Like all great books, there is the main story, this one about a mute refugee who cannot speak and then all the other things it makes you think about. Obviously, there's silence - when you choose it and when it's imposed on you. Protests in Syria vs proests by liberal people in thre west. Religion - how it's divisive and how it coheres. Bigotry, democracy, patriotism, borders, and language too. 
A hopeful ending without too much closure. 
Excellent.