Overview

Product Description 15-year-old Ahmad finds it hard to live by tradition among Russians and 'Communist Afghans' in the liberal Makroryan, known as the 'Little Moscow of Kabul'. It becomes harder with the arrival in the neighbourhood of the 16-year-old and fervently pro-women's rights Frishta. Naturally, their conflicting outlooks on tradition clash. Frishta calls Ahmad backward and, worse, a shameful coward, and Ahmad accuses Frishta of being a foreign agent and, worse, a 'bad woman' who has picked a war with half of the population and their way of life. It is 1990s Afghanistan, where a man is stripped of character if he is proved a coward, and where a woman is merely seen as valuable goods, and even a perception of unchastity will lose her all her worth. By the time Ahmad and Frishta really get to know each other, it is too late as they have seriously harmed each other, and their lives will never be the same. The mujahedeen run over Kabul, and the civil war begins, compelling Ahmad to flee to Russia and then to England. But Ahmad does not realise that one day he will be forced to return to the homeland where his past catches up with him and puts him in a situation in which he has to choose to either live like a coward, by betraying a once-loyal friend, or die with courage. About The Author SHARIFULLAH DORANI was born and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan, and claimed asylum in the UK in 1999. He completed his PhD on the US War in Afghanistan at Durham University and authored the acclaimed America in Afghanistan. Sharifullah frequently returns to Afghanistan to carry out research and is currently South Asia and the Middle Eastern Editor at CESRAN International. Author's Note The idea for writing this book was conceived in 1992 when the 'pro-Communist' Najibullah regime collapsed and the mujahideen took over Kabul. Turning Shia against Sunni and vice versa, setting Afghanistan's main ethnic groups of Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara and Uzbek against each other, and accusing each other of uniting with the remnants of pro-Communist members and thus not being Islamic enough, the 15 or so mujahideen groups fought each other in the streets of Kabul, killing tens of thousands of innocent Kabulis, displacing hundreds of thousands, and turning half of Kabul into mudbrick rubble with bombs, rockets and cannon fire. Taking refuge in the basements of our blocks while the gunfire, shelling and fighting continued, I decided (if I made it alive) to write about what we ordinary Afghans went through. Unlike thousands of Kabulis, I was fortunate enough to live, and 18 years later, in 2010, I started writing about the experience: after 12 years of writing (and extensive research), 'The Lone Leopard' is the result. Ahmad, the protagonist, therefore, gives a first-hand account of what I (and most Afghans) have experienced over the past four decades in Afghanistan (and in exile).

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a powerful book that tells a story I will never forget...an emotional roller coaster...an eye-opener...that has the potential to become a classic over time. -The Rest Journal of Politics and Development a heart-wrenching, yet hopeful story of family, friendship and love set against the nationalistic and religious conflicts of Afghanistan's last four decades...an extremely good read -Bedfordshire Refugee and Asylum Seeker Support a generous, sensitive, well-researched novel which offers an informative perspective on Afghanistan's past...and...future. -US Studies Online an interesting, suspenseful, and impactful story that...gradually rises in intensity and drama-The Strategy Bridge Libraries looking for literary fiction that can reach an exceptionally wide audience will find The Lone Leopard hard-hitting, attractive, and educational, all in one. Ideally, it also will reach into book club discussions -Midwest Book Review a must read-Keith Shortley thought-provoking and engaging -Review Tales fascinating -Andrea Jones, BRASS an absorbing...sensitive, heartbreaking, and bold...story...It touches your heart-Review Vue heartbreaking, and engaging... a must-read historical fiction Middle Eastern and contemporary romance drama novel. -Author Anthony Avina's Blog An eye-opening story that saturates the mind and heart on many different levels. -Donovan's Literary Services a story of...young lives, teenage angst, human affinity and grief. -USSO an eye-opener...absorbing...and revealing...I heartily recommend it to anyone who wants to 'enter' Afghanistan mentally and emotionally. -Jane Marriott, BRASS an ideal choice for university/college courses on... South Asia and...the Greater Middle East. -CESRAN

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