Stevie‘s review of 99 Nights in Logar by Jamil Jan Kochai
Afghan-American Literary Fiction published by Viking 22 Jan 19
I love unreliable or conflicting narrators and I’m a great fan of stories within stories. As I’m also trying to read stories by a more diverse range of authors and set in a wider range of geographical locations, this book seemed an obvious pick for me when I was offered a review copy. The narrator of the main story is twelve year old Afghan-American Marwand, who returns to his parents’ home in Logar six years after his previous visit. During his stay, he meets with relatives, neighbours and others, all of whom have stories to tell about their lives, their families, and the legends embedded into the landscape.
On his first visit, Marwand joined his young uncles and his cousins in tormenting the family’s guard dog, Budabash. Returning older and wiser, he is keen to make amends, only to discover that the beast is more wolf than dog, with their first encounter this time resulting in the loss of part of Marwand’s finger. Budabash becomes a formidable enemy, almost gaining the status of mythical monster, and the boys return to tormenting him, only for Budabash to escape from the family’s compound one night. As the men prepare to mount a search, the boys plan an expedition of their own, determined to find and return Budabash before the adults.
As they travel, the boys encounter a variety of strangers, some more friendly than others, but each with a story to tell. These interludes are interspersed with tales told by the boys, many passed down from their older relatives, giving the reader a vibrant picture of the country’s history and legends. Not all the stories are happy, as might be expected from a country that has experienced so many wars. Sometimes the boys find themselves in danger, and sometimes their adventures take on a fabulous or fantastical element. The boys are cruel at times: to Budabash and other animals, to each other, and to adults – known and unknown – whom they encounter on their travels; however, they also have a great deal of determination to succeed in their quests against all odds and to triumph where their older relatives might fail. In the end, they all mature to different extents and one falls in love.
This was a beautiful, lyrical book, although a couple of sections dragged a little. There were a fair few unfamiliar words, most of which were explained by the narrative or the context in which they appeared. My biggest regret, however, is that we, who speak only European languages, never get to learn what really happened to Watak, the long-dead uncle whose grave marker features in several adventures. I want to learn more about the real Afghanistan now.
Grade: B
Summary:
A dog on the loose. A boy yearning to connect to his family’s roots. A country in the midst of great change. And a vibrant exploration of the power of stories–the ones we tell each other and the ones we find ourselves in.
Twelve-year-old Marwand’s memories from his previous visit to Afghanistan six years ago center on his contentious relationship with Budabash, the terrifying but beloved dog who guards his extended family’s compound in the rural village of Logar. But eager for an ally in this place that is meant to be “home,” Marwand misreads his reunion with the dog and approaches Budabash the way he would any pet on his American suburban block–and the results are disastrous: Marwand loses a finger, and Budabash escapes into the night.
Marwand is not chastened and doubles down on his desire to fit in here. He must get the dog back, and the resulting search is a gripping and vivid adventure story, a lyrical, funny, and surprisingly tender coming-of-age journey across contemporary Afghanistan that blends the bravado and vulnerability of a boy’s teenage years with an homage to familial oral tradition and calls to mind One Thousand and One Nights yet speaks with a voice all its own.
Read an excerpt.
