If my book generates any sort of dialogue among Afghans, then I think it will have done a service to the community.

I returned to Afghanistan because I had a deep longing to see for myself how people lived, what they thought of their government, how optimistic they were about the future of their homeland.

Inside Laila too a battle was being waged : guilt on one side, partnered with shame, and, on the other, the conviction that what she and Tariq had done was not sinful; that it had been natural, good, beautiful, even inevitable, spurred by the knowledge that they might never see each other again.

Whether you do something or decide to do nothing, either way, you are making a moral choice. And I hope people make the right one.

All my life, she gave to me a shovel and said, Fill these holes inside of me, Pari.

But the game involves only male names. Because, if it's a girl, Laila has already named her

Without women taking an active role in Afghan society, rebuilding Afghanistan is going to be very difficult.