false 3417673 10 The author of <i>Maps for Lost Lovers</i> gives us a new novel—at once lyrical and blistering—about war in our time, told through the lives of five people who come together in post-9/11 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. In mesmerizing prose, Nadeem Aslam reveals the complex ties—of love and desperation, pain and salvation, madness and clarity—that bind the characters. And through their stories he creates a timely and achingly intimate portrait of the “continuation of wars” that shapes our world. In its radiant language, its depth of feeling, and its unflinching drama, The Wasted Vigil is a luminous work of fiction. 3458021 4 9 2008 The Wasted Vigil total:171|5:53|4:66|3:38|2:10|1:4| 171 667 469 64 3 3 false false Sun Oct 26 18:42:42 -0700 2008 Fri Oct 31 16:14:57 -0700 2008 1
A. The principle

If we did not want a story with some, and perhaps lots of, generosity towards those we call “enemy” then we could all settle for W’s version of current world events: we are good; they are evil (or childish,...more...]]> 3 1 false false Wed Mar 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 09 15:39:32 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 11 18:37:59 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Sep 03 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 05 17:55:22 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 05 18:00:38 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri Nov 28 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 06 08:45:23 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 11 15:39:14 -0800 2008 I loved this book for its fantasti...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Nov 04 20:40:04 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 04 20:40:58 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Oct 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 31 05:43:39 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 31 07:34:13 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 24 08:09:40 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 24 08:11:03 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Dec 19 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 11 19:49:05 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 22 18:32:08 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Feb 17 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 22 11:18:49 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 22 12:14:08 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Thu Jan 08 05:59:55 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 08 05:59:55 -0800 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Sun Mar 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu May 07 17:04:33 -0700 2009 Thu May 07 17:12:50 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Mar 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 23 10:45:35 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 23 10:56:56 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Apr 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 26 10:29:37 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 04 18:38:27 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 5 1 false false Mon Feb 16 11:29:13 -0800 2009 Tue Sep 30 16:46:38 -0700 2008 Mon Feb 16 11:29:13 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Sat Mar 21 10:15:20 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 21 10:26:27 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Aug 19 16:20:27 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 07:47:52 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 19 16:20:27 -0700 2009
Wasted Vigil literally nails its symbolism to the ceiling in the form of a library. The books were put there by a woman driven mad by years of Afghan wars, but the method is crudely effective, the Taliban don't n...more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Feb 16 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 11 19:02:06 -0800 2009 Fri May 08 14:32:34 -0700 2009 This book adds a lot to my understanding of what is going on in Afghanistan, as...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Nov 18 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 03 07:06:35 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 18 17:05:49 -0800 2009 jihadi nicknamed Casa converge on the rural home of Marcus, English expatriate living on the shores of a lake in rural Afghanistan near the Tora Bora caves where the US forces failed to capture Osama bin Laden. The five are ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Dec 14 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 20 19:23:24 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 20 19:23:35 -0800 2008 Set in present-day Afghanistan but often delving i...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Oct 24 14:01:22 -0700 2008 Tue May 05 12:28:30 -0700 2009 An old house near a lake, not too far from a major city. Marcus, an old Eng...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=3417673