The Wasted Vigil
ABOUT
THE BOOK
A Russian woman named Lara arrives at the house of Marcus Caldwell, an Englishman and widower living in an old perfume factory in the shadow of the Tora Bora mountains. It is possible that Marcus’s daughter, Zameen, may have known Lara’s brother, a Soviet soldier who disappeared in the area many years previously. But like Marcus’s wife, Zameen is dead; a victim of the age in which she was born.
In the days that follow, further people will arrive at the house: David Town and James Palantine, two Americans who have spent much of their adult lives in the area, for their respective reasons; Dunia, a young Afghan teacher; and Casa, a radicalised young man intent on his own path.
NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS
In The Wasted Vigil, Nadeem Aslam has created a poetic narrative of Afghanistan, unflinching in its complexity and authenticity. The story he tells, filled with tenderness and brutality, beauty and terrible violence, illuminates Afghanistan’s tortured history and shattered present.
From strife-torn Afghanistan this story of people representing all sides, their lives interweaving in love, hate, torture and compassion, is at times so strong it is almost impossible to keep reading. Chilling and unforgettable, the language sometimes poetic.
This novel examines the current conflict in Afghanistan and gives voice to all factions. The main character’s voice is both lyrical and brutal.