Point of View

The novel is told from the first person perspective of Aziz. He is an Afghan native who has lived among fighting his entire life. His parents were killed in what appeared to be a retaliatory act because the group of Taliban with which his father fought refused to extort taxes as they’d been ordered. The first person point of view is the best one for this story as Aziz’s story is one that must be told from the person who has experienced what Aziz did. No other character in the story could tell the story of the changes that took place in Aziz’s life. He was the one who could best tell the small nuances that affect his decisions and slowly change his mind about the fighting.

The majority of Aziz’s story is told in the past tense. The only exceptions...