Product Description

Moshen and his wife, Zunaira, met at the university and once looked forward to a happy and prosperous life together. But Moshem's dream of becoming a diplomat, halted by the war with Russia, dies with the ascendancy of the Taliban. Zunaira, formerly a lawyer who worked for women's rights, can no longer even appear on the streets of Kabul without a veil over her face. It is only in their own home that they can be themselves. One day, unable to resist Moshen's pleas, Zunaira dons her burqa and goes to market with him. The outing turns into a nightmare. Atiq, a veteran of the Russian war, is now a part-time jailer who watches over those condemned to death. The darkness of the prison and the wretchedness of his job have seeped into his soul. His home offers little respite from his rage and misery; his wife Musarrat, is suffering from an illness no doctor can cure and even the most furvent prayers cannot alleviate. As Atiq begins to lose all faith in his own ability to survive the arbitary demands and extreme cruelties of the Taliban, he is drawn to Zanaira, now in prison awaiting public execution. In a final act of defiance, Musarrat conceives a plan that will allow her husband to live and hope again...Already a best seller in France, "The Swallows of Kabul" brilliantly exposes the differences between religiosity and dangerous religious extremism. Written in spare, exquisite prose, it is an unforgettable portrait of life under a fascist theocracy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7471 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

From the Publisher
A major bestseller in the tradition of THE KITE RUNNER and THE BOOKSELLER OF KABUL

About the Author
Yasmina Khadra is the nom de plume of the Algerian army officer, Mohammed Moulessehoul, who took a feminine pseudonym to avoid submitting his manuscripts for approval by the army. He is the author of two other books published in English, In the Name of God and Wolf Dreams. He lives in France.

Customer Reviews

Swallows of Kabul
This is a good read and outines the mood of Afganistan under the Taliban.
This story focuses on two relationsships. One of Muhsen and his wife Zunaira and the other of Atiq and his wife Mussarrat. These two couples live in the same area however, they do not know each other.
It shows how Zunaira is effected by what the Taliban has done to thier country and the effects its having on society. Zunaira is educated and pretty much a liberal minded young lady until the Taliban come along and change it all for her. She has to start to wear the Burqa and she is completely against this and feels the Burqa has taken away her identity and her presonality. She is no longer able to work and her degree in law are recognised as mere papers that mean nothing. Zunaira is against public hanging and stoning and after her husband admits to stoning a women then thier relationship begins to deteriorate significanty.

Then there is Atiq and wife musarrat. Atiq a jailer bored of his job and his ill wife. Who is not able to cook, clean or be a wife due to her illness. This effects Atiq considerably he hates the idea of going home to his wife and he starts to talk to himself while in public place due to the effect of her illness on him.
He feels guily for how he feels for her and that he does not love her anymore. He feels obliged in keeping her as his wife as she nursed him while he was ill. His friends begin to see his mood swings in public places and the effect of him become mentally ill from this and see that he is depressed and that he needs to take on a new wife.

Then a young lady enters the prison cell for killing her husband. This is were all four lifes are tangled together and effects all concerned.

This book is completely recomended. It is serious but to the point. It is well written and has a meaning to make people realise the tenstions the taliban has caused in Afghanistan.

Fascinating yet disturbing insight into life under Taliban
This is simply a superb book which comes very highly recommended. It is a fictional story set in modern day Afghanistan, under the fierce rule of the Taliban. The author succeeds in conveying to his readers the true feelings and oppression of day to day life under such a regime. A world in which women have no rights at all, where simply laughing in the street could earn you a lashing and listening to music is banned and where public executions by stone-throwing, a practice not seen in England for centuries, was rife until very recently. Though disturbing at times the book is a very real journey into a culture and civilisation many of us have heard much about via the press but few can imagine the thoughts of its people - until now. A Must read.

A thought-provoking journey
I bought this book because I enjoy reading about lifestyles different from my own.
When I started this book I had doubts that I would enjoy it but before I knew it, I had finished - because I became absorbed into it.
It was fascinating to read about what life may be like under the taliban.
The story is very interesting, but possibly disturbing.
Definitely a book to keep for re-reading again.