Review by Booklist Review
Hashimi's third novel, following When the Moon Is Low (2015), opens with a murder in an Afghan village: Kamal lies dead in his own courtyard, his wife, Zeba, beside him, bloody hands clutching the hatchet used to kill him. Zeba is torn from her four children, promptly arrested, and taken to Chil Mahtab, a women's prison that houses inmates accused of crimes such as having sex outside of marriage and running away from their families. Zeba keeps to herself, but the other women are fascinated by her crime and her mysterious mother, who is rumored to practice a form of black magic, and they start to turn to Zeba for help with their own misfortunes. As Zeba's fellow prisoners rally around her, Zeba's young lawyer, Yusef, works tirelessly to find a way to save Zeba's life and learn the truth about the night of Kamal's death. More than just the Afghan Orange Is the New Black, Hashimi's novel is populated by vibrant, complex characters and offers a piercing look at the lives of women in Afghanistan.--Huntley, Kristine Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
In her third novel, following When the Moon Is Low and The Pearl That Broke Its Shell, best-selling author Hashimi delivers another moving portrayal of life in contemporary Afghanistan. Zeba, a devoted mother of four, is arrested after her husband, Kamal, is found brutally murdered in the courtyard of their home. While Zeba's children don't believe their mother would commit such a crime, Zeba is unable to account for her whereabouts at the time of the murder-and Kamal's family demands justice. Chapters alternate between Zeba's lonely childhood after her father disappeared and her difficult years as a young bride with the personal plight of Yusef, an inexperienced lawyer born in Afghanistan, raised in Queens, and viewed as an outsider by a town suspicious of strangers. As in her previous books, Hashimi creates compelling minor characters in cellmates Latifa, Nafisa, and Mezghan, who become a makeshift family as word of Zeba's jadu, or magic, spreads throughout the prison. Meanwhile, Yusef is committed to make a difference in a country he used to call home, even if he can barely recognize that home anymore. -VERDICT With elements of love, anger, and sheer optimism, Hashimi's latest is sure to engross those who enjoyed her previous novels and attract new readers as well. [See Prepub Alert, 2/21/16.]-Stephanie -Sendaula, Library Journal © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
