Hosseini has commented that he considers The Kite Runner to be a father-son relationship story, emphasizing the familial aspects of the narrative, an element that he continued to use in his later works. Themes of guilt and redemption feature prominently in the novel, with a pivotal scene depicting an act of sexual assault that happens against Hassan that Amir fails to prevent. The situation as a whole was the main reason why Amir and Hassan's friendship ended. The latter half of the book centres on Amir's attempts to atone for this transgression by rescuing Hassan's son two decades later.