The Sewing Circles of Herat - Christina Lamb

I just finished Christina Lamb's book, The Sewing Circles of Herat, and it was a beautiful read from start to finish. The book explores the history and culture of Afghanistan. Lamb focuses on the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the subsequent Taliban occupation, but she extends her storytelling all the way back to the Great Game, when Afghanistan was still occupied by the British.

Lamb began writing about Afghanistan in the late 1980s when, as a rookie journalist, she would cross the border from Pakistan into Afghanistan to follow the mujaheddin in their fighting against the Soviets. Lamb's daring spirit was the first thing that attracted me to this book because I was very surprised that a young British woman would repeatedly sneak over the border into Afghanistan (which at that time was a war zone), and live amongst the mujaheddin, riding on the backs of their motorcycles and hiding in trenches with them. Once the leader of Pakistan's feared ISI even had Lamb deported from Pakistan. Lamb has inspired me to be more fearless and intrepid in my travels, even though I may not decide to follow her footsteps to Afghanistan.

Lamb's willingness to go anywhere in the country and the relationships that she developed with everyone from secret literature teachers to Hamid Karzai make this book worth reading. She interviewed most of the major warlords in Afghanistan, as well as the exiled royal family and the soon-to-be president, first in the late 1980s when she was a young reporter, and then again at the time the book was written in the early 2000s. Her accounts of their lives and their perspectives on Afghanistan - and how they change over time - are presented without bias. Lamb's interviews completely changed my perspective on Afghanistan and the conflict there. Of course I cannot know for sure but I believe that the stories Lamb recounts from her interviewees are unbiased, which I appreciate given the highly politicized nature of the region today. Lamb writes like someone who loves Afghanistan and just wants to share its stories, not like a journalist or politician with an agenda. Perhaps the greatest evidence to this point is the way she ends the book, leaving the reader to question whether any progress has been made in improving the lives of Afghanis over decades of war.

The Sewing Circles of Herat is also the first book I have ever read about Afghanistan and it is amazing how, in the last week, I have gone from knowing nothing about the country to feeling as though I've personally walked through the streets of Herat, or ridden on a motorcycle over the mountains. Lamb's writing shows how effectively books can educate people about political situations and foreign cultures in a way that they will remember for a long time. I have already bought another one of her books and I look forward to finding more books on the Middle East and beyond that educate me as well as Lamb has done with The Sewing Circles of Herat.