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Summary and Reviews of The Swallows of Kabul by Yasmina Khadra

The Swallows of Kabul by Yasmina Khadra

The Swallows of Kabul

by Yasmina Khadra
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (7):
  • Readers' Rating (6):
  • First Published:
  • Feb 1, 2004, 208 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Apr 2005, 208 pages
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About This Book

Book Summary

This dazzling novel by one of Algeria's top writers is set in the hot, dusty streets of Kabul under Taliban rule and offers a compassionate insight into a society brought to the edge of despair by hypocrisy and violence.

Set in Kabul under the rule of the Taliban, this extraordinary novel takes readers into the lives of two couples: Mohsen, who comes from a family of wealthy shopkeepers whom the Taliban has destroyed; Zunaira, his wife, exceedingly beautiful, who was once a brilliant teacher and is now no longer allowed to leave her home without an escort or covering her face. Intersecting their world is Atiq, a prison keeper, a man who has sincerely adopted the Taliban ideology and struggles to keep his faith, and his wife, Musarrat, who once rescued Atiq and is now dying of sickness and despair.

Desperate, exhausted Mohsen wanders through Kabul when he is surrounded by a crowd about to stone an adulterous woman. Numbed by the hysterical atmosphere and drawn into their rage, he too throws stones at the face of the condemned woman buried up to her waist. With this gesture the lives of all four protagonists move toward their destinies.

The Swallows of Kabul is a dazzling novel written with compassion and exquisite detail by one of the most lucid writers about the mentality of Islamic fundamentalists and the complexities of the Muslim world. Yasmina Khadra brings readers into the hot, dusty streets of Kabul and offers them an unflinching but compassionate insight into a society that violence and hypocrisy have brought to the edge of despair.

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Reviews

BookBrowse Review

BookBrowse

One reviewer compares this relatively short novel to Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. I agree to the extent that they are both relatively short books set in locations that are foreign to most of us, but other than that I don't see much similarity. Dai Sijie's book tells a strong story but has moments of lightness; whereas The Swallows of Kabul is variously described as 'poetic, intimate, and poignant' but there are no light moments. Having said all that The Swallows of Kabul is worth reading for its relevance to current affairs and for the glimmers of humanity that show themselves even in the most relentlessly harsh conditions...continued

Full Review (117 words)

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(Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).

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Beyond the Book



Afghanistan

Afghanistan's strategic position between Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent has made it an area of conflict for millenia. 

The Soviet Union intervened in 1979 to prop up a pro-communist regime, but after they withdraw many years later the civil war dragged on until the Taleban took control - initially bringing a measure of stability after 20 years of conflict.

The Taleban government fell in October 2001, after US initiated attacks (although power lingers in some areas).

In late 2001 Radio Afghanistan played music on air for ...

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Read-Alikes

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