The wasted vigil

Description

In The Wasted Vigil, Nadeem Aslam, the award-winning author of Maps for Lost Lovers, brilliantly knits together five seemingly unconnected lives to create a luminous story set in contemporary Afghanistan.There's Marcus, an English expat who was married to an outspoken Afghani doctor; David, a former American spy; Lara, from St. Petersburg, looking for traces of her brother, a Russian soldier who disappeared years before; Casa, a young Afghani whose hatred of the Americans has plunged him into the blinding depths of zealotry; and James, an American Special Forces soldier. Aslamreveals the intertwining paths that these characters have traveled, constructing a timely and intimate portrait of the complex ties that bind us and the wars that continue to tear us apart.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Description

This novel takes place in modern-day Afghanistan. A Russian woman named Lara arrives at the house of Marcus Caldwell, an Englishman and widower living in an old perfume factory in the shadow of the Tora Bora mountains. It is possible that Marcus's daughter, Zameen, may have known Lara's brother, a Soviet soldier who disappeared in the area many years previously. But like Marcus's wife, Zameen is dead; a victim of the age in which she was born. In the days that follow, further people will arrive at the house, David Town and James Palantine, two American who have spent much of their adult lives in the area, for their respective reasons; Dunia, a young Afghan teacher; and Casa, a radicalised young man intent on his own path. The stories and histories that unfold - interweaving and overlapping, and spanning nearly a quarter of a century - tell of the terrible afflictions that have plagued Afghanistan. A work of deepest humanity, this bookoffers a timely portrait of this region, of love during war and conflict. -- Publisher details.

Subjects

Other Editions

• The wasted vigilFaber2008-01-01
• The Wasted VigilElectronic resourceKnopf Doubleday Publishing Group2008-01-01
• The wasted vigilAlfred A. Knopf2008-01-01
• Wasted VigilFaber & Faber, Limited2008-01-01
• Wasted VigilFaber & Faber, Limited2009-01-01
• Wasted VigilDoubleday Canada2009-01-01