Something to think about as we celebrate our Independence

My hairdresser & I like to discuss books when I'm getting my hair done. He always recommends things he's reading. Several times he's tried to get me to read The Kite Runner. This time, he recommended another book by the same author, A Thousand Splendid Suns. He had it up there at the shop. He said, "You'll really like this, and you'll learn a lot about the culture in Afghanistan." I said, "I don't really want to know about the culture in Afghanistan." But he thrust it upon my while I was sitting under the dryer and I got to reading.

I took it home with me and finished it in two days. The author sucks you in to the story before he breaks out all the disturbing slices of life that you really didn't want to know: the violent beatings from an abusive husband; Cesarean births in a Taliban women's hospital that doesn't warrant electricity, running water or anesthesia; a husband who makes you drop your daughter off at an orphanage (but keeps his son) when he looses his job and can no longer feed his family; widows of the mujahedeen who are prevented by the Taliban from working and so are unable to make a living, feed their children, feed themselves.

These are things that I know happen. I just don't really want to read about it. It makes me feel guilty. It makes me feel like a rich, spoiled American and NO WONDER they all hate us so much.

The most disturbing parts were realizing:

1. That the US armed the mujahedeen to fight the Soviets, b/c it suited their Cold War purpose, but once the Soviets were out, we abandoned them and let the warlords turn on their own country with the weapons we provided them, even when:

2. One of the warlords warned the EU that the Taliban had to be stopped - that they were sponsoring terrorism and were planning a huge attack on the US. (We ignored the man and he was subsequently killed by the Taliban. You know the rest of the story.)

Although it left me bothered, I do recommend the book. Hosseini is an excellent storyteller and a very good writer. You don't always get a combination of both.

And for my flight to Chicago? I bought The Kite Runner.