Qassim Abdul Jabbar is returning to Kabul from his native village. His mother, who was a deaf-mute, had passed away. It seems like he barely even visited. His driver mentioned that they didn't even eat anything while they were there. Qassim doesn't seem to like his village. I think he has probably become someone so different from who he used to be that he doesn't like to face his past. I mean, let's face it, if anyone could have predicted in their childhood what the Taliban could do to them, they probably would laugh. This village to me seems sort of innocent, untouched by the Taliban, and yet Qassim has still endured the change. Being there probably reminds him of who he was, and the fact that he can never be that man again. I think it is sad that he didn't even care that his mother had died. What a society...At lunch Qassim sees Atiq. He seems pretty worried about him. He asks him to join his friends to have some fun, but Atiq doesn't seem to wish to go. Atiq still seems so peculiar to me. He asks Qassim if it is obvious that he is going through a bad time, and Qassim says it is very obvious.
Mussarrat is facing the fact that she doesn't have much longer. That must be hard, especially in a society that expects so much out of you. She has been trying so hard to be what she feels she needs to be, not only for Atiq, but also for herself. I know that Atiq loves her, but I think that he needs to find a better way of expressing it. He thought Mussarrat was dead, but he made sure to go to the table to put his bag down before checking! I mean, I guess he didn't want to face the truth, but still...
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2 comments:
I thought it was sad that he had no relationship with his mother. It would be hard dealing with the fact that your mom passed away and you didn't even really know her. I was surprised at his reaction to his wife. He made no attempt to help her. He just looked at her as if she meant nothing!
Jabbar in this scene is kind of flippant, and we don't really get a real understanding why the author chose to enter him in this story. Apparently he is the boss of Atiq's jail. We know he's got plans for the future, but I just thought this was an odd scene that really didn't advance the story very much.
Yeah, Qassim's loss of his mother, and how he doesn't seem to feel much remorse sort of says something about the state of Afghani men. I mean its your own mother for crying out loud!
Mussarrat is one of the heroines of this book. She's a strong lady who has a big role to play later on in the story. I like her character.
Atiq and Mussarrat have a strange relationship, but they've been together for quite some time and I think deep down they do care for each other.
Mr. Farrell
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