Forethoughts: Earth and Ashes by Atiq Rahimi

And so I come to the next novel that I’m going to be turning my attention to on RobAroundBooks, and I thought, through fear that you guys may forget that works-in-translation are a big feature around here, that it was about time that I featured a translated work. And that translated work is from Afghanistan author, Atiq Rahimi.

Now, I’m going to admit straight away that I’ve never read anything from Atiq Rahimi in my life. I’m a little embarrassed to say that, given that Rahimi is a significant literary figure in the world of contemporary Afghani literature, but the fact is he has always managed to slip under my reading radar. He’s a big unknown to me, so what better way to ease oneself into the literary world of Rahimi, than to read through his novella-sized creation, Earth and Ashes; a literary work which was only brought to US for the first time in the English language last month, courtesy of indy publisher, Other Press.

I’ll kick off my forethoughts on Earth and Ashes then, with a usual rundown on the synopsis:

Earth and Ashes is the spare, powerful story of an Afghan man, Dastaguir, trying desperately to reach his son Murad, who has left his village to earn a living working at a mine. In the meantime the village has been bombed by the Russian army, and Dastaguir, with his newly-deaf grandson Yassin in tow, must reach Murad to tell him of the carnage. The old man is beset on all sides by sorrow, that of his grandson, who cannot understand, that of his son, who does not yet know, and his own, made even crueler by the message he must deliver.

So that’s the rather brief synopsis for this novel but I think even at that this short length, it’s clear to see why anyone would want to read Earth and Ashes. It certainly doesn’t look to be a ‘feel good’ novel by any stretch of the imagination, but it does look to be a story of huge power and emotion, and that kind of novel will appeal to me every time. And being a typical guy – even one who’s atypically into fine literature – I’ll always be drawn towards a novel that has a theme of war about it .

Even though Earth and Ashes is a new novel to the US in the English language, it’s has been around for quite some time. Standing as Rahimi’s debut, Earth and Ashes was first published in the Persian language in 2000 (under the original title, Khâkestar-o-khâk). It was then published in English in 2002 when UK publisher Chatto and Windus picked up the translation rights. What is most exciting about the original English translation of Earth and Ashes for me though (aside from the fact that I can understand it ), is that the translator was none other than Turkish scholar, Erdag Göknar, the same award-winning translator who was responsible for bringing Orhan Pamuk’s best-selling novel, My Name is Red to an English-speaking audience. Thankfully the excitement doesn’t end there because this new US edition retains Göknar’s original translation. Wohoo!

Since the publication of Earth and Ashes, Rahimi has also had three further short novels published, two of which (A Thousand Rooms Of Dream And Fear and The Patience Stone), have also been translated into English, again originally by Chatto and Windus (paperback editions by Vintage); although this time under different translators. And for the latest of his novels (The Patience Stone), Rahimi was awarded the Prix Goncourt literary prize in France in 2008 when it was originally published in French under the title, Syngue Sabour.

So, here we have in Rahimi a writer who is firmly established then, one who is picking up prestigious prizes for his literary efforts. And this makes it all the more embarrassing for me, the little bookworm who’s never had the common courtesy to even look at the man’s writing before now (I’m glowing scarlet here, I really am ).

Atiq Rahimi himself is an incredibly interesting writer (you’ve only got to look at his picture to the right there to see that), not least because of the unsettled and tumultuous life he has endured. Born in the Afghan capital, Kabul in 1956, Rahimi fled his native land following the invasion of the Soviet Union. He stayed briefly in Pakistan before being granted political asylum in France. He was to return to his native Afghanistan in 2002 after the Taliban were defeated, and nowadays he alternates between Paris and his native capital, Kabul.

Although Rahimi is an established and respected writer, his primary occupation is that of documentary and film maker. And after his return to Afghanistan, Rahimi would eventually create a movie adaptation of Earth and Ashes. This movie premiered at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival where it was awarded the Prix du Regard vers l’Avenir.

So, slim in size Earth and Ashes may well be in its literary form, but it seems to have built up heck of a lot of prestige since it was first published in 2000. This excites me hugely and I can’t wait to dive in. And probably due to its small size, I’ll finish this in one sitting, so there’s no point inviting you to keep an eye on my progress through the pages of my Reading Journal. Instead I’ll just tell you to pop back in a day or two when I should have this one done and dusted.

Other Press | August 2010 | $13.95 | PAPERBACK | 96 PP | ISBN: 9781590513453

[UK] – Vintage | October 2003 | £5.99 | PAPERBACK | 64 PP | ISBN: 0099442124

Find out more about Atiq Rahimi:

A note about forethoughts
‘Forethoughts’ offer an insight into what my initial thoughts and impressions of a book are before I begin reading it. Informal, and largely written as a stream-of-consciousness exercise in a single sitting, my ‘forethoughts’ capture an important stage of the reading experience for me – the anticipatory period before the book is first opened, when my excitement is piqued for the reading experience which lies ahead.

Blissfully ignorant my ‘forethoughts’ may well be, but when combined with my eventual ‘afterthoughts’, the result is a unique and comprehensive record of a very personal literary ‘journey’ through a particular book; a literary journey which will hopefully be of some value to other readers.