Amanda Smith Smith itibaren Ranjeng, Losarang, Indramayu Regency, West Java, Endonezya itibaren Ranjeng, Losarang, Indramayu Regency, West Java, Endonezya

According to one rater, he/she would classify me as a moron. That's okay because we're all entitled to our opinion. In short, I liked this book a great deal. Did it creak and groan in places? Sure it did, but that didn't destroy the book for me. One part that I laughed through was when the author, through Amir, tells us that Afghans love the endings. That there is no such thing as a spoiler. I should have been an Afghan (although I am sincerely grateful I am not and that I have not known the constant warfare that they have) because I do not mind spoilers. In fact, I prefer them. About halfway through, I was debating stopping for the day and read ahead to the end, learned the ending, and could not stop. I had to know how it went from here to there! I am grateful the author ended when and how he did---the book would not have been improved by more details. I enjoyed realizing that every story in the book had a point, it all wrapped around itself, tying up all the loose ends. I hate pointless meanderings. Yes, it slowed down around the middle (which is why I read toward the end and then came back), and I wondered at some of the Farsi but realized that he tried to give us the insight to know that he spoke Farsi in his personal life as well as English. Was it too neat, too handy? I don't know, and I don't care. The back of the book cover says it is a "universal story". I think it is for various reasons. For one, I saw myself in parts where he had been too afraid to do the right thing but finally found the strength to do the right thing even though it was the most difficult thing to do. I've been there---obviously different circumstances, but the same feelings of worthlessness of being too chicken to stand up to do the right thing, and then later having something happen again, requiring strength of character and answering with courage. That is why I think this is a great book. It is timeless---not so much a book about Afghanistan as a book about ourselves and how our experiences build on each other.