The Wasted VigilIn 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. |
Contents
Building the New | 33 |
Out of Separations | 61 |
Night Letter | 87 |
Street of Storytellers | 109 |
Book | 151 |
Casabianca | 153 |
The Silent Flutes | 201 |
The Caliphate of New York | 251 |
The Wasted Vigil | 297 |
All Names Are My Names | 315 |
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Common terms and phrases
Afghan Afghanistan al-Qaeda Allah Americans arrived asked Benedikt Bihzad birds body bomb Buddhas of Bamiyan Casa Casa's Chechnya child Christopher colour darkness David dead death djinn door Dunia eyes face father feel fire floor girl gone guerrillas Gul Rasool hand head hear heard Islam Islamabad Jalalabad James Palantine jihad Kabul Kalashnikov Kandahar kill knew Koran lake land landmine Lara later light living looking lover madrassa Marcus Marcus's house mosque moves Muhammad Muslim Nabi Khan night orchard painted Pakistani Pashto perfume factory Peshawar Piotr prayer Qatrina remembers says shabnama side sitting smell someone sound Soviet soldiers Soviet Union stands Stepan stone suddenly Taliban talk tell things thought told tree turns Usha Uzbekistan walks wall wanted watches window woman women words young Zameen