'This land and its killing epochs.' Nadeem Aslam's dazzling new 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' daughter, Zameen, may have known Lara's brother, a Soviet soldier who disappeared in the area many years previously.
But like Marcus' 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 Americans 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, "The Wasted Vigil" offers a timely portrait of this region, of love during war and conflict.
At once angry, unflinching and memorably beautiful, it marks Nadeem Aslam as a world writer of major importance.
“Arguably the best novel available on the current situation in the Middle East. The jihadists, the warlords, the crusading Americans–all are given voice in calm, relentless, shatteringly beautiful prose that reveals the essential wrongness of the current conflict from every angle. There’s no whitewash or caricature here, just authentic writing that delivers the world–and a range of extraordinary characters. Highly recommended.”–Library Journal (starred)
“An intense, empathetic, magisterial interpretation of clashing beliefs and entwined fates, in a harsh and ruined, yet lovely place . . . Complexity, beauty, violence and tragedy mark the pages of Aslam’s affecting story . . . [The novel has] insight and somber impact.” –Kirkus Reviews (starred)
Author Biography
Nadeem Aslam is the author of the highly acclaimed Season of the Rainbirds (1993) and most recently Maps for Lost Lovers (2004), which was longlisted for the Booker Prize, shorltisted for the IMPAC Prize, and was awarded the Kiriyama Prize and the Encore Award. He was named Decibel Writer of the Year in 2005. Born in Pakistan, he now lives in England.
Critical Reviews:
English-born doctor James Marcus has made Afghanistan his home, having married an Afghan woman named Qatrina, also a doctor. Qatrina was stoned to death by the Taliban (she’s an adulteress, having married an infidel), and their daughter has been abducted and is known to be dead, though there’s rumor of a grandson. The gentle, saintly James shelters Lara, who’s come from Russia to look for a brother lost during the Soviet incursion, and welcomes old friend David, an American jewel dealer and disaffected CIA spy. Also entering their midst is Casa, an injured (and angry) young man who claims to be a laborer but in fact is committed to jihad. Aslam, already the author of two award winners (Maps for Lost Lovers; Season of the Rainbirds), carefully hones their stories to write arguably the best novel available on the current situation in the Middle East. The jihadists, the warlords, the crusading Americans—all are given voice in calm, relentless, shatteringly beautiful prose that reveals the essential wrongness of the current conflict from every angle. There’s no whitewash or caricature here, just authentic writing that delivers the world—and a range of extraordinary characters. Highly recommended. Barbara Hoffert
Kiriyama-winner Aslam (Maps for Lost Lovers) takes an ambitious and moving look at the human cost of Afghanistan's war-torn reality. Marcus, a British doctor, lives near Jalalabad and quietly mourns the loss of his Afghan wife, their grown daughter and his hand to the Taliban and tribal warring. His houseguests includes Lara, a Russian woman searching for the truth about her soldier brother's disappearance, and David, a formerly zealous CIA operative whose love for Marcus's murdered daughter binds him to the older man as they search for her missing son. There's a tremendous tension in the first half of the book as the connections between the characters and the country are built up, and Aslam exploits the setup perfectly when a cast of younger characters-a fervent jihadi, a charismatic but arrogant American soldier, a rebellious local schoolteacher-arrive at the house and bring danger with them. Lyrical but not overwritten, the novel creates an unflinchingly clear picture of a country whose history of strife is still being written.