Chasing Alexander: a realistic look into one Marine's war experience

Chasing Alexander: A Marine’s Journey Across Iraq and Afghanistan by Christopher Martin is his personal account of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a falling college student obsessed with Alexander the Great, Martin enlisted in the US Marine Corps. His goal: to become a different man, a man like Alexander. Chronicling his early life in small town Pennsylvania where nothing happens to his struggles in high school and college and leading to his decision to join the Marines. From his difficulty at boot camp to his disappointing deployment to Iraq, Martin fears he will never live up to Alexander’s example. Soon after, Martin and his unit are sent to Marjah, nicknamed “the bleeding ulcer” of Afghanistan. There he faces heat, fleas and a hidden enemy. As the firefights increase and the casualties are becoming names he knows, Martin struggles to control his emotions and his newfound sense of power. He may physically survive the war, but will he keep his sanity? 

Chasing Alexander is a haunting, fast-paced war memoir of a young man who thought only about the glory of war and not the cost. A book I could not put down as Martin’s account of his experiences are captivating. Interwoven with history facts about Alexander the Great, Martin gives an unflinching, no-holds-bar account of the seductive side of war and its horrifying consequences. His determination to be a grunt, an ordinary Joe, is quickly thwarted when his intelligence puts him in more important roles including leadership. With the recent events in Afghanistan in the back of my mind, I read Martin’s words with baited breath. His account of Operation Moshtarak (February 13, 2010 - December 7, 2010) aka the Battle of Marjah was particularly riveting. It is an honest, poignant look into an experience that many of us will never have. It is a reminder about the cost of war particularly to the men and women who fight it. I highly recommend Chasing Alexander. 

Chasing Alexander is available in hardcover and eBook. 

The Kite Runner: a story of forgiveness and redemption

The Kite Runner is the first novel by Khaled Hosseini. It starts in Afghanistan before the country was torn apart by politics, racial prejudice and war. As a young boy learns about the world around him and the delicate balance between doing what is right and staying quiet out of fear. The story opens in December 2001, as a man muses that the past never stays buried. As it has a way to crawl to the present. Amir lives with his widowed father, their servant, Ali, and Ali’s son, Hassan. It seems to be an idyllic life until July 17, 1973 when the king is overthrown and a new government is established. By March 1981, Amir and his father must leave the country and become refugees on their way to America. Once in America, Amir learns to make a new life for himself. He goes to college and even gets married. His life goes smoothly until he receives a letter which will turn his life around and send him back to his homeland in search of forgiveness and redemption.

The Kite Runner is the second novel I’ve read by Khaled Hosseini and his storytelling ability is wonderful. I love this descriptions of Afghanistan before it was torn apart and you can almost imagine it was life in America. As many people in America, I didn’t know much about Afghanistan until 9/11 and Mr. Hosseini’s writing brings a beautiful country to life, brings it’s people to life and brings the long series of events which led to the country status now, to heartbreaking light. I highly recommend The Kite Runner.

The Kite Runner

Is available at all major booksellers

And the Mountains Echoed: a great story about a family torn apart

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini is a heartbreaking journey one Afghan family must take from an impoverished Afghan village to a modern day, war torn country. From Afghanistan to Paris, France to the United States. The book is told in a series of short stories told from different perspectives as the reader is taken on one father’s devastating choice to a country trying to rebuild.

It is the fall of 1952 and 10 year old Abdullah is being told a story by his father. The story of a father sacrificing his favorite child to save an entire village and the anguish he suffers. Abdullah, his beloved little sister, Pari and their father, Sabor are on a journey to Kabul where Pari will be adopted by Mr. and Mars. Wahdati. In the spring of 1955, Mr. Wahdati suffers a stroke and Mrs. Wahdati to return to Paris, France taking Pari with her. The book fast forwards to spring 2003, as two Afghan-Americans, Idris and Timur, come to Kabul, looking to restore their families’ lands which were stolen by the Taliban. The experience changes Idris as he returns to his cushy and safe life in the U.S. We learn that Abdullah has made it to America where he and his family have opened a restaurant. The story flash backs to Paris 1974 and Pari as a young adult. She struggles with her alcoholic mother. We sees Pari’s life as she gets married, has children and becomes a widow. Until one fateful day, when the phone rings and she learns about her past that her mother took with her to the grave. Will brother and sister finally be reunited? Or is it too late?

I enjoyed And the Mountains Echoed. I enjoyed the epic story of one family as their country is thrown into war, the arrival of the Taliban and the aftermath of the U.S. war against the Taliban. While the political agendas are very much in the background, the reader can feel its presence as the characters interact and live in the world around them. Despite the back and forth in the timeline and the narrators, the story flowed and was easier to read than I expected. I highly recommend And the Mountains Echoed. It is a great story about the personal events in a turbulent region of the world.