the theme of friendship,betrayal,guilt,redemption and the uneasy love between fathers and sons are universal themes,and not specifically Afghan,the book has been able to reach across the culture,racial,religious and gender gaps to resonate with readers of varying backgrounds. ____Khaled Hosseini 2005
Part 3
From Rahim Khan, Amir learns that Ali was killed by a land mine and that Hassan and his wife were killed after Hassan refused to allow the Taliban to confiscate Amir's house in Kabul. Rahim Khan further reveals that Ali, being sterile, was not Hassan's biological father. Hassan was actually his father's son and Amir's half-brother. Finally, he tells Amir that the reason he called Amir to Pakistan was to rescue Sohrab, Hassan's son. Amir meets the Taliban official, who turns out to be Assef. Sohrab is being kept at his house, where he is sexually abused. Assef agrees to relinquish him, but only for a price: severely beating Amir. Sohrab interrupts the beating by using his slingshot to shoot out Assef's left eye.