Parallels and Co-incidences: Irony in The Kite Runner

At some stage, I want to build up a battery of references to the astonishing number of parallels and co-incidences which the book contains. Let us do it this way - as soon as you come across a situation or context which parallels another in the book, write it up in the blog. When you find a co-incidence, do the same.
The question we will need to debate at the end is whether these contribute to a better grasp of the work, or whther they weaken the power of the situations becuase they are too fabricated.
But first, let us gather the information.