Very engaging autobiographical novel of Najaf Mazari's life in Afghanistan, torture by the Tailban,flight to Australia and hopes to have his wife and child reunited with him. His detailed accounts of the tedium and waiting and hoping for refugee status at Woomera are almost as heartbreaking as his tales of his older brother's murder, the bomb that tears his leg open and the months of hiding from both the Taliban and the Russians in his efforts to escape being drafted into either army. There are also happy memories of Afghanistan - his career as a rug maker, his marriage and the love of his family. The book is also fascinating in the way in which Najaf looks at Australia, its people and the way of life we have here. I particularly liked him talking about the bureaucrat in Canberra who decides his fate - how he gets up in the morning, has his breakfast, etc and does not realize how much he holds by a cross or a tick. (p.21)
p.193 -199 "They took me." Najaf talks about when the Northern Alliance of tribes that was stopping the Taliban from taking over their city finally collapses and the Taliban ramapage through the town killing any man of fighting age. Najaf and his cousin hide for 15 days in a secret cupboard.