Book touches the mind and heart

For a decade, the nightly news has aired stories about the war in Afghanistan, and it is truly compelling.

But Sharon E. McKay has brought the conflict to life in a personal, human way unlike no other. Her junior adult novel, Thunder Over Kandahar, is a powerful, emotional story of two 14-year-old girls who escape the chaos of war and the Taliban tyranny of cultural restrictions.

Yasmine is a Muslim-British citizen who hates living in Afghanistan. Her university-educated parents have returned to their roots to help rebuild Afghanistan. For 10 months, the trio lives in Herat in peace.

One morning after donning a hijab, Yasmine and her mother go for a walk. Suddenly a truck pulls up and men wearing black turbans and carrying sticks, chains and clubs dismount and proceed to beat Yasmine’s mother on the street. Her sin was walking outdoors without being accompanied by a male relative.

After the mother is injured, the trio is forced to hide in a traditional village where their lives are even in greater danger. But Yasmine’s father hires an illiterate servant girl, Tamanna, the village cripple, as a companion for his daughter.

Together the two adolescents form a bond deeper than sisters. When Yasmine is separated from her parents and Tamanna runs away from a violent, drug addicted uncle who sells her in marriage, the two burka-clad girls cross desert country and climb mountains to reach the Afghani-Pakistan border.

Danger is everywhere. But nothing deters them — not the Taliban, suicide bombers, or hidden landmines. Finally wounded and separated, they stumble toward an unexpected future.

McKay, an official Canadian war artist, shows several sides of the cultural divide and is careful to avoid taking sides. She spent time at Canada’s military bases researching, interviewing and meeting locals, and her narrative is filled with fresh insights into the culture.

Every page is filled with authentic images of this riveting country. Like a hand-made woven rug of many strands, she weaves her threads into myriad descriptions of local food, clothing, houses, terrain, traditions and even military operations. While rich in detail, the narrative never overwhelms.

It’s so easy to brand Afghanistan as a land of misogynists, but McKay has opened a window and allowed us to see the many faces and realities of this absorbing society in a way that touches the mind and heart.