Adam Klein
Auteur van The Medicine Burns: And Other Stories (High Risk Books)
Over de Auteur
Fotografie: Courtesy of Serpent's Tail Press
Werken van Adam Klein
Gerelateerde werken
Pills, Thrills, Chills, and Heartache: Adventures in the First Person (2004) — Medewerker — 67 exemplaren
Tagged
Algemene kennis
- Geboortedatum
- 1962
- Geslacht
- male
- Nationaliteit
- USA
- Land (voor op de kaart)
- USA
- Geboorteplaats
- Coral Gables, Florida, USA
- Woonplaatsen
- San Francisco, California, USA
New York, USA
India - Opleiding
- San Francisco State University
- Beroepen
- musician
- Prijzen en onderscheidingen
- Lambda Small Press Award
Leden
Besprekingen
Lijsten
Afghanistan (1)
Prijzen
Misschien vindt je deze ook leuk
Gerelateerde auteurs
Statistieken
- Werken
- 8
- Ook door
- 4
- Leden
- 80
- Populariteit
- #224,854
- Waardering
- 3.7
- Besprekingen
- 4
- ISBNs
- 12
This collection of short stories represents the new, younger Afghan population. Those who remember the war with the Soviets, or at least stories of the war, the rise of the Taliban, and the American invasion. These stories bring together many aspects of Afghan life and seem to reflect on the one thing that has been missing from these people’s lives: Peace. There has been some form of turmoil in the country since the 1970s. Like most other people, Afghans just wish to be left alone.
The stories show how wearing jeans can produce a huge public argument. Villagers, in one story, believe that Soviet’s had attacked America on 9/11 because America and the Soviet Union have always been fighting each other. What possible effect would 9/11 have on Afghanistan asks one child. “The Taste of Cake” shows the brutality and depravity of those who hold power. “Hard Boiled” is an interesting story of a man who dresses as a member of the Taliban, but runs an illegal comic book store. Since there are no movies or music in Taliban run Afghanistan, comics provide some sort of an escape. The writer pictures himself a bit of a Mike Hammer fan and similarly falls for a woman needing assistance.
The writing is very good in all the stories and the writers’ command of English is also impressive. It is not so much the writing that makes this book great, but the first hand insight into a country that is still a mystery to most Americans. I would venture to say that most Americans only know Afghanistan for the Taliban, Osama Bin Laden, and mountain bunkers. The Gifts of the State gives a personal look into the country and the people. It is this intimate look at the culture that makes this a great book. The main limiting factor is that the students are attending an American school where English a requirement to attend. I again would make a guess that most of these students come from the privileged class of Afghanistan. With that being said, I will give the benefit of the doubt to the writer’s perspective and their vision; it is the best look into the country that we have.
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