I have just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns. It was a really good book but having read the Moonlit Cage, another Afghanistan book, not too long ago, it didn't quite stack up. I was really attached to the Afghani girl in Moonlit Cage, couldn't put it down, even cried in parts. I had a little trouble meshing with the characters in A Thousand Splendid Suns because they tell two stories before the characters' lives intertwine. But once they do mesh together, I was hooked.

The book only took me a week to read - a short time when i'm usually staring at a computer screen each day. What I found really interesting was the weaving of Afghanistan history and politics into the tale. It's much more interesting learning these things through fiction than in the the newspapers. They talk about the Taliban, al-queda, George Bush etc and what it was like for the people living in Kabul during this time.

It was published this year so it's pretty up to date. It is heart breaking to learn of the way women were treated during the rule of the taliban. they were worth less than animals for many years but the book finishes on a postive note as Kabul begins to rebuild after years of war. It seems the horror has been driven to the outer regions now where we hear snippets in the news every so often.

Thanks for the tip about Moonlit Cage! I'll add it to my reading list. For something completely different but along the same lines try 'Soul Catcher' by Michael White. I'll see if I can get the review posted and let me know if you agree!