Awards

• Short-listed for IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 2006
• Shortlisted for IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 2006.

Overview

A powerful story about four Kabul civilians drawn together by their daily struggles in life under the Taliban. Since the ascendancy of the Taliban the lives of Mosheen and his beautiful wife, Zunaira, have been gradually destroyed. Mosheen's dream of becoming a diplomat has been shattered and Zunaira can no longer even appear on the streets of Kabul unveiled. Atiq is a jailer who guards those who have been condemned to death; the darkness of prison and the wretchedness of his job have seeped into his soul. Atiq's wife, Musarrat, is suffering from an illness no doctor can cure. Yet, the lives of these four people are about to become inexplicably intertwined, through death and imprisonment to passion and extraordinary self-sacrifice. The Swallows of Kabul is an astounding and elegiac novel of four people struggling to hold on to their humanity in a place where pleasure is a deadly sin and death has become routine.

Full Product Details

9780099466024

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Reviews

A stiflingly powerful evocation of a country in which war has found a homeland -- Chris Power The Times Inspiring... Evokes the feeling of a nation's collective suffocation Daily Telegraph Harrowing... Remarkable... Khadra's simple, elegant prose, finely drawn characters and chilling insights prepare the way for the terrible climax... A superb meditation on the fate of the Afghan people Publishers Weekly A powerful human story Financial Times Intense, elegant, despairing prose...deeply affecting Guardian

A surprisingly tender book. . . . Amid the terror a classic story about love sneaks through: love lost, love imagined, love morphed into madness. -- The New York Times Book Review <br> A novel very much in the tradition of Albert Camus, not only in its humanism and concern with the consequences of individual choices but also in its determination to bear witness to the absurdities of daily life. . . . [A] chilling portrait of fundamentalism run amok and its fallout on ordinary people. -- The New York Times <br> Beautifully written. . . . It puts a human face on the suffering inflicted by the Taliban. . . . Disturbing and mesmerizing, The Swallows of Kabul will stay with you long after you've finished it. -- San Francisco Chronicle <br> Riveting. . . . Spare, taut, and pristinely clear prose . . . . An uncanny knack for making moral tension palpable. . . . Extraordinarily moving. -- The Philadelphia Inquirer <br> Stunning. . . . [Khadra] conveys the physical dep

Author Information

Yasmina Khadra is the nom de plume of the Algerian army officer, Mohammed Moulessehoul, who took a female pseudonym to avoid submitting his manuscripts for approval by the army. He is the author of four other books published in English, including the acclaimed bestseller Swallows of Kabul. He lives in France.

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