The Kite Runner is a book written as fiction yet possibly read as reality; some readers might even question the veracity of the events narrated throughout the story before realizing its categorization as a novel. This comes exclusively due to the story’s evident partial factual basis, even when said facts only reside in the Afghan and American history cited in the book. But how different can readers truly interpret the text? Knowledge of the novel’s internal and external context can help a reader understand more about the book, and hence possibly even find new hidden meaning in passages that were before just fiction; however, the writer’s understanding of his readers might also help him guide said audience towards a specific message. Is the …show more content…
The book pretends to enclose the entirety of Afghan culture and history, as seen when the main character expresses “to me, the face of Afghanistan is that of a (…)”1 before describing, in two lines, his jovial friend, and servant; who, like him, never saw more of Afghanistan than the wealthy Kabul and its surroundings. Moreover, when dwelling into historical events, the books estimates it more important to further character development through fictional, story-telling events, rather than explain or detail in any way said historical events which the characters have been placed into (Russian, Taliban, and American Occupations, etc.). Thus, any competently critical reader with a sense of Afghan history, will place in doubt the portrayal of Afghanistan the novelist implicitly claims to have made; for example, some might think it a way to occidentalize Afghan culture for the masses, whilst others might deem it a brilliant way to put in question the narrator’s remarks, and thus expose the main character’s biased narration. In any case, the reading will change, and with it, the interpretation of the novel’s message. Outside the book itself, however, and within the novelist’s context, we can again find more facts that might change the readers’