(2008), Nadeem Aslam’s third novel, takes on a different setting and direction from either of his two earlier fictions,
Season of the Rainbirds(1993) and
Maps for Lost Lovers(2004), corroborating his self-affirmed interest to move beyond his own background and immigrant experience by exploring instead the contemporary political hot-spot of wartime Afghanistan (see Aslam, 2011). As such, the novel situates itself as a direct response to post-9/11 ‘War on Terror’ politics, weaving into its melancholic representation of local post-Taliban animosities direct references to current US military operations in the area, as well as a longer history of imperial involvement stretching back to Alexander the Great but focused primarily on US and Soviet engagements during the…
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Citation: Horton, Emily. "The Wasted Vigil". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 October 2016 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=26541, accessed 31 October 2024.]
