Chapter One

It's hard to believe that places like this even exist today. The random descriptions of how the city used to be make it sound so magnificent, but what is currently going on makes it sound terrible. At one point Yasmina Khadra writes that the country is nothing but battlefields, sand, and cemeteries. How can a city be destroyed so quickly? People are very rude here. They don't care about anyone other than themselves. After all, they have whips that they carry around in the marketplace. When the cars drive through, they give only a brief warning. If you are in their way, oh well, they warned you. It sounds like they need to invest in some stop signs! There are so many people everywhere it seems. People find death exciting! The poor girl was being stoned to death and everyone gathered around to throw the rocks. Mohsen is excited that he can see a spot of blood on her burqa where he hit her. I think it must be a terrible place if people enjoy executing people and watching them die. I'm wondering if the girl was really guilty. I know that she was accused of prostitution, but it seems like many other wrongdoings are going on without intervention of the law. It doesn't exactly seem like they have a strong police force here...