good read

My sister Jayne gave me the book "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini for Christmas. I used to read books constantly, but I really don't as much as I should anymore. Having a new book to read right before I left for Key West was perfect. I started reading it in the Airport waiting to leave Virginia. Little did I know that by the time I made it to Key West, I would be 3/4 done. The story is set in Afghanistan, and considering it being a somewhat complicated story set in a society I had little understanding of, the author has an amazing way of telling it in a way that completely gets you wrapped in it. Even more brilliantly, he somehow midway through the book changes the main character without you even realizing it - allowing the story to bridge two generations. I appreciated the history lesson the book unknowingly gave me. Although I have known of events in Afghanistan since the 70's, I never really understood all the various changes in rulers and in society there. The book was able to give me an understanding of those changes from the perspective of an ordinary resident. But don't let that dissuade you - the story is a personal tale, not some kind of dissertation on world affairs. You may recognize the authors name because he also wrote "The Kite Runner." I haven't read that yet, but I picked it up yesterday. I really should read more. If you should too, this is a good easy read that's hard to put down.