Blog Entry 1: Experience of Novel

Come Back to Afghanistan is a novel about finding identity and doing everything to make sure that Afghanistan can get on the road for a successful future. So it is not to be said that this book as no point…because it does. It teaches us so much about a country half way across the world. A country that we have invaded. We learn about the lifestyles of the people their and what they have to live through everyday because of all the fighting. It’s a learning experience for everyone who reads it. The leaders are willing to do anything for their country no matter what the price. Their perseverance is admirable. Even though Afghanistan is in such poor conditions they are not going to give up on it. And this is why it is a book worth reading. Yes, I do say that this is a learning experience, but I will admit to the fact that it is not the most riveting page-turner that I have read. The author, Said Hyder Akbar, writes as though he is talking. We know that much of it is just copied from the types that he recorded while he was there, but it seems as though he spent very little time actually editing it. He sometimes drags on about certain issues or will wander off and start to talk about something completely unrelated. This makes the book harder to follow because you don’t always know where he is at, and your mind has to jump from one place to another. The story itself is interesting. Anybody who gets the opportunity to travel to Afghanistan and see up close and take part in the government should be listened to. I like how he is taking this time to record it and let the world know. But, just the way it is presented and laid out does not help. Honestly I will admit that I have gotten so bored that I have fallen asleep while reading a couple of times. And I almost feel guilty saying this…but it is true. What I think would help this book out is if he spent more time on the bigger things that happened, than going on five page long tantrums about an insignificant fact. Just get to the point. Lastly I feel like even though this is a memoir of his life there is no sense of story. It’s just like a timeline. If there was a sense of a form of a climax or a “plot” in a sense that would help the story come along. All together I do say that this book is not particularly one I read to pass the time, but it is a good learning experience and I am glad that we have to read it.