Sparks Like Stars

SPARKS LIKE STARS- Nadia HashimiAnother book on Afghanistan. I just love historical fiction especially because most of them show how humans have resilience that just comes to them in times of adversity. It is so inspiring and also to know about the history and cultures of various places. And Afghanistan is a place that so many have tried to conquer, defeat and crush...but by hook or crook they have managed to stay afloat. A place becomes bitter not because of the people living in it but because of the people who invade from outside and try and try to take everything away from them and leave them hollow.Sparks like Stars is a well-written story of a little girl called Sitara who was born to a distinguished and political family in Afghanistan. Her father was a high ranking official working for the president. She has been brought up with privileges and has seen the best. She was a part of Afghanistan in the 1970’s when is was progressive. In 1978, a communist coup assassinates the president and her entire family, while she managesto escape. All those whom she trusted turned their backs on her. How will a ten year old girl survive especially when she is the only witness to this massacre? Well, she does.It is her story of survival from Afghanistan to America and back to Afghanistan, a place that was her home and a country that she grew up and knew to be normal. She never got over the violence of that night and she doesn’t know what happened to the bodies of her family. Her life is burdened with her past. She wants to go back to her country and bring closure to the strife within her. When she returns to a Taliban governed Afghanistan, she can’t believe that it is the same place that she had left years ago.It’s a fabulous novel with the descriptions so vivid that you read the book like a movie. I especially loved all the conversations between Sitara and her father who has the most amazing wise thoughts. I clung to his words. Some absolutely beautiful quotes. An incredible story, Nadia Hashimi has done a fantastic job of getting you glued to her book.

The beginning was gripping while the end was a disappointment, could have been better. Not an astounding work.

Heartbreaking but never losing hope. "Innocence is the luxury not everyone can afford to have ".About saying goodbyes and coming to face your grief in order to heal.

Ever since I started reading this book i had a different experience, I travelled places Afghanistan came live to my eyes. The emotional roller coaster was too detailed to imagine that I m not living it but reading. A long 450 pages but worth investing time

I always thought Khaled Hossieni is the best, but guess I was wrong.I finished this book in 2 days.

I was looking forward to reading this novel for a long time. A Novel by Nadia Hashimi is one of the many attempts made to capture Afghanistan in its changing phases. The story begins in 1978 when a ten-year-old daughter Sitara Zamani is enjoying her childhood with her friends and family. Her father is an advisor to the President, Daoud Khan. Times aren’t easy. The Americans and the Russians are swooping over the peaceful land like vultures. And then, in the middle of the night, there’s a coup. 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. She becomes a successful doctor, and is in a flat romantic relationship.A beautiful look into Afghanistan’s history, it’s present and the beauty of its people. Characters are so special and vibrant. The story has a lot of trauma. Bold, illuminating, heartbreaking, yet hopeful, Sparks Like Stars is a story of home — of America and Afghanistan, tragedy and survival, reinvention and remembrance, told in Nadia Hashimi’s singular voice. I absolutely devoured it. It is one of those books that stays with you. If you have not read this yet you must read it.

(Voluntarily reviewed a Physical Copy of The Book on For The Love of Fictional Worlds)If you haven’t still read Nadia Hashimi’s books then you have no idea the emotional roller coaster you are missing out on.I found Nadia Hashimi with The Sky At Our Feet (Read My Review) at the start of my blogging journey; and till date, her voice and her narration makes that beautiful heartbreaking book to be one of my all time favourites as well as a definite recommendation, especially if I want new readers to be introduced to a new voice that they *Need* to read.So, Sparks Like Stars was already gel with high expectations - and like before, Ms. Hashimi doesn’t disappoint with the heartbreakingly hopeful story that she tells to her readers in the background of the start of the coup in Afghanistan.Told in the PoV of Sitara, in the year 1978; where she lives a carefree life with her parents and her brother. Her father, is a close adviser to the then President of Afghanistan and she has grown up with her best friends; the grandchildren of the President at the palace.What she doesn’t know, what she never ever expects, is that her life, as she knows it, is going to end soon. She and her family have the misfortune of being at the palace, when the rebel forces successfully undertake a murderous coup against the President. Sitara sees her family murdered in front of her eyes by a guard whom her family trusted.And in a cruel twist of fate, the same guard, in a rare show of consciousness, saves her and gets her out of the palace undetected. Risking his own life, and that of his family’s; he protects her until he hands her off to two American women to try and get her out of there country.Fast forward to 2008, Sitara is now a successful oncology surgeon and lives a somewhat content life in the US. Until she meets face to face with the one man whom she blames for her own tragic past. She now knows that she cannot rest until she knows exactly what happened to her family back in 1978.Told in parts; as readers we find ourselves engrossed in Sitara’s innocent voice in 1978 - the harrowing journey she undergoes, just to survive after a tragedy that she can never get over. The strength of the young girl shines through; on every single page.And while the transition to her life in the US is a bit abrupt; it’s the author’s talent of using the backdrop of a country in turmoil and the political crisis within Afghanistan to seamlessly showcase the tragic events in the life that leaves a devastating impact on the reader, one that they won’t forget anytime soon.

I absolutely loved this story. The storytelling had the perfect amount of detail. It was written in a lyrical way that made it easy to imagine everything going on and the characters’ surroundings without bogging down the story. I felt so much empathy for Aryana/Sitara and what she experienced. I cannot even imagine what these peoples’ lives are like and what the Afghan people have experienced as a result of the US and Russia toying with the country. Fantastic story and highly recommend.

The paper, the edges of the pages. Shocking quality! Not sure I want to read it because of its presentation

I love all her books and this one did not disappoint me either. It certainly gave me a better understanding of the situation in Afghanistan over the years and the story was very touching!

Yet another book I have enjoyed by Nadia Hashimi. I could picture it all. Well written. So much sadness in war

I didn't like the jumps in writing and stories by the author. However the story is rich in history characters culture and perspective.