The Patience Stone
Translated by Polly McLean
In Persian folklore, Syngue Sabour is a magical stone, a patience stone, that absorbs the plight of those who confide in it. But here, the Syngue Sabour is not a stone, but a man lying brain-dead. His wife sits by his side, resenting him for not resisting the call to arms, for wanting to be a hero, and in the end, for being incapacitated. Yet she cares, speaking to him, revealing her deepest desires, pains, and secrets. She speaks of her life, not knowing if her husband hears, confessing about sex and love and her anger against a man who never understood her, and who mistreated her. Free of oppression, she leads her story up to a great secret that is unthinkable in a country like Afghanistan. Rahimi captures with great courage and spare, poetic prose the reality of everyday life for an intelligent woman under the oppressive weight of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
'Rahimi's lyric prose is simple and poetic, and McLean's translation is superb. With an introduction by Khaled Hosseini, this Prix Goncourt-winning book should have a profound impact on the literature of Afghanistan for its brave portrayal of, among other things, an Afghan woman as a sexual being.''Library Journal
Atiq Rahimi (Author), Carolyn Seymour (Narrator)
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