Nadeem Aslam is the author of three previous novels, Season of the Rainbirds (1993), Maps for Lost Lovers (2004)-longlisted for the Booker Prize, shortlisted for the IMPAC Prize, and awarded the Kiriyama Prize and the Encore Award-and, most recently, The Wasted Vigil (2008), described by A. S. Byatt as 'unforgettable . . . tragic and beautifully written'. Born in Pakistan, he now lives in England. In 2012 he was a made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
'Love is not consolation, it is light'
From the author of Maps for Lost Lovers and The Wasted Vigil comes a novel set in the months after 9/11, when Western armies invaded Afghanistan-a story of love, hope and grief, of uncorrupted faith and of what it means to be alive.
Jeo and his foster-brother Mikal leave their home in Pakistan to help care for wounded Afghans. Within hours of entering the wide-horizoned Afghan landscape, Mikal and Jeo are separated and, emerging from the carnage, Mikal begins his search for Jeo. But his deepest wish is to return home-to the young woman he loves and who loves him, Jeo's wife
