The Wasted Vigil

Usually I will only write reviews on books that I like. Another reason I would write a review is when a book made me angry. Like this one. The author responsible is Nadeem Aslam.

This book tells the story of Afghanistan, and how the characters' life paths crisscrossed in the span of 20 years. Reading it was like doing a jigsaw puzzle, where you have to collect pieces along the way till the end to get the whole picture. The time line is not linear, sometimes going back and forth. About this jigsaw puzzle I must congratulate him. And also the language is good, poetic and lyrical. I will just give you the very first sentence of the book to illustrate this.

Her mind is a haunted house.


Most other reviews of this book are praises (in Amazon and Shelfari). But I think this book carries the wrong message of Islam. And since the author has a Muslim-like name, I believe the readers would get the impression that what is written in the book represents the real Islamic teaching. He did not clarify that some of the beliefs might derived from the culture there, not Islamic teaching itself. I am also angry about some things he wrote about the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Like when he said that the Prophet described heaven in the Quran based on places he visited during his journeys when he was a young merchant. (therefore he is saying that the Prophet invented the Quran himself).

Many other things. I don't want to say anymore. But to Mr Aslam, I won't read your books anymore. I don't know whether you are a Muslim or not. You have an exceptional talent, but you are mocking Islam and our beloved Prophet. You don't understand his mission and jihad (struggle). I hope one day you will realize this and do the right thing.