I loved this story. I had trouble, however, with the story-teller. I still would recommend it to other book clubs as it provides such a rich subject matter for discussion. My issues with the author's style has to do with his overly flowery prose, his detailed focus on a romantic relationship that was not germain at all to the story but measly details about the hero's wife (I wonder if a female author would have told much differently). As well as descriptive details that seem out of place, or leaves you wondering "how could the author have known that". All that aside, it is a wonderful story.

I liked the idea of this book, but it was an exhausting read. I was left with the feeling of "just because you can doesn't mean you should", ie just because the author can craft a nifty new way of telling a story (or 7 or 8) doesn't make it fun to read.
Others in my book club liked it. Perhaps I look for a bit more relaxation in my books than mental callesthenics.

I found "In the Country of Men" a bit disapointing as I was reading it. Perhaps it was not fair to read this book after "Three Cups of Tea", "Thousand Splendid Suns" and Benezir Bhutto's book. The writing was beautiful and author captured the voice of the 9 year old character who tells the story.

The main difference and I think what I found disappointing was this book highlighted how different my culture (western) is from his culture. There were cruel parts of the character's personality and a coldness that made it hard to sympathize with his plight.

All in all I did like the book, I just found it a bit disheartening.