Following the ending of the Soviet Union's occupation of Afghanistan in the early 1990s a fundamentalist group called the Taliban rose to power.

There are two distinct ethnic groups in Afghani society – Pashtun and Hazara. Traditionally, Pashtuns have held positions of power.

"The Kite Runner" is a post-colonial novel, which means it was written by a member of a formerly colonised society.

Hosseini wrote "The Kite Runner" while living in the USA. As such, the text is imbued with a Western perspective.

On 11 September 2001, there was a terrorist attack on America which led to war with Afghanistan and the overthrow of the Taliban.