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lostinfrance's review against another edition
3.0
I heard the author interviewed on This American Life....and wanted to hear more. As an Afghani-American, he has a unique view point on the current happenings in Afghanistan...and I definitely wanted to see what a full book about his country would teach me. I was happy to grab a copy off of paperbackswap....and even endured a hardback copy to read it.
The book is about Hyder's discovery of his home country....watching his father who is a part of Karzai's start up government work--- and exploring the streets and countryside of his home land. Hyder did not really discover his love for his native country until after the September 11 attacks when his father sold his store in CA and returned to Afghanistan to start work rebuilding his country. Hyder spent his summers shadowing his father--- and used his status to explore and meet many important men in Afghanistan.
The writing simple and enjoyable. I was a bit suspicious as he did not write the book on his own, but the writing style was good...and I definitely enjoyed the book.
Read this book if you want to know more about the country...or what it is like to go home. A good memoir. A good travel doc.
The book is about Hyder's discovery of his home country....watching his father who is a part of Karzai's start up government work--- and exploring the streets and countryside of his home land. Hyder did not really discover his love for his native country until after the September 11 attacks when his father sold his store in CA and returned to Afghanistan to start work rebuilding his country. Hyder spent his summers shadowing his father--- and used his status to explore and meet many important men in Afghanistan.
The writing simple and enjoyable. I was a bit suspicious as he did not write the book on his own, but the writing style was good...and I definitely enjoyed the book.
Read this book if you want to know more about the country...or what it is like to go home. A good memoir. A good travel doc.
sabrinaisreading's review against another edition
4.0
This book is not perfect. It’s not remarkably well-written, it didn’t elevate my soul into a new plane of human existence, but I couldn’t put it down. It’s certainly representing a specific male, Pashtun perspective. And, the obvious, it’s quite outdated for 2019. This book came out more than 10 years ago. However, I’ve struggled to understand post-9/11 Afghanistan. This book’s personal narrative helped me to understand the landscape a lot better. Afghanistan’s politics and history is something I’ve always wanted to entrench myself in and learn more about and this book felt like a good stepping stone in my learning journey.
akross's review
3.0
I read this book almost immediately after I read Kite Runner and just as immediately realized how foolish that was. CBtA is based on Said Akbar's actual experience as the son of an Afghani politician and is thus much less malleable than Kite Runner. It's no less thought-provoking though; it's heart-breaking to think about what has happened to this formerly beautiful country in the past few decades.
tfredenburg's review against another edition
4.0
Said Hyder's book is greatly accessible for those who know little to nothing about Afghanistan and its history since the Soviet occupation, but are looking to get an introduction. The emotions of this piece range from heartfelt to startling. Seriously formative Afghan political events of the early 2000s are filtered through the lens of an American teenager who feels deeply connected to his family's homeland and expresses both hope for Afghanistan's future and frustration with the road to getting there.
I started this book prior to the US's recent, disastrous exit, and finished it afterward. Of course, much has changed between when this book was published in 2005 and the present moment, but as someone who was a child during the time of the author's writing, I can say that I feel more prepared to keep up with news out of Afghanistan after reading--and keeping in mind that the American media will never be able to tell the whole story.
I started this book prior to the US's recent, disastrous exit, and finished it afterward. Of course, much has changed between when this book was published in 2005 and the present moment, but as someone who was a child during the time of the author's writing, I can say that I feel more prepared to keep up with news out of Afghanistan after reading--and keeping in mind that the American media will never be able to tell the whole story.
dkeane2007's review
3.0
This memoir is a look at how hard it will be to rebuild Afghanistan, but manages to be both realistic and hopeful at the same time. If only the US government would pay half as much attention to the realities.
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