Qais Akbar Omar – författare

'To read this book is to understand Afghanistan as it exists today. This haunting memoir traces the unimaginable odyssey of one family whose world has collapsed . . . Poetic, powerful, and unforgettable.' – Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.A true life account of growing up in Afghanistan, Qais Akbar Omar recounts his happy childhood in Kabul, his journeys with his family across Afghanistan in search of a safe haven, and life under the Taliban rule as a young man.Qais was eleven when a brutal civil war engulfed Kabul. For Qais, it brought an abrupt end to a childhood filled with kites and cousins in his grandfather's garden: one of the most convulsive decades in Afghan history had begun. Ahead lay the rise of the Taliban, and, in 2001, the arrival of international forces.A Fort of Nine Towers is the story of Qais, his family and their determination to survive these upheavals as they were buffeted from one part of Afghanistan to the next. Drawing strength from each other, and their culture and faith, they sought refuge for a time in the Buddha caves of Bamyan, and later with a caravan of Kuchi nomads. When they eventually returned to Kabul, it became clear that their trials were just beginning . . .'Even more haunting than The Kite Runner, because it's not fiction.' – Philidelphia Inquirer'Here at last is a powerful memoir that does justice to its tough, tenacious and astonishingly good-humoured people. The best thing about it . . . is that it is a book about Afghanistan written by an Afghan.' – Evening Standard

'To read this book is to understand Afghanistan as it exists today. This haunting memoir traces the unimaginable odyssey of one family whose world has collapsed . . . Poetic, powerful, and unforgettable.' – Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.A true life account of growing up in Afghanistan, Qais Akbar Omar recounts his happy childhood in Kabul, his journeys with his family across Afghanistan in search of a safe haven, and life under the Taliban rule as a young man.Qais was eleven when a brutal civil war engulfed Kabul. For Qais, it brought an abrupt end to a childhood filled with kites and cousins in his grandfather's garden: one of the most convulsive decades in Afghan history had begun. Ahead lay the rise of the Taliban, and, in 2001, the arrival of international forces.A Fort of Nine Towers is the story of Qais, his family and their determination to survive these upheavals as they were buffeted from one part of Afghanistan to the next. Drawing strength from each other, and their culture and faith, they sought refuge for a time in the Buddha caves of Bamyan, and later with a caravan of Kuchi nomads. When they eventually returned to Kabul, it became clear that their trials were just beginning . . .'Even more haunting than The Kite Runner, because it's not fiction.' – Philidelphia Inquirer'Here at last is a powerful memoir that does justice to its tough, tenacious and astonishingly good-humoured people. The best thing about it . . . is that it is a book about Afghanistan written by an Afghan.' – Evening Standard

Die Welt horchte auf, als nach der Befreiung von der Talibanherrschaft eine Gruppe afghanischer Schauspielerinnen und Schauspieler Shakespeares Verlorene Liebesmüh in Kabul aufführte. Zum ersten Mal seit über dreißig Jahren standen Männer und Frauen – unverschleiert – gemeinsam auf einer Bühne und spielten eine Liebeskomödie! Nichts hätte die Welle der Hoffnung, die in der Zeit nach den Taliban durch das Land zog, mitreißender verdeutlichen können. Aber während der intensiven Proben tauchen ungeahnte Konflikte und neue Bedrohungen auf. Für jeden einzelnen Teilnehmer wird das Projekt zu einer existenziellen Herausforderung. Die Schauspielerinnen und Schauspieler bringen sich und ihre Familien in Gefahr. Die europäische Regisseurin findet sich bei der Arbeit nicht zurecht in den afghanischen Traditionen. Alte Wunden und traumatische Erfahrungen aus der Kriegs- und Terrorzeit brechen wieder auf. Shakespeares Text, der dramatische Alltag in Kabul und die globalen Konflikte der Kulturen überkreuzen sich mit dem Schicksal der Beteiligten. Bis zuletzt ist unsicher, ob die Premiere zum Triumph oder zur Katastrophe wird.

”...runollinen, hauska ja pelottava tositarina.” - The EconomistVielä 1980-luvun lopulla Kabul on kuin suuri puutarha, jossa 7-vuotias Qais Akbar Omar lennättää leijoja isoisänsä katolla. Kun Afganistan ajautuu sisällissotaan, mikään ei ole entisellään.Omarin suurperhe muuttaa pois kotoaan rikkaan ystävän taloon ikivanhan linnakkeen suojiin. Sotatilan pitkittyessä perhe päättää paeta maasta. Automatka Afganistanin halki on pitkä ja vaarallinen, mutta reitin varrelle osuu uskomattomia onnenpotkuja ja ikimuistoisia kohtaamisia. Suurimman vaikutuksen Omariin tekee kuuromykkä matonkutojatar, joka muuttaa hänen elämänsä.Kun Omar on teini-ikäinen, sisällissota vaihtuu talibanien terrorisoimaan arkeen. Omar oppii hiljaista vastarintaa ja keksii keinon, jolla turvaa perheensä ja naapuruston toimeentulon.Värikkään afgaanikulttuurin kyllästämä Yhdeksän tornin linnake on elämän voimaa todistava menestysteos.”Omarin perheen tarina on samalla koko Afganistanin tarina.” - The Daily Beast