A Thousand Splendid Suns

...is a really great book. It's by the same guy who wrote 'the Kite Runner.' It's superbly written, very touching and very sad. Recently I've been quite interested in Middle Eastern culture, and have just read a bunch of articles about Saudi Arabia in the NY times and have also reread Sultana. What I think is really fascinating is how two completely opposite societies can live on the same planet! In the West, promiscuity is rampant and many teens have almost complete freedom; they drink, do drugs, have sex, etc without much, if any negative repurcussions. However, in the East, teens have what we would consider to be no freedom; in Sultana, one of her friends who had been meeting guys was discovered and drowned in her pool. Really, I think both societies are too much. Just in England, you walk down the street and see absolutely tons of young single mothers with their broods, smoking on the corners! I think an equilibrium between the two would be nice- freedom, but also seeing the consquences for your actions.