The book opens in the adulthood of Amir and he relates
            then and there that he made a bad decision in his childhood and he has spent the rest of
            life to that point trying to redeem himself.  Then the book slides into a flashback and
            we learn what bad decisions he makes, namely his poor treatment of his friend Hassan,
            and his not trying to stop Assef's attack of Hassan after the kite running contest.  He
            reveals his guilt immediately after the attack when he talks about why he didin't react;
            he reveals it in his subsequent horrible treatment of Hassan and his false accusations;
            he reveals it in a comment here or there throughout the novel as he tells about leaving
            Afganistan and his life in the United States.  He specically thinks about it when he
            learns about the mistake his wife made in running off the man.  She can reveal her sins,
            while Amir states that he just can't. 
His guilt hits him
            hardest when he hears from Kahn and learns that he needs to return to Afganistan.  Once
            there when he learns that Kahn knew the whole truth all this time and that Hassan is
            actually his half brother, the guilt is almost overwhelming and he is driven to atone
            for that past by doing everything in his power to save Sohrab from the Taliban men and
            Assef.  He devotes himself to bringing Sohrab home and healing Sohrab's spirit in a way
            he never did for Hassan. 
There are references to his guilt
            in almost every episode of the novel -- it is so clearly a novel about guilt and
            redemption, and it works well because we are never left too long without a reminder of
            what Amir did and his feelings about those childhood actions.
 
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