The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
I believe this is the first English novel written by and about Afghans and Afghanistan. For the first novel this is a pretty well written story. And besides the story it gives a good peep into the Afghanistan as it was and how it is today. It tells you about the psychology of Afghans, their small rituals, their values and the games they play. It is also a very sad story; you may not feel very happy at the end [...]