabad on Friday. Baba asks if Hassan wants to come along. Amir wants Baba all to himself so he says Hassan is sick. Much to Amir's dismay, Baba invites tons of relatives to travel with them. (Enough to fill three vans. And you thought your family vacations were bad.) The vans bounce along. One of Amir's cousins congratulates Amir on winning the kite-fighting tournament. Amir throws up all over her dress. That night, everyone eats lots of food. People play poker and have a few drinks. Amir is miserable. After everyone has fallen asleep – the men sleeping on the living room floor along with Amir – Amir blurts out to no one in particular: "I watched Hassan get raped" (8.40). No one wakes up or hears him. Amir's insomnia starts that night. Back in Kabul, there's more silence and distance between Amir and Hassan. Not even the Shahnamah can bring them together. This continues for the rest of the winter. Amir hangs out with Baba occasionally, but seems to spend a lot of time reading in his room. At one point during the winter, Hassan asks Amir if he's done anything wrong. Amir pretty much tells Hassan that he just wants to be alone. Right before school starts up again, Amir asks Baba if they can get new servants. Baba is furious. Amir knows he's really driven a wedge between himself and Baba now. That summer, Hassan and Amir walk up to the hill with their pomegranate tree. Amir starts to read a story to Hassan, but loses interest. He picks an overripe pomegranate and begins to pelt Hassan. Amir wants Hassan to fight back, but Hassan won't. Eventually, Hassan picks up a pomegranate and walks over to Amir and crushes it against his forehead. The chapter ends with Amir's thirteenth birthday party. Baba invites tons of people, there's heaps of good food, and even Ahmad Zahir, the pop musician. Assef shows up with a gift for Amir. There's an odd rapport between Baba and Assef as Baba asks Assef about soccer. In one of the most awkward exchanges in the book, Assef gives Amir his present and Amir stalks off. Amir opens the present on his own. It's a biography of Hitler. Ugh. Amir tosses it into the grass. Rahim Khan shows up. (He's such a nice guy!) He shoots the breeze with Amir and then tells Amir a story about how he almost married a Hazara woman. His parents and siblings, though, were outraged at the prospect of welcoming a Hazara woman into the family. The marriage didn't happen. Rahim Khan gives Amir his gift: it's a leather-bound writing journal. Oh yeah, there are fireworks at the party. Some fireworks go off.
Chapter 9
The day after his birthday party, Amir opens all his presents. He gets two from Baba: a Schwinn Stingray, which is "the king of all bicycles," and a brand-new wristwatch (9.2). He throws most of his gifts in the corner because he realizes Baba wouldn't have thrown him such a lavish party if he hadn't won the kite-fighting tournament. So, they feel a little like "blood money" (9.1). Ali and Hassan give Amir a really nice hardback copy ofShahnamah. It probably took some scrimping and saving on Ali and Hassan's part to afford this present. In the lowest of all low deeds, Amir puts his new wristwatch and a wad of cash under Hassan's mattress. He tells Baba his stuff is missing. Baba talks to Ali; Ali finds Amir's stuff in their house. The two return to Baba's house, having had a good cry together. Baba asks Hassan if he stole the watch and money. Surprisingly enough – even for Amir – Hassan says, "Yes." Baba immediately forgives Hassan, which again surprises Amir. Isn't theft the worst of all sins? In any case, Ali and Hassan decide to leave. Baba pleads with Ali to stay. Ali refuses. In the pouring rain (dramatic, right?), Baba drives Ali and Hassan to the bus station. Amir considers running out to the car to confess, but he stays at the window.
Chapter 10
The chapter opens with Baba and Amir crammed into the back of an old Russian truck. They're with other refugees on their way to Pakistan. Afghanistan has gotten too dangerous. Neighbors have turned against each other, and everyone seems to be a spy for the Russians. Amir starts to feel sick and someone asks Karim, the driver, to pull over. He does eventually and Amir gets out. A MiG (a Russian fighter jet – haven't you seen Top Gun?) flies overhead. They pull up to a checkpoint. The Russian soldier manning it seems a little drunk. He tells Karim he'll let the truck pass if he gets to spend some special alone time with one of the women in the truck. Baba is outraged. Amir grabs Baba's leg, but to no avail. Baba gets up and tells the Russian to shove it. The soldier takes out his gun out of his holster. (Nail-biting tension.) The gun goes off, but no one gets hit. A superior officer shows up and gives the soldier a very mild scolding. They make it through the checkpoint. Cut to Jalalabad. They arrive at a one-story house, and Karim tells everyone the bad news: No truck to Peshawar. Baba goes crazy and grabs Karim by the throat and almost strangles him. He would have, in fact, if it weren't for the pleas of a young woman. In the basement of the house, more refugees have been waiting for weeks. Among them are Kamal and his father. In an odd twist of events, it turns out Kamal's mother caught a stray bullet in Kabul. Kamal was also raped in Kabul. Because there's no truck to take them to Peshawar, Karim comes up with an alternative. His cousin owns a fuel truck, which would work just fine. The refugees pile into the belly of the fuel truck. Almost immediately, Amir's eyes and nose start to burn. Fumes! Baba tells Amir: "Think of something good" (10.73). He pictures himself and Hassan in a field. They're flying a kite. The fuel truck makes it to Pakistan. A bus is going to take them the rest of the way to Peshawar. Amir (and some of the other refugees) crawl around on the ground, weakened by the fumes. Kamal isn't breathing. His father is stunned. He somehow gets a hold of Karim's gun and shoots himself in the head. The chapter ends with Amir dry-heaving on the side of the road.
Chapter 11
Baba and Amir have moved to America. Certainly, it's an improvement over war-torn Afghanistan, but it's also not smooth sailing. Walking in Lake Elizabeth Park, Baba enlightens Amir with his politics: there are only a few "real men" in international politics. America, Britain, and Israel. (Baba seems to love directness in international affairs.) Baba also loves Ronald Reagan – which makes sense. Reagan called the Soviet Union – who invaded Afghanistan – "the Evil Empire," Reagan also had that American cowboy bravado Amir and Baba worshipped from afar for years in Afghanistan. However, Baba isn't adjusting well to America. He turns his neighborhood convenience store upside down because they won't take his check without ID. (In Baba's defense, he's shopped there for two years.) Amir gets him out of the store, but there's a lot of yelling about honor and such. Amir reveals that Baba works at a gas station. He works a twelve-hour shift six days a week. This image sums it up: "Baba's face drawn and pale under the bright fluorescent lights" (11.28). For a while, Baba and Amir were on welfare. The day Baba gets a job, he goes to the welfare office and returns his food stamps. Amir graduates from high school. Baba is actually really proud of Amir; unlike the attention Amir got for winning the kite-fighting tournament, this affection seems long-lasting. They go out and celebrate. Baba drinks lots of beer, says some disparaging things about Russians, and buys everyone drinks. He has Amir drive to end of their block where a gift waits for Amir. It's a Ford Gran Torino. There's some crying, widespread happiness, and a hand-squeeze. Baba says: "I wish Hassan had been with us today" (11.44). Amir feels profoundly guilty. Amir is going to enroll in junior college the next fall. He and Baba discuss majors the morning after graduation. Amir says he's going to major in Creative Writing. Baba isn't too happy. Amir drives his Ford Gran Torino around a lot. He feels "free" or something. America, for the most part, has allowed Amir to escape his past. Baba sells his car. He buys a '71 Volkswagen bus. They start buying up stuff at yard sales and going to the San Jose flea market. At the flea market, Baba introduces Amir to General Taheri who worked for the Ministry of Defense in Kabul. There's an exchange between His Lordship Taheri and Amir about writing. The General wonders if Amir will write about Afghanistan or economics or some other important topic. Nope. Amir is going to write fiction. Some lovely lady brings the General a cup of coffee. It's his daughter, Soraya. Amir is smitten. On the way home from the flea market, Amir realizes he knows the name "Taheri" from some rumors he heard. Baba isn't one to gossip, but Amir presses him and he says: "All I've heard is that there was a man once and things...didn't go well" (11.101). Apparently, because of this incident, no one has approached Soraya as a suitor since then. Did we say Amir is smitten?
Chapter 12
Amir remembers long nights in Afghanistan (specifically the first night of winter or yelda) when he stayed up late with Hassan. Currently he stays up late thinking of Soraya. Or, as Amir calls her, "My Swap Meet Princess." Amir often goes over to the Taheri's table at the flea market to steal glances at Soraya. This is turning into a full-fledged obsession. Or, as some would call it, a romance. One day at the flea market, Amir asks Baba if he wants a Coke. Baba knows what's up: Amir is going over to talk to Soraya. He gives Amir a little speech about nang and namoos (honor and pride). Amir says he won't embarrass anyone. Amir goes over to chat up the lovely lady. He probably stays a little too long by Afghan standards. But it's going so well! Soraya even asks about Amir's writing and he promises to bring her a story sometime. Just when things are getting a little steamy (according to Afghan standards a conversation this long is apparently risqué), Soraya's mother walks up. She asks Amir to stay; he politely refuses. Amir keeps thinking about Soraya. And going over to the Taheri booth at the flea market. One fine flea market Saturday, Amir and Soraya are talking at the Taheri booth. Soraya tells Amir how she wants to become a teacher. She also tells Amir a story about how she taught one of the Taheri family servants to read. Now she wants to be a teacher. The conversation is going well. Amir reaches into his pocket and hands her one of his stories (just as he promised). Just then, the General shows up. He gives Amir a little talking-to and takes the story from Soraya. He puts it in the garbage and reminds Amir – quite subtly for a military man – that Amir should check himself before he wrecks himself. Later that very week, Baba gets a cold. It seems harmless, but then Amir catches Baba hacking up blood. Not a good sign. They go to a county hospital since Baba doesn't have health insurance. The doctor finds a spot on Baba's lung, and sends Baba to a pulmonary clinic. Amir prays. At first, they meet with a Russian pulmonologist. Baba isn't happy since, well, Russia did a lot of bad things to Afghanistan. Actually, the doctor was born in Michigan, but that's not enough for Baba. They switch doctors. The new doctor gives Baba his prognosis. The cancer will be fatal. Baba doesn't want Amir to tell anyone about his illness. For a while, Baba does well. He still goes to the flea market. But he slowly wears down. He calls in sick to the gas station one day. By Halloween, Baba no longer gets out of the car to bargain at the yard sales. By Thanksgiving, he can't make it past noon. By Christmas, Amir is driving the van on his own. Baba loses weight. The Sunday after New Year's Day, Baba has a seizure and collapses at the flea market. The doctor at the hospital goes over Baba's CAT scans with Amir. It doesn't look good. The cancer has spread into Baba's brain. The doctor recommends steroids, anti-seizure medication, and palliative radiation. General Taheri, Khanum Taheri, and Soraya visit Baba and Amir at the hospital. Two days later, the hospital discharges Baba. A radiation specialist tries to talk Baba into getting radiation treatment, but he refuses. Baba is resting on the couch. Amir asks Baba to visit General Taheri and formally request Soraya's hand in marriage. He does this not only because he loves Soraya, but also because his father is dying. Amir knows the marriage will please his father. Baba calls the General and sets up a meeting for the next day. Amir drops Baba off at the Taheri's home. Amir goes back home to wait for Baba to call. The phone rings about an hour after Amir dropped Baba off. The General has accepted. However, Soraya needs to talk to Amir. Soraya wants Amir to know about her past before they proceed any further. Here's the story: Soraya was living in Virginia with another man after having run away from home. Lots of gossip. Soon enough, the General shows up. He takes Soraya home, where she discovers her little romp has caused Khanum Taheri to have a stroke, paralyzing the right side of her face. End of story. Amir still wants to marry Soraya. Remember, he's got his own checkered past. If Amir called the wedding off, it'd be the pot calling the kettle black. No, it'd be worse than that. The chapter ends with Amir's regrets. He wishes he could be as open as her and tell her about Hassan and Ali. He opens his mouth but doesn't say anything.

Chapter 13
The chapter opens with lafz, or the ceremony for "giving word." Baba and Amir are at the Taheri's house to formally ask the General to accept Amir into their family. Khanum Taheri leads Baba and Amir through a living room packed with two dozen guests. (As tradition requires, Soraya is not there.) Baba requests that the General accept Amir as a son-in-law. He does, which results in applause and general good cheer. Soraya and Amir forgo the Shirini-khori, or "Eating of the Sweets" ceremony. (It's an engagement party followed by an engagement period of a few months.) Baba probably won't live that long. Baba spends almost his whole life savings on Amir's wedding. $35,000. Soraya and Amir have their nika, or "swearing" ceremony. (Basically, the ceremony part of an American wedding.) Amir thinks of Hassan: "I remember wondering if Hassan too had married. And if so, whose face he had seen in the mirror under the veil? Whose henna-painted hands had he held?" (13.30). Amir sleeps with Soraya for the first time. We have to giggle at this sentence: "That night, I discovered the tenderness of a woman" (13.31). Soraya and Amir move in with Baba since he's very sick. One day, Amir comes home from the pharmacy with some of Baba's medication and finds Soraya reading to Baba. She's reading him Amir's stories. Amir can't take it and leaves the room crying. Baba finally supports Amir's writing. About a month after the wedding, Baba dies in his sleep. The funeral is held at a mosque in Hayward. At the gravesite, the mullah and another mourner argue over which ayat of the Koran to recite. Since he's married to Soraya now, Amir learns a few things about the Taheris: about once a month, the General has blinding migraine headaches; Khanum Taheri at one point was a famous singer in Kabul but quit when she married the General; Khanum Taheri loves Johnny Carson; Khanum Taheri also loves to talk about her medical ailments. Amir listens. At her uncle's wedding, two middle-aged women upset Soraya. They more or less call Soraya un-virtuous a.k.a. a slut. Soraya tells Amir more about her time in Virginia: the night the General came for her, he had a gun with him. Two bullets in the chamber: one for himself and one for Soraya's boyfriend (if Soraya didn't go with him). Thankfully, she did. The General handed her a pair of scissors to cut off all her hair. She obliged him. So, Amir and Soraya are married now. Since Baba has died, they move into a one-bedroom apartment. Amir enrolls at San Jose State and declares English as his major; Soraya enrolls a year later and declares Education. General Taheri isn't happy with Soraya's major – he wanted her to be a lawyer or politician. Amir finishes his first novel. (It's "a father-son story set in Kabul" – sound familiar?) He sends query letters out to a dozen agencies and gets a request for the manuscript. Amir sends them the manuscript and, wonder of wonders, an agent agrees to represent him. In about the time it takes to squeeze a pomegranate, Amir is a published novelist. A lot of other things are going on while Amir becomes a successful writer. The Soviets withdraw from Afghanistan; civil war breaks out in Afghanistan; the cold war ends; the Berlin Wall comes down; Tiananmen Square happens. And Amir and Soraya start trying to have a kid. Amir and Soraya, however, can't get pregnant. They go see a doctor; Amir passes his tests, but Soraya doesn't. She has something called "Unexplained Infertility," which apparently isn't uncommon. The young lovers tell the General and Khanum Taheri. Soraya relates some advice: "The doctor said we could adopt" (13.139). The General isn't sure about adoption – he starts talking about "blood" and "family" etc. In the end, Amir and Soraya don't want to adopt either. The chapter ends with Amir and Soraya buying a house in Bernal Heights.
Chapter 14
The chapter opens with Amir lowering the telephone. He's just gotten a mysterious call from Rahim Khan ,who is sick. Rahim Khan asks Amir to come back to Afghanistan: "Come. There is a way to be good again" (14.19). Amir takes a walk and sees a pair of red kites. Dun-dun-dun. Amir decides to go to Afghanistan to see Rahim Khan. He's still has trouble sleeping, but after he finally falls asleep he dreams of Hassan: "the hem of his green chapan [a long cloak] dragging behind him, snow crunching under his black boots [...]" (14.25). The chapter ends with Amir on a flight to Afghanistan.

Chapter 15
Amir lands in Peshawar. The city reminds him of Kabul – the taxi driver tells Amir that many of his fellow Afghans have ended up in a section of the city called "Afghan Town." The driver drops Amir off at Rahim Khan's building. Rahim Khan doesn't look so good. For the rest of the chapter, Amir and Rahim Khan talk about Afghanistan, the past, and Amir's life in America. Here's what they cover: Amir's marriage to Soraya Taheri, Baba, and Amir's education and writing. The conversation turns to the Taliban and Afghanistan. It sounds like Kabul turned into a war zone between 1992 and 1996 and so when the Taliban took over, the people welcomed them. Rahim Khan tells this Taliban story: in 1998, a Taliban official smacked Rahim Khan in the forehead for cheering too loudly at a soccer match. Amir learns Rahim Khan is dying. (But most readers will have figured this out already.) Rahim Khan brings up Hassan. He tells Amir: "I brought you here because I am going to ask something of you. [...]. But before I do, I want to tell you about Hassan" (15.54).