The Kite Runner summary

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Chapter 1
Am the narrator tells us about a phone call he received 6months earlier from RK,asking him to come to Pakistan.He takes a walk to the golden gate bridge and watches kites being flown.• He remembers his boyhood, his childhood friend Has and the alley.
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Chapter 2
Am recalls his friendship with Ha family servant and Hazara.They would get into trouble with Ba and Ha would take the blame.We learn Am mother died giving birth, Ha’s mother left after giving birth.Ali had polio.Am learns Hazara are below Pashtun's
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Chapter 3
Am remembers how Ba was disappointed with his lack of manly attributes.Despite this Am was eager for his approval.Ba was seen as great man,built orphanage.Am recalls writing interest,tries to share with Ba.Am believes Ba hates him for mums death.
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Chapter 3 (continued)
Amir overhears Baba and Rahim Khan talking about how much more manly Hassan is and Baba cannot believe Amir is his son. Amir takes out his anger and jealousy on Hassan.
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Chapter 4
Ali was an orphan, brought up by Ba’s father.They grew up together.Am read stories to Has,favourite was Rostam and Sohrab.Has praises Am’s made up story,he starts writing.Ba doesn’t was to read it,RH does,Has points hole in plot,Am angry.
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Chapter 5
Am and Has convo interrupted by roaring noise,gunfire,sounds of coup, overthrow of king.They meet Assef,Wali,Kamal,question Am having hazara friend.Has scares bullies with slingshot,As promises revenge.Has cleft lip correction,winter he stops smiling
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Chapter 6
In winter kids take part in kite flying tournaments.Am asks Ba for new kite,Ba buys same for Has,increses jealousy.Has is a gifted kite runner.Am tests loyalty,asks Has to eat dirt.Am wants to win tournament make Ba proud,cards with Has,lets win.
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Chapter 7
Has recounts a dream that he and Am are swimming in a lake with a monster.Am is nervous with Ba watching,he wins,Has runs for kite.Am goes to find Has.As offers Has’s freedom in return for kite,he refuses,he’s *****.Am welcomed by Ba when returns.
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Chapter 8
Am feels guilty for not helping Has,who retreats to his bed.Ali asks if anything happened,Am suggests he’s unwell.Ba takes Am to Jalalabad he’s car sick,embarrasses Ba.Am has Bday party,As comes Has must serve him.RK tells story to Am,gives notebook.
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Chapter 9
Am plants a watch he got for his bday under Has’ mattress and tells Ba.Has admits to theft when asked,Am is shocked and knows Has knows he saw the alley incident.Ba forgives Has, Ali still decides to leave,Ba pleads.Am watches them leave in rain.
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Chapter 10
Am and Ba leave to escape from Russian-controlled Afghanistan,they have to stop so Am can be sick.Ba stands up against soldier.Arrive in Jalalabad,truck is broken.Stay in basement of house with other refugees.Travel in empty fuel tank,Kamal dies.
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Chapter 11
1980Am and Ba are live in California,Ba likes USA’s strength but pollution makes him ill.He refuses to learn English,commands respect among other Afghans.Am wants to study English and creative writing.Ba wants him to study something for a proper job.
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Chapter 11 (continued)
Ba and Am buy items from garage sales and them on a stall at the Afghan section of a flea market.Am falls in love with a girl named Soraya, the daughter of an Afghan general whom he meets at the flea market.
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Chapter 12
Am is in love with So they talk at flea market about books.He is welcomed by her mother but warned off by father.Ba falls ill with lung cancer,he refuses treatment.Ba collapses at flea market and Am asks to marry So,she tells about when she ran away
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Chapter 13
Am and So engagement period is cut short by Ba’s illness,on Am’s wedding day he thinks about RK and Has.So moves in,a month after the wedding Ba dies.Am learns So’s dad hopes to return to Afghanistan,Am gets into college and they try to have children
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Chapter 14
Am receives a phone call from RK who is sick and wants him to come to Pakistan.He is told theres a way to be good again.They are still childless but avoid talking about it,its clearly a problem in their marriage.Am leaves,So parents stay with her.
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Chapter 15
Am arrives in Peshawar and meets a very ill RK.The first time he has seen him since leaving Kabul.He recounts the terrible changes in Afghanistan and the brutality of the Taliban regime.He tells Am he is dying and wants him to perform a final favour.
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Chapter 16
RK tells Am what has happened since he left.He was unable to maintain the house alone so asked Ali and Has to help.When he finds Has in a village he is told that Ali was killed by a landmine.Has refuses to come then agrees after hearing about Ba deat
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Chapter 16 (continued)
Farzana gives birth to a still born but later becomes pregnant again.Has’ mother Sanaubar returns starving and ill.Has and Far nurse his mother back to health and she helps Far give birth.She dies when Sohrab is four.
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Chapter 17
After hearing Rk’s story Am asks if Has is still living in the house.He is given a photo of Has with So and a letter saying he would like to see Am again.Rk reveals that Has and Far were murdered by the Taliban and So is in an orphanage.
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Chapter 17 (continued)
Rahim Khan asks Amir to go to Kabul and find Sohrab. He tells Amir that Baba was Hassan’s real father, Amir becomes angry and storms out the apartment.
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Chapter 18
Am considers the news that he and Has are half brothers and realises that this explains Ba’s affections towards him.He considers that if he never betrayed Has then they would all be living in the US t.Am realises he has no choice but to go to Kabul.
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Chapter 19
Am returns to Taliban-held Afghanistan on his return he suffers from car sickness.He feels out of place,like a visitor and Farid the driver accuses his him of always being a tourist.Farid takes Am to stay with his brother Wahid.
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Chapter 19 (continued)
Wahid says he’s proud to have Am stay in his home and gives him all the food his family has.Farid feels ashamed of his earlier accusations,he agrees to help Am in his mission,before leaving Am hides money under a mattress.
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Chapter 20
Am is shocked by the state of Kabul,it has been severely damaged by 20 years of war.The Taliban patrol the streets,he is advised not to look at them.They meet a beggar who is a former university lecturer who worked with his mother.
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Chapter 20 (continued)
When Am arrives at the orphanage he discovers Soh has been sold to a prominent member of the Taliban.Am learns that this is the only way to fund care for the remaining children.They are told they will find the man at the next day’s football match.
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Chapter 21
Am returns to his old neighbourhood,it has not been maintained well.The pomegranate tree has died,the carving in the tree still remains.They check into hotel,he finds food and humour has not changed.Watch the Taliban man stone people at football matc
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Chapter 22
Am wears a false beard to blend in,he goes to a large house to meet the man.He is covered in blood from stoning and removes Am disguise,taunting him.The man accuses Am of treason for leaving Afghanistan,he sends for Soh who looks like Has.
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Chapter 22 (continued)
Soh is forced to dance for them,the man shows he knows Am’s identity and reveals himself as ***ef.He asks why Am wants the boy,he refuses.*** tells Am the price for the boy is a fight,Am is badly injured but saved by Soh with slingshot.
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Chapter 23
Am is in hospital after the fight, he has severe injuries.Am dreams about Ba fighting a black bear before turning into Am.Rk has gone to die in peace, he leaves a letter forgiving Am for his childhood mistakes and tells Am why Ba was hard on him.
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Chapter 24
Soh goes missing in Islamabad,Am finds him near the mosque.They talk about Has and Soh tells Am about the things the Taliban men did to him,Am invites Soh to come back to the USA with him.Am promises Soh he won’t go back to an orphanage.
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Chapter 24 (continued)
Am calls Sor who is happy for him to come home,Am discovers the adoption process is very difficult and admits to Soh he may have to back to an orphanage.Sor says to bring the boy home and complete the paperwork in US,Soh is found in bathtub.
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Chapter 25
In the hospital,Am attempts to pray for both Has and Soh,Am reads him a book but Soh wishes to return to his old life or death.They go back to the US,Am challenges the generals racism,they go to a park and play with a kite,Am is the kite runner.
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Card 2

Front

Am recalls his friendship with Ha family servant and Hazara.They would get into trouble with Ba and Ha would take the blame.We learn Am mother died giving birth, Ha’s mother left after giving birth.Ali had polio.Am learns Hazara are below Pashtun's

Back

Chapter 2

Card 3

Front

Am remembers how Ba was disappointed with his lack of manly attributes.Despite this Am was eager for his approval.Ba was seen as great man,built orphanage.Am recalls writing interest,tries to share with Ba.Am believes Ba hates him for mums death.

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

Amir overhears Baba and Rahim Khan talking about how much more manly Hassan is and Baba cannot believe Amir is his son. Amir takes out his anger and jealousy on Hassan.

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

Ali was an orphan, brought up by Ba’s father.They grew up together.Am read stories to Has,favourite was Rostam and Sohrab.Has praises Am’s made up story,he starts writing.Ba doesn’t was to read it,RH does,Has points hole in plot,Am angry.

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
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