Recommend me a Khaled Hosseini style book

[breward]

I love all his books and have also read: The coffee shop of Kabul, the beauty palour of Kabul, three cups of tea, the bread winner collection, the reluctant fundamentalist etc.

Can anyone recommend any other books from this region? I am fascinated by ordinary Afghan life.

[Toomuch2young]

I don't know but I am following with interest as I love all those books.
Ooh have just had a Google and would like any recommendations on any others perhaps some on this list:

www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/afghanistan

[EarlGreyhamGreene]

The Bookseller of Kabul is non-fiction, but a really interesting portrait of Afghan life - it's written by a journalist who lived with a bookseller and his family for a year in 2001

[Hobbes8]

Is it specifically Afghan authors you're looking for? Because Chimanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian author who writes similarly sweeping books about intertwining lives in divided societies.

Also Arundhari Roy who is Indian I think - wrote The God of Small Things.

I also really loved Dave Eggers What is the What, which is about the lost boys of the Sudan, but some people find his writing style very irritating.

[tripfiction]

Then it HAS to be The Pearl that broke its shell by Nadia Hashimi - I am just about to post a 5* review of it ... www.tripfiction.com/books/pearl-broke-shell/

[tripfiction]

Another - The Patience Stone by Atiq Rahimi - the author attempts to "rip away the veil over Afghan women's lives... An act of political courage and a beautifully constructed, deeply memorable novella"

[crapfatbanana]

I can't recommend it because I haven't read it, but my husband picked up A Fort of Nine Towers by Qais Akbar Omar at the library the other day. It's not a novel but an autobiography about Qais' family's survival throughout the war in Afghanistan. It looks very good.

A few other similar books to Hosseini's that I've enjoyed are:

The Other Hand/Little Bee by Chris Cleve
Purple Hibiscus by Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie
Cutting for Stone - Abraham something?
The Blind Man's Garden by Nadeem Aslam
The Reluctant Fundamentalist - ?
The Cellist of Sarajevo - Steve Galloway

[WixingMords]

Chimanda Ngozi Adichie, I definetly agree.

From you OP I suggest;

Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa

and

The House of the Mosque by Kader Abdolah

The both very much of the 'ordinary lives' type, and in my humble opinion brilliant. Will see if I can recall reading others.

[breward]

Thank you for all your responses.

I have read 'The Bookseller of Kabul' but have just ordered 'A Hundred and One Days' by the same author. This book is set in Iraq though.

Through other research, I have just ordered 'The Sewing Circles of Herat' by Christina Lamb and 'My Forbidden Face' by Latifa

Thank you Tripfiction, I have just ordered 'The Pearl that Broke its Shell.'

I am in for an Afghan fiction fest this summer!

Am I mad for having such an interest in this country and culture? I would love to visit one day. Hopefully the country will be peaceful and safe in the future.

[NickiFury]

I like Zoe Ferraris. Her books are set in Saudi. I am also fascinated by books set in the ME and visit the region regularly.

[lemonpoppyseed]

Not Afghanistan, but Ethiopia - Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. A marvellous book.

[crapfatbanana]

Ah, yes - The Sewing Circles of Herat! I couldn't remember the name.

[crapfatbanana]

One last suggestion - The Wasted Vigil by Nadeem Aslam. Set in contemporary Afghanistan.

[EmberRose]

Also a big fan of Khaled Hosseni. I read 'The Namesake' by Jhumpa Lahiri, which is about the main character living in India and his family moving to the US. She also did 'The Lowland' which is set Calcutta in the 60s and is about two brothers. Although not set in Afghanistan, the story lines /writing are quite similar.

[IsabellaofFrance]

Blood of Flowers is a really good book, set in Iran.

[Soupswoop]

Kamila Shamsie - set all over the place but always with a strong link to Pakistan.

[PolpoPolpo]

Another recommendation for Mornings in Jenin.

[Belo]

How about A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry?

Not set in Afghanistan, but in India. The characters are so well drawn that even though I read it almost 20 years ago I can still recall them. A brilliant book.

www.amazon.co.uk/A-Fine-Balance-Rohinton-Mistry/dp/057123058X?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[DuchessofMalfi]

Came across this one on Goodreads. Haven't read it so don't know if it's quite what you're looking for.

The Taliban Cricket Club by Timeri N Murari.

[princessnest]

Just read and loved Nadia Hashimi's books 'The Pearl That Broke Its Shell' and 'When The Moon Is Low'. Made up to find this thread with more interesting reads.

[tripfiction]

Of "The Pearl That Broke its Shell" by Nadia Hashimi, Khaled Hosseini says:

“Her always engaging multigenerational tale is a portrait of Afghanistan in all of its perplexing, enigmatic glory, and a mirror into the still on going struggles of Afghan women”

And here's the review: www.tripfiction.com/pearl-broke-shell-novel-set-in-afghanistan/

[BasinHaircut]

Just marking my place to come back and get some inspiration for summer reads

[bethshart]

Another great non-fiction read is 'Reading Lolita in Tehran' by Azar Nafisi which gives you a wonderful picture of what it was like for women to gain a literary education in Iran.
Thanks, all, for other recommendations

[aoife24]

For an insight into life in Afghanistan, and it's past, perhaps try the Places in Between by Rory Stewart, who's an MP now. He walked across Afghanistan, in the rather batty way the British sometimes to do deicide to do, in the early 2000s. Very interesting. An historical perspective of the British disastrously going into Afghanistan and leading to the first Anglo- Afghan war in 1842, is found in the Mulberry Court. The Afghans do not like invaders and have very long memories. Some lesson are never learned.

[Taytocrisps]

Another recommendation for 'Mornings in Jenin'

[iusedtobecool]

Born under a million shadows, by Andrea Busfield. Had me laughing out loud in some bits, which for a book set in Afghanistan is quite rare in my experience!