Month: March 2022

HASHIMI’S AFGHAN DRAMA LEAVES ME STARRY EYED

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In light of the current Russian invasion (or according to Putin, military exercises) in Ukraine, the month’s last book review strikes a chord as it begins with the Russian supported military coup in Afghanistan during the Cold War. Long before the West had heard much about Afghanistan and the Taliban and 9/11, Kabul was a thriving cosmopolitan capital. American and Russia vied for its attention and its resources, offering the construction of dams, roads, and universities to sweeten their cause. In my lifetime, I can’t recall when Afghanistan was a tourist destination with its beautiful landscapes, rich history and situation on the silk road at the crossroads of central and south Asia. Since the 70’s the country is more associated with coups, wars, invasions and of course the hard line political and religious control of the Taliban. The book is of Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi and published by William Morrow

( http://www.harpercollins.com/collections/william-morrow ) on the 17th March.

The book is told through the eyes of Sitara Zamani, the daughter of a prominent family associated and living in close contact with the country’s president. When the two families are assassinated during the coup, only Sitara survives. She is smuggled from the scene by a soldier called Shair. 

Sitara is adopted by an American diplomate and is moved to America under another name. There, she finishes her education and eventually trains as a surgeon. Thirty years after the night of the coup, her world is rocked again when a patient presents himself for consultation. It is Shair. Seeing him awakens her desire for answers and perhaps revenge? She returns to Kabul, now a battleground between a corrupt government and the fundamentalist Taliban to learn the truth about her family.

I started this book quite late but managed to read it in a few days. It feels like an epic read but it is so interesting and well plotted I was eager to keep going. It covers the whole story of Sitara’s life, describing her childhood, the coup, her escape, and early life in America in some detail. It then jumps forward to the present period of her meeting with Shair and her search for the truth. The jump in period was necessary as otherwise the book would be a massive tome, but it was a little disconcerting, I had been so enjoying the trials and tribulations of Sitara’s escape and arrival in the states, I’d have quite happily read a couple of hundred pages more! This is because Nadia Hamini’s style of writing is so engaging. The characters are beautifully described. I think its very hard to write children and adolescents, believeably if you are also writing about adults too. 

I loved the descriptions of the places too, but it was the warmness and humanity of the majority of the Afghani people who populated this book, that make you wish things were different and you could freely visit their country. 

Nadia Hashimi (32Letter)

Mothers and their relationships with their daughters are also featured here. You could almost feel the motherly love and compassion in some of the passages. This was highlighted by the lack of maternal instinct in Sitara’s first home in the USA.  I particularly liked how the relationship between Antonia and Tilly was described. They sound like the kind of women I’d love to hang out with. 

This American author and Pediatrician Nadia Hashimi’s ( http://www.nadiahashimibooks.com ) fourth book, her others are all international bestsellers – The Pearl that Broke Its Shell (2014), When The Moon Is Low (2015) and A House Without Windows (2016). She’s also written two childrens books. In 2003, she made her first trip to Afghanistan with her parents who had not returned to their homeland since leaving in the 1970s. She continues to serve on boards of organizations committed to educating and nurturing Afghanistan’s most vulnerable children and empowering the female leaders of tomorrow. She is a member of the US-Afghan Women’s Council and an advisor to Kallion, an organization that seeks to elevate leadership through humanities. Locally, she serves as a Montgomery County health care commissioner and organizing committee member of the Gaithersburg Book Festival.

As I say I rushed through this novel a little in my haste to make the blog tour post, but it will be a book I recommend to my bookclub and plan to read again slowly to savour. This would be an ideal Mother’s Day gift so get down to your local bookseller soon. 

Reviewed by Georgina Murphy

This book is part of a Random Things Blog Tour. To see what the other reviwers thought, visit their blogs listed beliow. then, if you get a copy, come back and tell us what you thought. We’d really appreciate the feedback.

CHARMAN’S DEBUT IS MORE A LOOSE FLOCK OF FEATHERY TALES THAN ONE COMPLETE MURMURATION

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The Crow is one member of the Corvus family of medium to large sized birds. Other members are the Rook, Raven, Carrion Crow, and Hooded Crow. They are one of the most intelligent species of birds on the planet, being widely know for using tools and constructing tools. They mate for life, but also gather in large colonies and so when a member of the colony dies, they can hold funerals for the deceased bird and are also known for having long memories and being able to remember faces. The collective name for a group of crows is a murder of crows, also they can take the life of another crow following a crow court, where another bird has entered their territory or has tried to steal food. This brings us to this month’s first book review, which follows the lives of the residents of a small English town in the 1840’s after the discovery of a scandal in the community. It’s called Crow Court by Andy Charman and is published by Unbound ( www.unbound.com ) on the 24th February.

In the Spring of 1840, the Dorset town of Wimbourne Minster is rocked by the discovery of the body of a choirboy, who has drowned himself in the local river. Shortly after the Choirmaster, a belligerent and vicious man, is found murdered. The repercussions and the scandal associated with it will reverberate through the community for years to come.

The premise of this book is very appealing, the blurb on the back sells it as a quaint story of murder, mystery and betrayal in a small rural town on the south coast of England. But when you get into reading it you are met with something completely different. it’s not one complete story, but series a collection of short stories, vignettes even. Set around, loosely in some cases, and connected to the characters and events of the suicide and murder depicted in the first two. I didn’t actually realise what was happening until over half way through the book.

Andy Charman

Charmans’s story telling and writing style is unusual too and this is what led to realise I was reading a collection of short stories. Because it regularly jumps from first to third person narrative. His use of the Dorset dialect is at times earthy, and some people maybe delighted at the inclusion of a glossary at the back of the book, but for me I did wonder if some of the characters were actually supposed to be foreign with the bad English or the over use of  the letter ‘z’ in the dialogue. But I think if this book comes out on Audible down the road, I may get to appreciate the Dorset dialect a bit more when read by a local.

This English author Andy Charman’s ( https://www.crow-court.com/ ) first book. His short stories have appeared in various anthologies and magazines over the years. He grew up in Dorset not far from Wimbourne Minster, but now lives in Surrey.

I enjoyed reading this book and would see it as a nice choice for a book group. So if you feel your group needs to spread its wings a bit, then flit down to your local book shop or order a copy online to wing its way to you physically or digitally.

Reviewed by Adrian Murphy

This book review is part of a Random Things blog tour, to see what the other readers thought, visit their sites listed below. Then, if you get a copy, comeback and tell us what you thought. We’d really appreciate the feedback.