Every war lets women and children suffer most. In his second novel Hosseini chose to make the suffering of Afghan women his main subject.

Mariam, an illegitimate child, is married at the age of 15 to a by-traveler named Rasheed. He is about 20 years her senior, a shoemaker in Kabul, and turns out a wife abuser of the worst type.
Laila is an intelligent teenager who's father is teacher with a liberal and progressive attitude. She is in love with a boy from the neighbourhood who has lost his leg as child due a landmine.
Mariam and Laila have the most different backgrounds and couldn't be more opposites – but yet the war intertwines their fate in the strangest way. Whilst the taliban spread their black, suffocating palls over the land, to nip the tiniest sprout of joy in the bud, the two women develope a deep friendship ...

I'm always a bit suspicious, when a man writes as a woman or vice versa. Is it possible that an American can mimic the voice of an ignorant, afghan country girl? Yes, he can. I was rapt by those two women. Hosseini did it again. He broke my heart! The story let me weep, marvel, giggle and mourn ... and I really was glad for the happy ending. Well, halfway happy at least.

Reserved for the Bookcrossing Olympics

I let it at my favourite hairdresser who is of iranian origin (I believe). Well anyway, he comes from a country not far from the novel's scene.

This is Vegania's contribution to Rugby - make a release as quickly as possible. We measured with the stopwatch. Time taken for registering and releasing the book 1:49 minutes.

Dear finder,

please write a brief entry, that you have found the book. You can do this anonymous, but it's much more fun for you if you create a Bookcrossing account. You will get then an notification every time when one of "your" books has been found by another reader. And it's still anonymous; Bookcrossing will never publish email adresses.

I wish you much pleasure with Hosseini, although it's a very sad book. But I was enthralled and couldn't put it down.

I'm looking forward to your journal entry :)
=^,^= spy