LOCK on The Kite Runner

I'm supposed to take the LOCK system:

L - Lead
O - Objective
C - Confrontation
K - Knockout

...and pick out a book I've read -- The Kite Runner, by: Khaled Husseini -- and break it down using the following questions:

* * SPOILER ALERT: Don't read forward if you want to be subtly told random plot outcomes. Proceed if you don't plan on reading the book or watching the movie. You suck anyway. **

1. What is it about the Lead character that captures you?
   
   Amir is from Afghanistan, and lived in a culture I know very little about. I'd never heard of kite fights or kite running, and I'm intrigued by him being the friend who makes best friends with the kid from the slums. His betrayal of his friend is one that I take very personally. I've never been part of something so serious, but swear up and down that if it comes down to it, I'll be right there in the thick of things, defending my friends until the bitter end. He turned on his friend and it haunted him constantly, even into adulthood. Some people don't realize the decisions they make as kids will stay with them until the later years.
   
   
2. What is it the Lead is trying to get or get away from?
   
   At first he was trying to get away from his past. The memory of betraying his best friend, then leaving before war broke out in Afghanistan haunted him. Even as an adult, in his success with work and women, he could not escape the past. It was stuck on him like toilet paper on your shoe at a club.
   
   
3. When did the story kick into "high gear"?
   
   When he leaves his comfort zone and heads back to his hometown in Afghanistan, which is overrun by dangerous types who hate everything from the western world. He is taken deep into the city and eventually finds his way into dangerous territory just to find the son of his now-deceased best friend. We're not sure whether he'll survive the mission... ok, we do. He's writing the story about himself, though it's supposed to be fictional. But still, he's in dangerous lands and could end up maimed or something horrible. Karma finds that ass.
   
   
4. What was the main opposition to the Lead's objective?
   
   Amir's opposition was first his wife, who didn't want him to leave, and then the evil warring types who were trying to take over the country and prevent the types like him who were western-influenced. They nearly killed the man on several occasions. Lots of pins and needles to sit on there.
   
   
5. How did the ending make you feel? Why did it work?
   
   It was happy, as he was able to complete his mission. It was positive and rather cheesy, but it'd been such a painful journey for him that you figured if anyone deserved it in the end, it'd be him. He'd rebounded and taken a large risk to head back and right a wrong from years past and so he was rewarded -- with his life, and mission success.
   

I enjoyed the book. A Thousand Splendid Suns was just as good, just as depressing. Great conversation-starter.