The Good Son: A Novel, by Michael Gruber

To come across a book like this, especially after reading mediocre genre fiction, is a delight.   This is literature.

From the first few sentences Mr. Gruber's writing sucked me in.   The plot is complex and subtle.   The characters very interesting and extremely well drawn.

The book's description on Amazon is accurate but is a small aspect of this novel;  the book is far wider than it seems.  So what is it about?   A complex intelligent woman who lives in both the western and eastern, Muslim worlds.   Her family.   A soldier.   An exposition of the culture of the east.   Thoughts about what Americans worship most compared to what, say, Pashtunwali.    It is about Jung, about Sufis, about spirituality.

Throughout though it is an interesting narrative that compels the reader forward.    I read a review calling it an espionage thriller.  I guess it is that, but again it is also so much more than that.  This is one of the best books I've read this year; you should read it.