The Kite Runner

When reading Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner”, I thought that at first, it was very interesting to read about a childhood experience in Afghanistan. Then when I read about “laaf, that Afghan tendency to exaggerate-sadly, almost a national affliction”(12), I questioned the accuracy of the Afghani narrator. But I thought that being self conscious about it, he may be exempt.
I then went on to enjoy childhood experiences with Hassan and taking the story seriously. I felt sorry for Hassan, always being picked on and even Amir who was closest to him didn’t treat him with respect. I questioned the reliability of the narrator’s details again when the kites “were down to a half dozen”(64), then the blue kite cut 3 more. Afterwards there were 4 kites flying. This was “fuzzy math”, and I must question the accuracy of other details. He may not remember details as a child, or he might be exaggerating. The thought of this discrepancy disrupted my attentiveness to details, and I started to pay attention only to the concept being conveyed. That would be short lived with the shock of such an event as the rape of Hassan. Such an event would surely be accurate.