Rukhsana is a spirited young journalist working for the Kabul Times in Afghanistan. She also takes care of her mother and her younger brother Jahan.
Their quiet but tenuous way of life is shattered with the arrival of a summons for Rukhsana to appear before the infamous Ministry to Promote Virtue and Punish Vice.The Minister, Zorak Wahidi, has two things in mind: to threaten the traditionally anti-Taliban news reporters, and to announce the Taliban's intention to hold a cricket tournament, the winner of which will represent Afghanistan in the International Cricket Council. By the end of the meeting, he has a third desire: Rukhsana's hand in marriage. Driven into hiding and cloistered in a burqua, Rukhsana doesn't despair - the Minister, without knowing it, has given her a way out.
You won't be able to forget this soaring novel of resilience. Rukhsana's story will remind us what one person - one woman - can do to reclaim her voice in the face of brutality and repression. With tenderness and clarity, Timeri Murari shows us how no tyranny is ever absolute when love still exists.
'A moving, splendidly realised story of courage and grit in modern-day Kabul. I was won over by Murari's uplifting and vastly entertaining sporting tale, which reaffirms the power of friendship, fellowship, and love in the face of all forms of tyranny.' Vikas Swarup, author of Slumdog Millionaire
Their quiet but tenuous way of life is shattered with the arrival of a summons for Rukhsana to appear before the infamous Ministry to Promote Virtue and Punish Vice.The Minister, Zorak Wahidi, has two things in mind: to threaten the traditionally anti-Taliban news reporters, and to announce the Taliban's intention to hold a cricket tournament, the winner of which will represent Afghanistan in the International Cricket Council. By the end of the meeting, he has a third desire: Rukhsana's hand in marriage. Driven into hiding and cloistered in a burqua, Rukhsana doesn't despair - the Minister, without knowing it, has given her a way out.
You won't be able to forget this soaring novel of resilience. Rukhsana's story will remind us what one person - one woman - can do to reclaim her voice in the face of brutality and repression. With tenderness and clarity, Timeri Murari shows us how no tyranny is ever absolute when love still exists.
'A moving, splendidly realised story of courage and grit in modern-day Kabul. I was won over by Murari's uplifting and vastly entertaining sporting tale, which reaffirms the power of friendship, fellowship, and love in the face of all forms of tyranny.' Vikas Swarup, author of Slumdog Millionaire
