Stories

Against my better fiscal judgment, I went to the bookstore today and couldn't keep from help myself.

Haven't gotten far yet but this book by Tahir Shah looks great. While being tortured in Pakistan on suspicion of spying with Al Qaeda, he got through not only be escaping into memories, but the Moroccan stories his Afghan father had told him. The book begins in his torture chamber, then moves to his travels through Morocco upon his release, in search of more stories and storytellers.

Will post thoughts as I read through it.

I also recently read The Wasted Vigil by Nadeem Aslam. Beautiful, but not recommended if you're looking for happy endings. An ensemble cast of characters including a Taliban, Afghans, Englishman, American and Russian have their various stories told indirectly and we see how they've all come to Afghanistan. Aslam can go slightly too far on occaision with his gorgeous and sometimes sensual imagery, but it is a beautifully written story, if at times horribly brutal.