This book by Saira Shah is by turns inspiring,humorous,and heartbreakingly tragic.Of mixed Indian,Scottish and Afghan parentage,Saira
grew up in England with stories of a magical land ,of beautiful gardens where fountains flowed like jewels in the desert,the Afghanistan of her ancestors.
It becomes her mission to try to reconcile the mythical Afghanistan of her childhood stories with the reality of the war-torn country it has become.After studying Persian and Arabic at university she became a
journalist and travelled in search of the true Afghanistan .
In the course of describing her travels she sheds light on the culture of her ancestral lands .Her encounter with her Afghan relatives who helpfully try to arrange a marriage for her ;her assumed "engagement " which has to be broken for her by a relative more experienced in the ways of the East are amusing .She is perceptive in her insights into human character and motivation.She becomes expert in saving face for others ,partly as a self-protective strategy.In one incident she encounters a village mullah who often complains that no-one else in the village can converse with him in Arabic.Since she has some basic Arabic they sit down to talk ,in view of the villagers.Quickly she realises that he knows no Arabic at all as he comes out with a stream of gibberish interupted by the occasional Arabic phrase.She quick-wittedly saves the situation by explaining that when she hears Arabic spoken so well she knows she is in the presence of a true believer ,but since she is learning Persian asks if he would forgive her if they spoke in that language .
Her friendships with women show the effects of the war and of geographical isolation on the population She
describes a mountain village in Nuristan as totally untouched by the present as the rest of the world experiences it .A woman in a remote area wistfully asks about a rumour she has heard that there is a pill which can prevent women from having babies.Due to the complete impossiblity of obtaining the pill in such an isolated area,and the probable wrath of the woman''s husband and other relatives she claims she has no knowledge of such a thing .
Another woman expresses a desire to follow the author to experience the world outside and see if she likes it .By doing this she may be forever changed and perhaps would never be able to return to her former life .
She also describes the fate of war refugees who escaped the shelling only to find poverty ,disease and soul-destroying dependence on handouts .Refugees who choose to return to their bombed-out village where at least they can starve without being indebted to others ,preserving what little dignity they can salvage,by whatever means they can .
The book is enriched by sayings of ancient Persian poets such as Rumi and Sheikh Sa''adi of Shiraz,as if encouraging us to remember the deep roots of learning ,wisdom and humanity from which the Afghan people have come.These roots have been neglected through years of destruction in which children are only taught warfare.