Nearly ten years ago I read Amy Waldman’s book The Submission, in which a Muslim woman submits a blind entry in a contest for a post-9/11 memorial, and the selection of her design sets off a complicated series of events. Ms. Waldman’s latest book, A Door in the Earth, revolves around an Afghan-American woman named Parveen Shams who finds herself searching for her life’s purpose as she prepares to graduate from college. Having grown up in an Afghan-American community in the Bay Area of Northern California, she understands the pull of Afghan culture, and has developed a relationship with an anthropology professor. Reading a bestselling book called Mother Afghanistan, she is so inspired by the author Gideon Crane that she decides to pick up and move to a remote village Afghanistan to join the work of his charitable foundation and its maternity clinic, dedicated to helping Afghan women.

When she arrives, she is surprised to find that the local villagers don’t exhibit the level of gratitude she expected. Then she starts to realize that the book seems to be filled with mistakes, and perhaps stories that aren’t even true. The U.S. military shows up to pave the road to the village where the clinic is located, and suddenly the war is all around her. Parveen feels she has to decide whether her loyalties are with the villagers or the military. (It’s sort of Three Cups of Tea on steroids). I love books that teach me some history, make me think about the world beyond my own little bubble, and provide entertainment by bringing characters to life to the point that I feel I KNOW them.

Ms. Waldman was a journalist who reported from Afghanistan for the New York Times, so she has a unique perspective on the war and its effect on both the Afghani people and the Afghan-Americans who are deeply affected. Thanks to Little, Brown & Co. and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review. Four stars.