[lila55]

I read the book about three years ago and really loved it! I felt that it "introduced" me to Afghanistan, above and beyond the newspaper level.

Edit: Speaking about Afghanistan, I read another excellent novel recently that takes place in that country, "The Wasted Vigil" by Nadeem Aslan. I found it very impressive in the way it describes the brutal reality there, it is hard to imagine for me how people can bear to live like that.