It is clear from the very beginning of the novel that Baba
is disappointed about lots of things that he sees in his son, Amir, his penchant for
writing being only one of them. Consider how Chapter 3 ends - Baba, talking to Rahim
Khan, says that Amir is so different from him that he doubts he is his
son.
An interesting part of the novel that is worth
examining comes when Amir writes his first story and gives it to Baba, saying that he
had written a story:
Baba nodded and gave a thin smile that conveyed
little more than feigned interest. "Well, that's very good, isn't it?" he said. Then
nothing more. He just looked at me through the cloud of
smoke.
I probably stood there for under a minute, but, to
this day, it was one of the longest minutes of my life. Seconds plodded by, each
separated from the next by an eternity. Air grew heavy, dam, almost solid. I was
breathing bricks. Baba went on staring me down, and didn't offer to
read.
It is clear that Baba
has no interest at all in his son's literary ambitions, and it is left to Rahim Khan to
encourage Amir and read the story. If it were up to Baba, Amir would be a businessman or
something more "manly" - a writer does not fit Baba's idea of a male
career.
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