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My Dear Kabul

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What to expect

* A BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week *

'A real-time, moving and intimate portrait of a year living under the Taliban' DUA LIPA'S SERVICE95
'An intimate, courageous chronicle of life' OBSERVER, BOOK OF THE DAY
'A hugely important book' BERNARDINE EVARISTO
'A deeply moving collective memoir' LYSE DOUCET

In August 2021, as the Taliban approached the gates of Kabul, twenty-one women writers in Afghanistan messaged their WhatsApp group chat: they asked what news other had heard and if everyone was safe.

These women had been brought together as a writing group and were about to publish their first collection of short stories. Some were students, some newly married, one was a grandmother; all were afraid of what was now to come. Over the next year, in their makeshift online refuge, they shared the day-to-day reality of life after the Taliban retook Afghanistan. This is their collective diary, forming a powerful chorus of resistance and solidarity.

'Fascinatingly detailed and fiercely brave' GUARDIAN
'Its courage is momentous' ALI SMITH

Critics Review

An intimate, courageous chronicle of life as it unfolds under Taliban rule
Observer
Poignant
The Economist
A deeply moving collective memoir
Lyse Doucet
Its courage is momentous
Ali Smith
A hugely important book. I was willingly swept along; I could not put it down
Bernardine Evaristo
A real-time, moving and intimate portrait of a year living under the Taliban, communicated via clandestine WhatsApp messages
Dua Lipa's Service95
This book pulls you behind the headlines. From the very first message you're there with these incredible women, feeling their bravery, their horrors and their hope. This is exactly what books are meant to do
Luan Goldie
Brave and compelling. These remarkable women take us into a world we should all know about
Sandi Toksvig
These writings in translation honour the individuality of Afghan women and their voices
Southasia Review of Books
These are urgent whispers from some of the bravest, most articulate women of our times
Mohammed Hanif
Heartbreaking, harrowing and compelling . . . this book is a running document of the lives of Afghan women under siege and beyond. My Dear Kabul is the story of female courage and friendship in the face of the most extreme patriarchal clamp-down on female freedom of every kind
Monique Roffey
Urgent and harrowing, full of tension and life
Dina Nayeri
A powerful, moving and important book showcasing the voices of Afghan women writers, determined to be heard and share their stories of loss, love, rebellion and brilliance. A wonderful read.
Kate Mosse
Author Untold
Narrator Afsaneh Dehrouyeh
Duration 7 hours and 43 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781399728010
Format Audiobook
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
Genre Gender studies: women and girls, Memoirs, Military history: post-WW2 conflicts, Social and cultural history
Availability AU, GB, IE, US

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