Author: Jill McGivering
Reviewed by: Vishal Kale
THE CHARACTERS
·
Ellen Thomas: News Correspondent; doughty,
tough; never-say-die; a person without any prejudice; responsible and sensitive…
·
Hasina: A Mother…
·
Major Mack: Can be called the quintessential
commanding officer… except that he cares too much for his boys and their
welfare…
·
Jalil: An Honest Afghan translator who got
caught in the middle
·
Najib: Jalil’s reluctant but hionest friend
·
Aref: Hasina’s son; wounded and dying; a picture
of a tragic nation….
THE PLOT
Ellen Thomas is a news
correspondent on the hunt for the killers of her translator Jalil; her 10-year
association with Jalil and his family lead her to the conclusion that the truth
lies elsewhere. In pursuit of this, she lands near the place where Jalil was
killed, with the same unit – a bunch of young, inexperienced British soldiers
led by a very likable and competent Major. She get a chance to cover an attack
on a Talibani stronghold by the military, where she comes face to face with the
people caught in between the Taliban and the British., an experience which jars
her to the core of her existence. Simultaneously, Hasina is a mother – nothing
more, nothing less. Her son has been led astray by his uncle into the deadly
folds of local fighters. He comes home mortally wounded; at this point, the
mother steps in with a will to do anything to save her son from both the
Taliban and the British.
There is little trust between
these two women when they inevitably meet; their respective agenda are
different and mutually exclusive. While Ellen is primarily interested in
uncovering Jalil’s death, the mother is only interested in saving her son. To
complicate matters further, there is a history of violence coming in the way.
Not only that, neither can understand a word of the others’ language – nor is
there any trust. Yet, they are thrown together – being the only 2 women in the
camp… Why was Jalil killed? Was it because he was close to the british? Or was
Jalil a traitor? What Happens to Aref? What is the link between Aref and Jalil
– or is there no link?
THE ANALYSIS
Much has been said about the
power of the written word, of its capability to educate, elucidate, clarify,
aid memory etcetera. All of the above are universally accepted and understood.
But beyond all of these, it has also been stated that the properly written word
can evoke memories, as also paint a vivid picture in your mind as you read the
prose. This latter statement is also accepted as gospel by all: and it is this
latter statement that describes this book!
A book that will jar you to the
core of your being on 2 fronts: the first being the awesome power of its prose,
which literally paints a moving picture in your mind as the story in the book
plays out. Such is the stunning quality of the writing that you can picturise
the entire story play out right in front of your eyes. You are held spellbound
and riveted to the story. This its not a
small feat by any means; in fact, given the plot and its treatment, it is a
feat that is very nearly unparalleled in my experience at least. I have
never read a more powerful piece of
writing than this… I say this because the story and its flow is comparatively
slow. The author manages to hold your attention through the sheer power of her
writing!
The second front where the book
bets you is your guts: it wrenches them from you, takes your breath away and
leaves you in a state of suspension as you read the pages. This has nothing to
do with the writing: it has everything to do with the content. The way the
plight of the Afghan people has been laid out in front of your eyes is
breathtaking. Wondrously, this is achieved not by an overdose of melodrama –
but by forceful logic, pin-point observation and straightforward analysis. In
other words, you don’t shed a tear, or feel like crying your eyes out. You
don’t even feel disgust: you are left in a state of wonder combined with an
indefinable sadness at their plight.
There are no value judgements in
the book; it shies away from either justification or explanations – or indeed
solutions. It states things like they are. The characterizations to achieve
this would have to be limited to the
bare essentials – which is precisely what they are. Each character has been
developed only to the extent that is needed for the story to forward; there are
no needless details or dilly-dallying of any sort anywhere in the book. All in
all, a book you would want read again and again. I rate it 5 stars – in fact, I
rate it to be among the best fiction novels I have ever read!
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