The Sewing Circles of Herat by Christina Lamb
The Sewing Circles of Herat by Christina Lamb
This was an incredibly fascinating read. Christina Lamb is a British journalist who has visited Afghanistan both before and after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. It is full of vivid descriptions of the people, the landscape and the rich culture, all beautifully woven together to show off both the best and worst of Afghanistan’s history.
It did take me a long while to read this book but only because some of the tales were hard to digest; the violence, the horror, the fear suffered by the people of Afghanistan made me truly appreciate the life I have been fortunate enough to lead and it was necessary to take a little time out to appreciate that.
‘Twenty-one-year-old Christina Lamb left suburban England for Peshawar on the frontier of the Afghan war. Captivated, she spent two years tracking the final stages of the mujaheddin victory over the Soviets, as Afghan friends smuggled her in and out of their country in a variety of guises.
Returning to Afghanistan after the attacks on the World Trade Center to report for Britain’s Sunday Telegraph, Lamb discovered the people no one else had written about: the abandoned victims of almost a quarter century of war. Among them, the brave women writers of Herat who risked their lives to carry on a literary tradition under the guise of sewing circles; the princess whose palace was surrounded by tanks on the eve of her wedding; the artist who painted out all the people in his works to prevent them from being destroyed by the Taliban; and Khalil Ahmed Hassani, a former Taliban torturer who admitted to breaking the spines of men and then making them stand on their heads.
Christina Lamb’s evocative reporting brings to life these stories. Her unique perspective on Afghanistan and deep passion for the people she writes about make this the definitive account of the tragic plight of a proud nation.’ (Goodreads)
This book is not going to be for everyone but if you are looking for an enjoyable and informative read on Afghanistan then I cannot recommend this book enough.
I give this book FOUR COFFEE CUPS ☕☕☕☕