You have think tanks like the widely respected Atlantic Council that have published reports in the past year that have called Afghanistan a failing state.

At that moment, she cannot think of a more reckless, irrational thing than choosing to become a parent.

it always hurts more to have and lose than to not have in the first place.

The experience of writing 'The Kite Runner' is one I will always think back on with fondness. There is an energy, a romance in writing the first novel that can never be duplicated again.

You've always been a tourist here. You just didn't know it.

My books are about ordinary people, like you, me, people on the street, people who really have an expectation of reasonable happiness in life, want their life to have a sense of security and predictability, who want to belong to something bigger than them, who want love and affection in their life, who want a good future for the children.

Boys, Laila came to see, treated friendship the way they treated the sun: its existence undisputed; its radiance best enjoyed, not beheld directly.