Middle Eastern themed books by Yasmina Khadra (Pen Name) and Khaled Hosseini.

The Attack: Novel
Yasmina Khadra portrays the Middle Eastern struggles that are so frequently overlooked or ignored by the media and people alike in the United States and other countries. It was once easy for me to label a suicide bomber as the “terrorist” and myself as the “victim,” but once reading The Attack, I found my fundamental lines between right and wrong and who is the “victim” wavering. Through the elegance of Khadra’s simple similes, envelope style passage, and descriptive insights into Amin’s beliefs, juxtaposed with that of the organization’s beliefs (suicide bombers), a clear message is reiterated: “there’s no happiness without dignity, and no dream is possible without freedom.” These people give up their lives (in the novel) and kill others because they believe themselves and everyone else are the walking dead—no honor, no freedom, no life.

Favorite quotes include:
*“Men invented war; woman invented resistance.”
*“You can’t water a flower with one hand and pluck it with the other. When you put a rose in a vase, you don’t restore its charm; you denature it. You think you’re beautifying your room, but, in fact, all you’re doing its disfiguring your garden.”
*“I came naked into the world, I’ll leave it naked, what I possess doesn’t belong to me, and neither do other people’s lives. All human unhappiness comes from this misunderstanding. You have to be prepared to give back what God has loaned you. No earthly thing belongs to you, not really.”

The Sirens of Baghdad: A Novel
Emotionally powerful and highly thought provoking. The reader sees many counter perspectives from the characters about the war with the U.S. and the idea behind terrorist attacks. Although the story seems to drag occasionally, the message within the plot continually builds. I feel Khadra plays with our emotions and constantly builds anticipation only to create a sense of turmoil within the reader. These parallel feelings between the reader and the characters signify Khadra's interpretation of the justifications of terrorist attacks.

Swallows of Kabul
The story started slow and didn't take off until the last few chapters, but I liked how you saw their (oppressed citizens of Kabul) struggles through both a man and a woman's perspective. And I definitely thought the ending was mind boggling in the sense that it was a mixture of disturbing and profound. Khadra's message is clearly reiterated with the dying wits of the main character. The fact that he transforms into a mentally unstable character because of the emotional and physical struggles, suggests the reader would have to dislodge his or herself from logic to understand the true depth of chaos these people are living in. To sum it up: Khadra has a talent of manipulating the reader's sense of logic and what is right in the world so much so, that at the end of her (his) stories, the reader is questioning his or her preconceived idea of right and wrong.

The Kite Runner
Because of the movie (which I saw before reading the novel), I cannot make a fair assessment of the novel itself (without blurring the film with it) but to say what a great book of honor, love, and atonement! Never before have I truly understood the Middle Eastern culture and their sense of honor. The fact that Amir goes through great links to restore his honor and that of his friend is inspiring. Also, the occasional native language coming through onto the pages was terrific!

I have yet to read: Wolf Dreams (Khadra), and A Thousand Splendid Suns (Hosseini), besides so many other fabulous authors with the same themed novels. If you have read these and/or the above, please drop a line with your thoughts.

Also, if you have any suggested authors I should read that write Middle Easterned- themed literature, let me know!

And as always, Thanks for reading!