Product Description

Earth and Ashes is a story of such spareness and power it leaves the reader reeling. Set during the Russian occupation of Afghanistan, it is a fable about war, family, home and tradition. An old man and his grandson sit in a deserted landscape of dusty roads and looming mountains. What are they waiting for? As we watch them we learn their story...Rahimi has managed to condense centuries of Afghan history into his short tale of three very different generations. At the same time, he has created a story that is universal in its power.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #98752 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 96 pages

Review
'Novel, short story, fable? - who cares. Here is a text with a sadness that tears at your heart, a visual beauty shot through with the horror of war, where every tear shed, every more made, every word counts.' Nouvel Observateur

Claire Allfree, Metro, 30 September 2002
Dense, provocative and, most of all revelatory

From the Publisher
'It has the feel of a book of great antiquity and authority; you could more readily level the Afghan mountains than damage the dreaming culture that Earth and Ashes both embodies and silently trusts' Times

Customer Reviews

Simple story about the impact of war
`E&A' is set during the Russian occupation of Afghanistan, and tells the story of an old man who is journeying to see his son (Murad), who works in a mine away from his family, to tell him that his entire family has been killed in an attack on his home village. The only survivors are the old man and Murad's young son, Yassin, who has been deafened by the explosions caused by the attack. The old man has no transport of his own, so he is forced to rely on others for charity to help them on their journey, all the while worrying about what to say to his son.
The story is incredibly powerful, because of its simplicity. There is no political discussion about the war, or even condemnation of those fighting. Instead there is simply a shattered old man and a toddler disfigured by an event that neither of them can understand. The brutality of what happened, and the bleakness of their futures, is brilliantly contrasted with the kindness of strangers who help them on their way. `E&A' is a simply told novella, heart-breaking tale, easy to read, short (a couple of hours to read) and thought provoking, and well-worth a look.

Small but perfectly formed
From the few pages of this little tale a whole other world comes alive. On one level this is a simple tale of a family on the brink of starting again after a tragedy. Yet one man's tragedy brings to life a much bigger picture of Afghanistan under Russian occupation. It's beautifully written and despite its brevity, something of the heat, dust and pressure stays with you.

A powerful book
In a brief few pages, Atiq Rahmi conjours up the devastation of war on a human level. A penniless old grandfather and his grandson, Yassin, deafened from the effects of war (from noise or shock, we don't know) are making the laborious journey to the mine where Murad, Yassin's father, and the only surviving member of the family, is working. The rest of the family has been massacred by the Soviets invading Afghanistan
En route they meet several characters, all in their own way affected by the war. The guard at the bridge, the shop keeper, the truck driver and Murad's boss, all surviving as best they can.
In spite of the brevity of this book the profound feeling of damage and loss that it leaves with its reader is a measure of its power.

My book had only 54 pages and presumably was an edited version for younger readers. I would love to read the full version, which is no doubt even more powerful and thought provoking.