There are some stories that stay with you forever. Stories that have the power to move mountains inside of humans and work wonders.
One such story ‘99 Nights of Logar’, had me going back to my days spent with my cousins in my Grandma’s house. Oh, what days they were! I was overcome with emotions unnamed, and hidden deep inside my heart’s many spaces. This book paved way for them – my emotions – to run amok in the very core of my being, jolting me awake to the tidbits of my deeply buried memories. Memories of me vacationing the two months of summer every year in my maternal home. Those 60 days were nothing short of an adventure to us cousins.
This book reminded me of the many tales we told sitting under the open sky at night – Even the stars, I felt listened to us in rapt fascination – though not all tales got their ending. No. Some were left halfway through, for the new ones came tumbling out of the mouths of my folks. Ahhh! Now I can only sigh in the ache of those beautiful days long gone by. Now you see, how a good story affects us, unbeknownst, creeping into our soul.
Jamil Jan Kochai’s ‘99 Nights in Logar‘ is a well-crafted tale of a 12-year-old Marwand and his adventures with his cousins in a little village of Afghanistan.
But this book is more than Marwand’s story. This is also a story of Afghanistan’s past. Some beautiful and some dark.
Kochai with his art of storytelling takes us on a journey to a culture that is as different as ours. He very skillfully uses various shades of characters and blends them smoothly with a narrative that is poignant and compelling and bewitching as my Grandma’s stories were.
This coming-of-age story is going to take you on a trip to the memory lane. Because memory is what it is made of.
For me, it’s a 4 out of 5 stars read.
. . . . .
Do suggest some stories in the comments below that you think are a must… a must-read.
Also, we’re sure that if you love this review, then you’re also going to love: ____
Happy Reading 🙂
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