Today I’m joining in again with Book Journey’s It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? meme. Yesterday I had other priorities than to write a Sunday Salon post, like putting up Christmas decorations (my Secret Santa gift is now under the tree!) and READ. There was a low-key mini-readathon going on in Twitterverse and although I only got to read 4 of the 12 hours, it’s more than I would have done otherwise!
I’m now at 1/3rd of Nadeem Aslam’s The Wasted Vigil and it’s absolutely fabulous. Aslam has a great way of saying things — I try to absorb each and every word he says.
It’s an intriguing story, broadening my horizon; about the lives of five people who come together in post-9/11, war-torn Afghanistan.
Marcus, an English doctor whose progressive, outspoken Afghani wife was murdered by the Taliban, opens his home—itself an eerily beautiful monument to his losses—to the others: Lara, from St. Petersburg, looking for evidence of her soldier brother who disappeared decades before during the Soviet invasion; David, an American, a former spy who has seen his ideals turned inside out during his twenty-five years in Afghanistan; Casa, a young Afghani whose hatred of the West plunges him into the depths of zealotry; and James, the Special Forces soldier in whom David sees a dangerous revival of the unquestioning notions of right and wrong that he himself once held.
A few years ago I read his previous book Maps for Lost Lovers and loved it so much I had to get The Wasted Vigil as soon as it came out. Weirdly enough it stayed on my shelf for another two years! :-o But now I’m thrilled to find myself in 2005 Afghanistan while sitting safely on the couch.
It’s probably not too early to say that Nadeem Aslam now officially belongs to my favourite authors!
I hope to read a lot this week — so what am I doing blogging??? — finishing The Wasted Vigil in a few days. I’ve been saving a book especially for the upcoming holidays you see, ever since I got it from velvet in January this year: The Christmas Quilt by Thomas J. Davies. Now is the time to read it!
BTW Two more book-shaped parcels appeared mysteriously under the Christmas tree last night… Oh goody! ;)
Graasland 
8 reacties
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maandag 20 december 2010 bij 14:25
leeswammes
Sounds like a good book! Isn’t it amazing how good books sometimes spend ages on the TBR shelf and then when you read it finally, you think: Now why didn’t I read that earlier? :-)
Have a good week!
maandag 20 december 2010 bij 14:35
Gnoe
LOL Actually… I’ve been thinking for 2 years that I should read it at once. Other books kept squeezing in! LOL
maandag 20 december 2010 bij 16:20
laurelrainsnow
Oh, The Wasted Vigil sounds compelling. I’d have to be in the right mood, though….
Hope you enjoy your reading and holiday week.
Here’s my Monday:
http://laurelrainsnow.wordpress.com/2010/12/20/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-dec-20/
maandag 27 december 2010 bij 12:47
Gnoe
The weird thing is that you don’t need to be in a certain mood… Aslam writes so beautifully he *makes* you get into the right mood! It’s not a depressing book or anything, although I couldn’t say it gave me hope… :\
maandag 20 december 2010 bij 18:22
Aleetha
Thanks for visiting my blog :)
Is that the first book with Afganistan as the setting? Have you read The Kite Runner?
Happy reading and have a great holiday
maandag 27 december 2010 bij 12:50
Gnoe
It’s not the first book set in Afghanistan; The Kite Runner is older and so is The bookseller of Kabul. I’ve indeed read the first and was impressed by it but The Wasted Vigil is a way, WAY better book than The Kite Runner (which was a bit too coincidental at times)!
maandag 20 december 2010 bij 22:51
Sheila (Book Journey)
The Wasted Vigil does look awesome! Have a super week :)
maandag 27 december 2010 bij 12:50
Gnoe
I finished reading it and can definitely say: it is. Awesome.