Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi – 464 pages
ARC from William Morrow and Netgalley for an honest review
Book Blurb:
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. A survivor, Aryana has refused to look back, choosing instead to bury the trauma and devastating loss she endured. New York, 2008: Forty 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. Realizing that she cannot go on without finding the truth, Aryana embarks on a quest that takes her back to Kabul—a battleground between the corrupt government and the fundamentalist Taliban—and through shadowy memories of the world she loved and lost.
My Review: 4.5 stars
Sparks Like Stars drew me in like a camel to water. I had no idea what to expect from this book other than the recollection of enjoying Hashimi’s debut novel, The Pearl that Broke its Shell.
This story starts with a young Satira who lives a life of splendor due to her father’s role as the right-hand man to progressive President Daoud Kahn. He was responsible for abolishing the monarchy in Afghanistan and elected himself president. As much as he encouraged change, many wanted things to stay the same, which led to a deadly, communist military coup. During the takeover, Satira sees her entire family murdered, which leaves her orphaned and abandoned.
From here on out, Satira’s life is immensely changed. There are those that help her and those that don’t. She is pulled into life situations that one should not have to deal with, especially a young girl. Hashimi created characters that warmed my heart, tore it apart and made me want to cry. Issues of trust, love, addiction, PTSD, death, closure, adoption and guilt were peppered throughout the story.
Honestly, this book read like a memoir, although it is not. The research was impeccable, and Afghanistan was brought to life. You can feel the author’s ties to the country as she puts you in place and time of the novel. Book clubs will love this one – there are endless things to talk about.
Quotes I liked:
“Let people serve you information, he had said mischievously, but never let them serve you your opinion.”
“I was beginning to understand what I meant to hold fate in my hands, and to know that I’d have to withstand fire if I wanted to bend it towards survival.”
“If faith was a life raft, mine was riddled with holes.”
“That’s grief, and grief is nothing but the far brink of love. Love is the sun; grief is the shadow it casts. Love is an opera, grief is its echo. You cannot have one without the other.”
“Age is hard to guess since clocks and hearts seem to tick faster here, where lives are lived in urgency.”
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