I am a person that usually enjoys reading and learning about other cultures. But this is the single worst book I have ever read. This book does not have a plot. It is a collection of irrelevant short stories that are only vaguely linked. It is a very biased presentation of the life of Afghanis. I would highly discourage any person from reading this book. The author presents it as a factual representation of the Khan family. The actual man, Shah Muhammad Rais, as filed a law suit against the Norwegian author because the book was extremely inaccurate in its portrayal of Afghan life. My opinion is that this is the absolute worst book I ever read.