The Secret Sky
A Novel of Forbidden Love in Afghanistan
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3.0 • 1 Rating
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
An eye-opening and “heartwarming” (VOYA) novel of love, honor, and betrayal from veteran foreign news correspondent, Atia Abawi.
“This powerful love story will leave you angry at injustice, and awed by courage. It shocks and inspires.”—Lyse Doucet, Chief International Correspondent, BBC
Fatima is a Hazara girl. She was raised to be obedient, to be dutiful, and to honor the traditions of her family, her village, and her religion.
Samiullah is a Pashtun boy. He was raised to be a landowner, to increase his family’s power, and to defend the traditions of his tribe, his village and his religion.
Fatima and Samiullah were not meant to fall in love. But they do.
The story that follows shows both the beauty and the violence in current-day Afghanistan as Fatima and Samiullah fight their families, their cultures, and the Taliban to stay together.
Of Afghan descent herself, Atia Abawi spent almost five years as a foreign correspondent in Afghanistan and based this story on people she met during her time there.
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Three characters take turns narrating foreign correspondent Abawi's debut, about a cross-cultural love affair that tears at a small Afghan community. Pashtun landowners and Hazara farmers maintain a respectful peace their children play together, but a "Hazara girl could never marry a Pashtun boy." Fatima dreams of a future in Kabul, where girls "can become doctors, lawyers, midwives and even artists!" After Samiullah returns home, disillusioned with teachers' cruel indoctrination at his madrassa, his childhood friendship with Fatima blossoms into love. Meanwhile, Samiullah's cousin Rashid seeks to gain favor with the local Taliban by reporting their attachment, resulting in horrific consequences for both families. Decades of tribal strife influence the present, causing some to cling to tradition, while others encourage change, like a grandmother teaching her granddaughter to read. Disturbing depictions of physical, emotional, and sexual violence against women, men, and children, both within families and between different groups, contrast with extravagant acts of courage, kindness, and sacrifice. Throughout, Fatima, Samiullah, and Rashid wrestle with what constitutes faithful living, as represented by two mullahs offering wildly different interpretations. A suspenseful, enlightening, and hopeful love story. Ages 14 up.
