Contents
CHAPTER FIVE
Overview
Gunfire heralds the 1973 coup, shaking Amir’s home and revealing Baba’s rare fear. The next day, Assef confronts Amir and Hassan with racist venom, but Hassan’s slingshot averts violence and earns Assef’s vow of revenge. Months later, Baba gifts Hassan corrective surgery for his harelip, deepening tensions and foreshadowing Hassan’s lost joy.
Summary
In the night, explosions and gunfire shake Kabul. Amir, Hassan, and Ali huddle in fear until Baba returns at dawn, visibly frightened, as roads and phones were blocked. Morning radio confirms a bloodless coup: King Zahir Shah is deposed while abroad, and Daoud Khan declares a republic.
The boys slip away from the adults’ discussion to climb their tree but are intercepted by Assef and his cronies, Wali and Kamal. Assef boasts of ties to the new regime and praises Hitler, declaring Afghanistan for Pashtuns while demeaning Hassan as a Hazara. When Assef prepares to attack with brass knuckles, Hassan levels his slingshot at Assef’s eye, forcing a retreat and drawing a promise of future revenge.
Life in Kabul outwardly normalizes amid talk of reform, but the threat lingers. In winter 1974, on Hassan’s birthday, Baba introduces Dr. Kumar, a plastic surgeon from New Delhi, as Hassan’s unconventional present: an operation to repair his harelip. Hassan, reassured it will be painless, undergoes successful surgery.
When bandages come off, the wound is raw but Hassan thanks the doctor and smiles. The scar fades by the next winter, yet ironically that is when Hassan stops smiling, foreshadowing darker turns ahead.
Who Appears
- HassanTerrified by the coup; defends Amir with a slingshot; receives harelip surgery as Baba’s birthday gift.
- AmirNarrator; fears the unrest and Assef; passively relies on Hassan’s courage; witnesses Baba’s unusual fear.
- AssefViolent neighborhood bully; espouses racist, pro-Hitler views; threatens Amir and Hassan; retreats under slingshot aim.
- BabaReturns home frightened after coup; later gifts Hassan plastic surgery, showing deep, protective generosity.
- AliComforts the boys during the coup; supports Hassan through the confrontation and surgery.
- Dr. KumarIndian plastic surgeon summoned by Baba; repairs Hassan’s harelip successfully.
- WaliAssef’s follower; joins in intimidating Amir and Hassan; withdraws when Hassan threatens with slingshot.
- KamalAssef’s accomplice; participates in the menacing; leaves after Hassan’s defiant stand.
- Rahim KhanListens with Baba to news of the coup; quiet presence during the political shift.