1. How does the book start? Why do you think the story begins where it does?

The Kite Runner begins with our thus-far nameless protagonist explaining that the past cannot be forgotten. A single moment in time defined him and has been affecting him for the last twenty-six years. This moment was in 1975 when he was twelve years old and hid near a crumbling alleyway in his hometown of Kabul, Afghanistan. I think this single event comes to define the rest of Amir's life. This sets the stage for the rest of the book.