I’m instantly drawn to stories with a war background. It may be because I think wars have a terrible impact on people; people who are not part of that war, people who don’t want that war but have to bear the brunt of it just because they are in that part of the earth at that time. As a follower of Khalid Hosseini who has written passionately about war-torn Afghanistan in all of his books, I have developed a deep sympathy for the men, women and children of those regions. I had high hopes for Nadia Hashimi and “When the Moon is Low”. And I was not disappointed.
As the reader gets to know Fereiba, they quickly realize that life will be difficult for this girl who has lost her mother in childbirth. Fereiba grows up with a stepmother who doesn’t literally torture her, but she makes sure that she realizes that she is not her favorite child. Fereiba is not unhappy either but she wishes to have a normal childhood. She longs to go to school like her brothers and fantasizes about the fleeting romance of adolescence. Her perseverance managed to get her to school at the age of 13, but she is heartbroken when her sister is chosen as a wife by the boy she liked. Just as Fereiba renounces life altogether, Mahmoud appears along with his mother. As Fereiba finds the true meaning of her love in her husband Mahmoud, her mother-in-law gives her insight into what life with a mother is like, something Fereiba has always longed for. With a couple of adorable kids, a doting husband, and teaching as a profession, Fereiba couldn’t wish for anything more.
And then comes the war. First it was Russia and then the “razor-sharp religious brutes” called the Taliban. All civilians were stripped of their basic rights and inhumane restrictions were imposed on them. Like all parents, Mahmoud and Fereiba winced every time rockets whizzed past their roofs. With a heavy heart, they decide to leave Afghanistan and go to England in the hope of a safer life. But before they could materialize their plans, the Taliban take Mahmoud away. And so begins the journey that Fereiba must undertake alone with her son Saleem, two small children and false papers. When the Moon is Low is as much Saleem’s story as Fereiba’s. Saleem, who is determined and ready to be treated like a man, is separated from his mother on his way to England and then realizes the harsh reality of the refugee world. He encounters evil and hunger, and struggles to stay alive during his journey, but he also finds selfless love and friendship that keep him afloat.
The suffering, terror, longing, perseverance, love, hope, and kindness of strangers are beautifully woven into the plot of When the Moon Is Low. This is a book that will want you to skip lunch or keep you up at night. This will leave you wanting more. I’m certainly collecting all of Hashimi’s books from now on.