THE SWALLOWS OF KABUL

THE SWALLOWS OF KABUL
By Yasminda Khadra
Began: Ended January 2005
Rating: 8/10Date
Published: original – 2002, English translation 2004
Fiction195 pages
From the library
Reason for reading: 1) Nancy’s recommendation 2) After reading The Kite Runner I wasn’t ready to leave Afghanistan
Short Blurb without spoilers: It is the time of the rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan. We read of atrocities against humanity at the hands of these Muslim extremists as we meet two couples, one a jailer and his dying wife; the other a young couple who goes through a difficult time after the husband reveals a terrible thing to his wife. The wife had been a lawyer in pre-Taliban Afghanistan. She is just beside herself after her husband tells her what he did putting into place a series of events that culminate in a shocking ending. A short book, but very powerful and well worth reading.