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The Carpet Weaver

By: Nemat Sadat
Narrated by: Abhishek Ajay Sharma
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Publisher's summary

Afghanistan, 1977. Kanishka Nurzada, the son of a leading carpet seller, falls in love with his friend Maihan, with whom he shares his first kiss at the age of 16. Their romance must be kept secret in a nation where the death penalty is meted out to those deemed to be kuni, a derogatory term for gay men. And when war comes to Afghanistan, it brings even greater challenges - and danger - for the two lovers.

From the cultural melting pot of Kabul to the horrors of an internment camp in Pakistan, Kanishka's arduous journey finally takes him to the USA in the desperate search for a place to call home - and the fervent hope of reuniting with his beloved Maihan. But destiny seems to have different plans in store for him.

Intimate and powerful, The Carpet Weaver is a sweeping tale of a young gay man's struggle to come of age and find love in the face of brutal persecution

©2020 Nemat Sadat (P)2020 Random House Audio
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: LGBTQ+
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Critic reviews

"A story that is wrenched from the headlines - of an underground newspaper. Nemat Sadat weaves the political and the personal into a brutal story of love and betrayal in the time of war." (Jerry Pinto, editor of The Greatest Show on Earth: Writings on Bollywood)

"Gripping . . . Accomplished . . . Captivating . . . A novel about how beautiful life can be, and how ugly we often make it. The bravery of its narrator is not just the bravery of being gay or turning an atheist; it is also the bravery of retaining hope in the midst of despair, quoting poetry in the face of persecution." (The Hindu)

"[A] powerful story . . . From war-torn Afghanistan to a refugee camp in Pakistan to the US, the plot covers a wide geographical arc . . . [Filled with] erotically charged vignettes [that offer] glimpses into [Kanishka's] inner life [and] painstaking descriptions of customs and rituals that are germane to Afghan life . . . Moments of ironic reversal are many [and the] moments of reckoning remain complex, the emotions behind them are not fully knowable. The ending [...] isn't without its redemptive grace." (Mint)

"A compelling story of love, hatred, homosexuality, fanaticism and political clashes in Afghanistan . . . A richly rewarding read!" (Financial Express)

"Nemat Sadat's prose is lucid and his turns of phrase hold the reader . . . This is a brave and beautiful debut." (Hindustan Times)

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