It's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi.
Nadia Hashimi was raised in New York and New Jersey. Both her parents were born in Afghanistan and left in the early 1970's, before the Soviet invasion. In 2002, Nadia made her forst trip to Afghanistan with her parents. She is a pediatrician, and lives with her family in the Washington, D.C, suburbs. She is the author of three books for adults, as well as the middle grade novels One Half from the East and the Sky at Our Feet. Follow @NadiaHashimi on Twitter, Visit her online at nadiahashimibooks.com
About the book
Kabul, 1978: The daughter of a prominent family, Sitara Zamani lives a privileged life in Afghanistan’s thriving cosmopolitan capital. The 1970s are a time of remarkable promise under the leadership of people like Sardar Daoud, Afghanistan’s progressive president, and Sitara’s beloved father, his right-hand man. But the ten-year-old Sitara’s world is shattered when communists stage a coup, assassinating the president and Sitara’s entire family. Only she survives.
Smuggled out of the palace by a guard named Shair, Sitara finds her way to the home of a female American diplomat, who adopts her and raises her in America. In her new country, Sitara takes on a new name—Aryana Shepherd—and throws herself into her studies, eventually becoming a renowned surgeon.
New York, 2008: Thirty years after that fatal night in Kabul, Aryana’s world is rocked again when an elderly patient appears in her examination room—a man she never expected to see again. It is Shair, the soldier who saved her, yet may have murdered her entire family. Seeing him awakens Aryana’s fury and desire for answers—and, perhaps, revenge.
Review
Sitara's world is destroyed when he affluent family falls prey to the political machinations of a brutal and lethal coup. She doesn't necessarily see her escape and subsequent life as fortunate, as she finds it difficult to put the horrors she experienced to bed. The sounds, images and emotions that have dimmed and become quieter as her drive pushes her to success in her new life, are suddenly awakened when she encounters a pivotal person from her past.
I really enjoyed the read, Hashimi has a knack of fusing fact and fiction, so the reader isn't quite sure where the two meet or separate. It gives the historical inspiration behind the story more validity and I think it also leaves a bigger imprint because of it. That in itself is quite important with historical fiction, when readers encounter history they perhaps haven't encountered in their life or educational, cultural background.
In a time and era of such discourse and division, and with many more countries becoming melting pots of diversity, due to immigration, refugees and mass migration - it's paramount that we all understand the history of those around us. It gives context, especially in regards to culture and indeed often the trauma they have experienced and bring with them.
It's a fascinating story of betrayal, trauma, pain and also one about closure. About dealing with the past and acknowledging that no action in the present or the future will change the past, which means learning to accept to gain some semblance of peace. I really enjoyed both the story and the writing.
Buy Sparks Like Stars at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher : William Morrow pub date 2 Mar. 2021. Buy at Amazon com.
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