At just 336 pages, Caravans is a concise yet powerfully engaging and highly perceptive work that is set entirely within the borders of Afghanistan.

The novel revolves around Mark Miller, a young American diplomat stationed in Kabul in 1946. His task is to locate Ellen, a woman who married an American-educated Afghan named Nazrullah and then vanished. Eventually, he discovers her among a group of nomads. Meanwhile, Miller's traveling companion is Dr. Otto Stiglitz, a Nazi war criminal.

More than forty years after the publication of Caravans, our world is preoccupied with conflicting moral perspectives. However, as Michener repeatedly implies, these are not novel concepts. His characters grapple with the savagery of traditional culture while simultaneously facing the overwhelming force and, indeed, the barbarity of encroaching modernism. For example, Nazrullah delivers an impassioned speech suggesting that, despite its flaws, at least Afghanistan is not Germany.

"I went to Germany at the age of twenty. Before that, I was educated by private tutors whose main job, it seems to me now, was to impress upon me the moral degeneracy of Afghanistan and the timeless glory of Europe. I naively accepted their indoctrination and reported to Germany fully prepared to display my tutors' prejudices. But when I reached Göttingen, I realized that the true barbarians were not the primitives who stone women in Ghazni - and we have some real primitives in this country - but the Germans. From 1938 through 1941, I remained as their guest, witnessing the dreadful degeneration of a culture that might once have been as my tutors claimed but was now a garish travesty. Believe me, Miller, I learned more in Germany than you'll ever learn in Afghanistan."

"As you know, I went from Germany to Philadelphia, where half the people thought I was a Negro. What I didn't learn in Germany, you taught me. Why do you think I wear this beard? Before growing it, I conducted a six-week experiment. I decided to be a Negro... lived in Negro hotels, ate in their restaurants, read their papers, and dated Negro girls. It was an ugly, ugly life being a Negro in your country... maybe not as bad as being a Jew in Germany, but a lot worse than being an Afghan in Ghazni. To prove to the Philadelphians that I wasn't a Negro, I grew this beard and wore a turban, which I had never worn at home."

What I admire about Michener is that he doesn't settle for simplistic arguments. Ellen ultimately leaves Nazrullah for the Nazi Stiglitz, who converts to Islam. The Jewish Miller is compelled to confront the German, while the Afghan assures him that purity - whether racial or moral - exists only in Hitler's mind. "If the facts were known," Nazrullah tells Miller, "probably half our Afghan heritage is Jewish. For hundreds of years, we boasted of being one of the Lost Tribes of Israel. Then Hitler decreed us to be Aryans, which gave us certain advantages."

Later, Ellen describes her own disillusionment - with the blatant bigotry of Americans during the war years, with "kept professors" whose "moral responsibility was to dissect the world" but who instead "were paid to defend it." Her father, she explains, was one of those men.

"What I mean is, my father described anything out of the ordinary as ridiculous, and I wanted to outrage his whole petty scale of judgment. What was the most ridiculous thing I could do? Run off with an Afghan who had a turban and another wife." She laughed a little, then added, "Do you know what started my disillusionment with Nazrullah? That turban. He wore it in Philadelphia for show. He'd never think of wearing it in Kabul."

Of course, Ellen outdoes herself when she exchanges her manly turban for a confused Nazi. There are no easy answers, and little room for self-righteousness - this is precisely what I love about Michener.

I first read this book back in the 1970s. At that time, I was deeply attracted by its content.

Then, for several consecutive years, I kept reading it. It is truly a remarkable book, especially if you have acquaintance with someone from Afghanistan, as I did.

I asked my Afghan friend to read this book and share with me his thoughts on whether it was a fair portrayal of his country.

When my friend expressed his fondness for the book and showed a keen interest in discussing it with me, it reaffirmed my faith in Michener.

In light of the current unrest in Afghanistan, I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone seeking some background knowledge about that region.

(It should be noted that my friend was sent to the States in the 1970s to flee the turmoil in his homeland. His father was held captive at home.)

This book also serves as an excellent introduction to Michener, as it is one of his shorter works.

Moreover, it tells a really engaging story that will surely captivate the readers.

Although this is a novel set in the mid-20th century, it is quite interesting to read about a part of the world that is so much in the news today.

I am sure that a great deal has changed since the time portrayed in the novel. However, I also have the feeling that some things have not changed at all.

Potential spoiler: The main female character is quite fascinating. Her central theme in life is rejection as a means of seeking something fulfilling. She rejects the past, the present, relationships, and even herself. But you simply cannot find satisfaction in this way. Satisfaction and happiness come from searching from a positive mental and emotional state, rather than just rejecting what you believe is making you unhappy.

It is important to note that while the novel is a work of fiction, it can still offer valuable insights into human nature and the search for meaning and happiness. By exploring the character's journey of rejection, we can perhaps gain a better understanding of our own lives and the choices we make.

Overall, this novel provides an engaging and thought-provoking read that is sure to leave a lasting impression on the reader.