I picked this up from the library because everyone seems to be reading books by Mr. Hosseini. I was disappointed. There is nothing innovative about his writing, and the only thing that seems to be interesting to anyone about reading this story is that it takes place in Afghanistan. I didn't feel invested in his characters at all. They are models for Mr. Hosseini to attempt to elicit compassion and understanding in Western audiences for Afghani women--which is great, that is very noble. But they don't seem to live and breathe on their own, apart from his grand purpose. They are tragic figures that life wreaks terror after terror upon. The small empowerment that they are able to discover at the end of the novel is muted, and if anything, defeats the purpose of eliciting understanding of Afghani cultural differences from a Western audience. What, murder, or a fantasy lover?