I am instantly drawn to stories with a war background. It may be because I believe that 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 just because they are in that part of the earth at the time. As a follower of Khalid Hosseini who has passionately written 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 she realizes that she’s not her favorite child. Fereiba is not unhappy either but she wants to have a normal childhood. She longs to go to school like her siblings and fantasizes about the fleeting romance of adolescence. Her perseverance got her through school at the age of 13, but she is heartbroken when her sister is chosen as the wife of the boy she liked. Just when Fereiba completely gives up on life, 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 a glimpse of what life is like with a mother, something Fereiba has always longed for. With a pair of adorable children, a loving husband, and teaching as a profession, Fereiba couldn’t want 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 placed under a regime of inhumane restrictions. Like all parents, Mahmoud and Fereiba winced every time the rockets whizzed past their roofs. With a heavy heart, they decide to leave Afghanistan and go to England in the hope of a more secure life. But before their plans could materialize, Mahmoud is taken away by the Taliban. And then begins the journey that Fereiba must undertake alone with her son Saleem, two small children and false papers. When the Moon is Low is both Saleem’s story and Fereiba’s. Saleem, determined and ready to be treated like a man, gets separated from his mother on his way to England, only to realize the harsh reality of the refugee world. He encounters evil and hunger, and struggles to stay alive on his journey, but he also finds selfless love and friendship to keep him afloat.
Suffering, terror, longing, perseverance, love, hope, and the 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 am certainly collecting all of Hashimi’s books from now on.
