A Thousand Splendid Suns
Author: Khaled Hosseini
About half-way through this one, I had to search the internet to confirm that it is indeed a work of fiction. When that was confirmed, I had a sigh of relief.
Much of the book is incredibly sad. And the reality is that much of the situation in Kabul (where most of the story is based) is incredibly sad and has been for a long time.
The story, though, is beautiful in a way. It touches on relationships between people when things get ugly and complicated, and the beauty that can exist even in the ugliest of situations.
One aspect of the book I appreciated was the rare glimpse into how people in the Muslim world look at things. The particular example that comes to mind: at one point a female character discusses wearing a Burqa at her husband’s request (demand?). She grew to like it because it was like a 1-way window to the world.