In The Wasted Vigil, Nadeem Aslam, the award-winning author of "Maps for Lost Lovers, "brilliantly knits together five seemingly unconnected lives ...
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Oct 31, 2008
Naeem
rated it: 
Verdict: mixed feelings. Let me sort them out.
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, uneducated, uncivilized natives); and, they are motivated to destroy us because they envy us our goodness. So what I want from a novel is to help me understand the inner workings and outer actions of some More...
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, uneducated, uncivilized natives); and, they are motivated to destroy us because they envy us our goodness. So what I want from a novel is to help me understand the inner workings and outer actions of some More...
Mar 11, 2009
Ernest
rated it:
I have mixed feelings. The author writes beautifully, but I thought it was a bit too detailed and descriptive at times. I found myself reading pages over again to understand what the author was trying to convey in several situations. Much of the plot is inferred through symbolism, which makes it unique but somewhat difficult at times.
Ultimately, I am glad that I read the story. I felt that I learned a great deal about Afghanistan, and was offered a glimpse into the minds of both e More...
Ultimately, I am glad that I read the story. I felt that I learned a great deal about Afghanistan, and was offered a glimpse into the minds of both e More...
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Sep 05, 2008
Katie
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THE WASTED VIGIL was stunningly beautiful. Aslam has an incredibly rich and descriptive voice--Afghanistan really comes alive through his portrayal. He's really able to describe the devastation the country has experienced in the last thirty years better than any nonfiction account I've read. The book contains some truly grim passages that make you feel as though you've been punched in the gut. My only problem with the book is that I felt the characters--while very well developed as individual
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Dec 11, 2008
Molly
rated it:
In case you missed the Kite Flyer, Bookseller from Kabul and so forth, Afghanistan is not a place you want to be, ever, and after reading this I forgot about the mice in the laundry room, the possums in the roof, and the rising cost of organic strawberries.
I loved this book for its fantastic smell imagery, it is a rare sensual experience to smell blood, sandalwood, pomengrenates in the same paragraph. Also, there are several parts of the book that are so gruesome that I am still shudder More...
I loved this book for its fantastic smell imagery, it is a rare sensual experience to smell blood, sandalwood, pomengrenates in the same paragraph. Also, there are several parts of the book that are so gruesome that I am still shudder More...
Jul 29, 2011
I found this book very difficult to read--the only other thing I have read b this author is Maps for Lost Lovers, which is fairly brutal as books go, but nothing compared to man's inhumanity (and deep seated, pervasive distrust) of man seen in this volume. THe author paints everyone with the same brush--no one is spared in this novel from doing the wrong thing, making the wrong choices, and seeing others as doing the same. I am not saying he is wrong--sadly, he is probably very close to the m
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Jan 16, 2011
Juliet
rated it:
I have mixed feelings about this book. It offers thoughtful insights into the situation in Afghanistan and questions the actions of all sides in creating the problems, from that point of view it is an important book and I would definitely recommend it over The Kite Runner.
However, I found problems with The Wasted Vigil, too. The characters feel as though they are stereotypes, or rather, as though they are created to play a particular political role, rather than being real characters More...
However, I found problems with The Wasted Vigil, too. The characters feel as though they are stereotypes, or rather, as though they are created to play a particular political role, rather than being real characters More...
Nov 04, 2009
Dirk
rated it:
This is a harrowing novel. I picked it up partly because of its topicality, but partly because I loved so much his previous novel, Maps for Lost Lovers. The language of that book is romantically sensual and metaphorical; the language of this novel has flashes of that quality, but is more spare. Aslam's metaphoric imagination enters more into action. For example a man driven to walk to one village from another in open country unknown to him is told to hold a bowl of water in front of him and keep
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Oct 31, 2009
Ali
rated it: 
This is a beautifully written, complex novel, that using memory, and some truly beautiful imagery weaves a tale of Afghanistan that is really quite unforgettable. Often sad and brutal, the story of Marcus Caldwell - who lives in an old perfume fctory - and the people who arrive at his house sometimes makes the reader want to look away, and yet you read on, for the stories are compelling. We have Lara, the Russian woman searcing for her brother who went missing during the Afghan Soviet war,and th
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Jan 20, 2012
Jennifer
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I think Aslam's major point in this novel is the danger of fanaticism. The main characters are representatives of fanatical regimes, hated by, or distorted by their own hatred of the Afghans. Aslam slowly lulls the reader into a heightened sensitivity with his patient and poetic observations of the habits of butterflies or the patterns of leaves on the wind, or religious stories of myth, innocence and beauty, then whaps him with an act of unimaginable brutality, performed by these regimes.
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Aug 24, 2009
Nicolemauerman
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This book takes place after 9/11, during the war in Afghanistan. Five lives come together in an Afghani village: Marcus, the Muslim converted English doctor who has lost his wife and daughter in the war and he is currently looking for his missing grandson; David, ex-CIA agent, lover to Marcus’ daughter who is establishing schools in the region; Casa, a fundamental Muslim Afghani fighter who hates the Americans; Lara, a Russian who is looking for her brother who is looking for her missing Soviet
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Jan 29, 2011
Shane
rated it:
A frightening yet lyrical portrayal of modern day Afghanistan.
Aslam takes on a lot here, trying to cover the lives of a handful of characters from the period between the Soviet occupation in 1979 and the present day. With the amount of back story on their lives, casually tossed in all the time, I felt that he could have written a novel on each of these tragic people. His constant feeding us with flashbacks intruded on the main story line, and that was my only peeve in an otherwise w More...
Aslam takes on a lot here, trying to cover the lives of a handful of characters from the period between the Soviet occupation in 1979 and the present day. With the amount of back story on their lives, casually tossed in all the time, I felt that he could have written a novel on each of these tragic people. His constant feeding us with flashbacks intruded on the main story line, and that was my only peeve in an otherwise w More...
Jul 20, 2010
Juli
rated it:
The victims of war-torn Afghanistan are the characters in this haunting novel. They include Marcus, an English doctor who is grieving for his murdered Afghan-born wife and daughter; David a former CIA agent who became involved with the daughter; and Lara, a Russian in search of a brother who disappeared during the Soviet invasion. Aslam has drawn compelling and sophisticated characters with these and others and he achieves a rare balance between depictions of depravity and violence (some of th
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Dec 22, 2008
Joshua
rated it:
Donnie suggested I read this book. About a third of the way into it the story is still developing but I can say that Mr. Aslam's style is absolutely beautiful. Almost poetic in his imagery and the way the words seem to just fall from the page. A real pleasure to read which contrasts most sharply with the inconceivable actions of radical Islam as he portrays it. For all its beauty, I am somewhat afraid of how the story my turn out. The tension is very high. But isn't that what makes great l
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Feb 22, 2009
Matthew
rated it:
It felt as if I was not only reading it, but that I was experiencing it, and it was quite simply the most moving novel I have ever experienced. To set the major portion of the story in a house dedicated to a celebration of the five senses was altogether fitting and the author's brilliant, poetic style brought both that house and the story itself alive.
I saw a piece of myself in each of the characters, despite never having been placed in the heart-wrenching experiences they were in, a More...
I saw a piece of myself in each of the characters, despite never having been placed in the heart-wrenching experiences they were in, a More...
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Jan 08, 2009
Bookmarks Magazine
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Nadeem Aslams unflinching epic novel spans centuries of civilization and conflict in Afghanistan, shifting back and forth through time while resolutely refusing to side with East or West. While he takes a dim view of terrorism, Aslam dismisses the notion that the Taliban is solely to blame for Afghanistans plight, pointing instead to the conjunction of multiple cultural, political, and economic forces in a relentless cycle of aggression and retaliation. Some critics took issue with Aslams pro
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Jul 07, 2011
Toni
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For some reason I felt compelled to finish the book. Although he has a beautiful writing style, he skips around in places and I felt I had to reread to understand which character he was talking about. The main reason why I gave this two stars and hesitated for one, is because of the author's blatant MISrepresentation of Islam. His quotes from the Quran are completely fabricated. Granted, part of this may be in trying to show the mindset of the Taliban, but with absolutely no clarification w
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Mar 23, 2009
Kathy
rated it:
A group of individuals come together in post 9/11 Afghanistan. While The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns will continue to be more popular novels about Afghanistan, and they are both great stories, they are a little too neatly tied up and predictable. The Wasted Vigil is not an easy book to read - I found myself having to go back and re-read sections that went over my head the first time - but it really stuck with me long after I finished it. All the characters in the book were profoun
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Jul 04, 2011
Naveed
rated it:
How often do we hear about writers who put decade long efforts to write fiction, working in secluded cottages without any conscience of seasons, weather, guilds and society? Rarely. Nadeem Aslam fits that genre. He has tirelessly done menial jobs to earn a living and to create an isolation just to write better books, to dive deep into imagination. He writes by blackening out his windows, sleeps on the floor and makes books his pillows, and then continues to write even more on prize money. A dev
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Feb 03, 2011
itpdx
rated it:
The story of a British doctor who married an Afghan woman and has lived many years near a small town in Afghanistan. He befriends a Russian woman who has come in search of her brother, who disappeared during the Russian occupation of Afghanistan. The characters back-stories cover much of years of war that the country has endured, including the current rivalry between two local war lords, who have sided with various actors in the country. The book is full of wonderful images--the books nailed t
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Mar 23, 2011
Carol
rated it: 
I regret reading this book. I wanted to quit it early on, but preserved because it was a book club selection. Wasted Vigil by Nadeem Aslam, is a tale about Afghanistan's suffering during all the recent years of war. It looks at the various players, that have tried to conquer Afghanistan, the Russians, Taliban and Americans. The sheer brutality of all of the participants is horrifying and Aslam does not shy from explicit descriptions of torture and complete lack of respect for human life. On
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Sep 02, 2011
Tracy
rated it:
This is the second book I've read from Aslam. He is really a gifted writer! I'm so impressed and he is so young. Lyrical prose. Delightful descriptions of set and setting. Captivating characters. Intense INTENSE subject matter, well researched. I need to stop reading books set in Afghanistan, I actually feel traumatized by it. This novel involved more high-level politics, CIA, ISI, Taliban than "Maps of Lost Lovers", but it served the storyline well. Lots of descriptions of Afghan-Musl
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Apr 04, 2009
Katie
rated it:
Such a beautifully written book, writing so beautifully about the most horific acts of violoence ... the Soviets invade Afghanistan,the US supports the Afghanis in fighting the Soviets ... the war, and Pakistan, opens the door for radical Islamic factions (including the Taliban) who fight each other for political dominance ... Al Queda and Bin Laden are most likely the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks, the US goes back to Afghanistan to wage war ... and the country is carpeted with landmines, an
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Mar 21, 2009
Maria
rated it:
This is a stunning work. Leaving aside the mystique of the writer's personal life, this is a polished, poetic piece about the war in afghanistan and 5 people who come together at the home of an English doctor in Afghanistan. The characters are thoughtfully drawn, their conflicts and dilemnas give the reader much to think about:love, lust, war, peace, self-doubt, and how the characters choose to live political life. The characters' personal salvations are both terrifying and radiant. I read this
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Jul 28, 2011
Aslam is very good at showing difficult situations from many perspectives, showing both the for and against arguments, without ever really passing judgment. Leaving it to the reader to decide which side of the fence you sit on.
Alot of the story takes place in a home in Usha where books have been nailed to the ceiling -- they occasionally fall unexpectedly on the inhabitants. They have been secured there by a doctor and artist driven mad under Taliban rule.
I found this really hard to get through More...
Alot of the story takes place in a home in Usha where books have been nailed to the ceiling -- they occasionally fall unexpectedly on the inhabitants. They have been secured there by a doctor and artist driven mad under Taliban rule.
I found this really hard to get through More...
Aug 19, 2009
Jesse
rated it:
For folks whom Kite Runner was not depressing or complex or poetic enough.
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 notice them. Other metaphors are similarly fraught, the house also features paintings devoted to the 6 senses covered over by mud, a giant Buddha's head that weeps tears, and a collection of inhabita More...
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 notice them. Other metaphors are similarly fraught, the house also features paintings devoted to the 6 senses covered over by mud, a giant Buddha's head that weeps tears, and a collection of inhabita More...
Apr 17, 2011
AdultFiction
rated it:
TCL Call # F ASLAM
4 Stars: Adam
While extraordinarily dense, cryptic and challenging to read, the reward of persevering through this novel is well worth it. The author paints a vivid picture of Afghanistan and Muslim fundamentalism and explains their viewpoint in humanistic terms illustrating the idea that war and conflict is far from black and white and that there are many sides to any story. With lots of action and complex character development, I can see this book being turn More...
4 Stars: Adam
While extraordinarily dense, cryptic and challenging to read, the reward of persevering through this novel is well worth it. The author paints a vivid picture of Afghanistan and Muslim fundamentalism and explains their viewpoint in humanistic terms illustrating the idea that war and conflict is far from black and white and that there are many sides to any story. With lots of action and complex character development, I can see this book being turn More...
Dec 09, 2011
Esther
rated it:
A story of different people finding each other more or less by chance in a house in Afghanistan. We’ve got an old man of British nationality who lost his daughter, his grand-son and his wife, we’ve got a Russian woman in search of information on her lost brother, we’ve got Americans and also Afghans joining in this “enclave” of trust and friendship. As such, I really liked the way the story was constructed and the way the characters were introduced from different points of view, depending on the
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Oct 05, 2010
Sana
rated it:
I was expecting the usual fare when I picked up this novel set in Afghanistan, but what I wasn't expecting was to find the author repeatedly misquoting from the Quran. For most of the story, I thought he was just trying to show the reader the jihadist mindset and the erroneous light in which they hijack certain verses from the Quran to further their cause. But at no point did he clarify this.
Besides misquoting, he also made his characters dish out statements like, "Islam at its More...
Besides misquoting, he also made his characters dish out statements like, "Islam at its More...
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Jun 01, 2011
Mazel
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Afghanistan, 2005, à l'ombre des monts de Tora Bora. Dans une maison aux murs ornés de fresques, aux plafonds recouverts de livres cloués, avec sa fabrique où l'on distillait autrefois des parfums, le vieux médecin anglais Marcus Caldwell pleure sa femme Qatrina et sa fille Zameen disparues, et désespère de retrouver son petit-fils Bihzad.
Vers ce lieu, où l'amour régnait sous toutes ses formes, où les sens sont tous sollicités, convergent des êtres esseulés. La Russe Lara à la reche More...
Vers ce lieu, où l'amour régnait sous toutes ses formes, où les sens sont tous sollicités, convergent des êtres esseulés. La Russe Lara à la reche More...
