Green on Blue

[DEBUT] Among many recent debut novels by Americans who have fought in the Middle East, Ackerman's is distinctive for being written wholly in the voice of a young inhabitant, presenting the region's perspective in all its complexity. Barely more than a boy when his parents are killed as armed forces rush through their Afghan village, Aziz and his older brother, Ali, make their way to a neighboring city and scrape by until an explosion leaves Ali seriously injured. Aziz is assured that his brother will be cared for if he joins a U.S.-backed militia, run by ironfisted Commander Sabir, who consults with an inscrutable American named Mr. Jack while battling Taliban leader Gazan—the very man responsible for the bombing that devastated Ali. This is Aziz's opportunity for badal, or revenge, and he grabs it eagerly, only to discover that he's trapped, forever beholden to Sabir. As Sabir tries to drag in Atal, a town leader who wants to remain neutral, and Aziz finds himself shuttling between Atal and Gazan after committing a dreadful mistake, one realizes the essential error in American thinking: the war is not about ideology but about soldiers settling scores and fighting simply to fight.