I feel that this book is under-hyped. Sure, it’s not anything like As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow, The Kite Runner, or all those other well-hyped books set in Syria or Afghanistan, but to me, this deserves a moment to be acknowledged and promoted.

First, it paints a good picture of how women are treated in Afghanistan, and how Afghan traditions prevail over love, understanding and compassion. Timing-wise on when I read this book, I would say that it is relevant to the culture that prevails in the country.

Next, while the gist of the story is about how 5 women became heroes in their own ways, I cannot emphasize enough the change of heart and, somehow, the breaking of chains that happened in Ahmet, a traditional Afghan man and a devout Muslim, towards love - for his mother and for his own.

This also portrayed love in different forms. Of course, there’s that passionate love (typical in modern countries) and love triangle between Jack, Sunny and Tommy, the quiet but growing between Yazmina and Ahmet, and the love the waited so patiently for so many years between Rashif and Halajan, the book also touched on the love that’s been born by finally choosing one’s self and pursuing your own aspirations in the form of Candace, the love for one’s job that promotes value for the life of others as exhibited by Isabel, the sisterly love between Yazmina and Layla, and the love for tradition (the good side of it) through Bashir Hadi. I am amazed how the author has tied all these together in this book.

One could also get a deeper appreciation of the book upon reading the interview with the author and the acknowledgements. While this book is purely fiction, it is clearly drawn from her own experiences and her interactions with other people while she stayed in Afghanistan.

And how can one not appreciate the final pages of the book dedicated for those who wanted to host a book club party with those tasteful Afghan snacks and drinks, and suggested book club discussion questions?!

Highly recommend giving this book a chance! And btw, apologies for flooding the Forum with my thoughts. That’s just how much I’ve engaged with this book, and I hope future readers will do, too. 😊