Hamasa's journey from war torn Afghanistan to Canada, from boyhood to wise old soul, from innocence to terrorist to humanist, exposes the truths of existence.
Hamasa's journey from war torn Afghanistan to Canada, from boyhood to wise old soul, from innocence to terrorist to humanist, exposes the truths of existence.
Coming of age, Cultural heritage, Military
The Blink of an Eye follows the story of Hamasa, raised in Afghanistan by the Taliban, or so he thought. His story takes him to Canada where a profound spiritual experience leads him to make the journey back home, to a land ravaged by war. Hamasa finds himself asking: What is our purpose in the Universe? Are we part of a Divine Master plan? When Hamasa discovers ancient documents found with the Dead Sea scrolls, he risks not only his own life, but that of his family and loved ones, to find answers which have eluded men for centuries.
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The book begins with Hamasa being interrogated by Israeli Intelligence officers in the United States. Hamasa and his family lived in Afghanistan. His father, Jaabir is an Israeli spy posing as a Taliban. His mother, Ameera is the daughter of a Taliban leader. After an attack, Jaabir gets his family out of the country and they make their way to Canada. Hamasa’s grandfather is a Taliban leader. During a summer vacation when Hamasa is sixteen, he returns to Afghanistan to help rebuild the town. After landing, a bomb explodes at the airport. His grandfather collects him from the wreckage and brings him back to his home. He convinces Hamasa his way of life is the true way and brings him back into the Taliban as a soldier. Hamasa’s sees both sides of life. He wants to find the one true God. He is tired of seeing suffering with the rich getting richer while the poor get poorer and goes on a quest to find the truth. What he finds will surprise him. This book is written in the third person. It is fast paced and jumps from different perspectives. There are many religious references but not to any one religion as Hamasa is on his quest. It was an enjoyable read and I couldn’t wait to see how it was going to end. ~ Dawn Thomas (Reviewer), NetGalley
..........I liked it. It kept me reading. Each page drew me deeper. I found it interesting that Hamasa was recruited to infiltrate camps to find information. He claimed to have no choice. He meets Nayanna and decides that is who he wants in his love life. So he must fight for her. It does make you wonder how people get recruited into ISIS. That is why I thought it was a book about terrorism and espionage, but it wasn't entirely. It was about belief, world peace and health, as well as terrorism, strife, war and misery. Equal balance. A form of utopia........ I recommend the book as a good read. ~ Nicole Harmon (Reviewer) , NetGalley
I found this book much different from anything I have read. It was refreshing. Hamasa was raised by The Taliban. He goes to Canada . While there, he has a spiritual experience that causes him to go back to Afghanistan . Why did he feel this need? Answers that have been hidden are found by Hamasa in the dead Sea Scrolls. By doing this, he puts everyone he loves in danger. I really enjoyed reading this book. It was full of mystery and discovery. ~ Marie Angel (Reviewer), NetGalley
Blink of an Eye, by John H K Fisher, is a gripping tale that follows the main protagonist, Hamasa from his childhood in Afghanistan, to Canada and then to Pakistan to be trained by the Taliban. I have to say I've read many books about Afghanistan, by Afghanis, but never from this particular perspective. This many-layered book is told not only by Hamasa's, but also from the point of view of a Canadian Pakistani girl, called Nayanna. The plot is complex, filled with twists, turns and hidden depths, because despite Hamasa's hard-hitting rants (under interrogation) about society's inequalities, the lure of extremism and radicalisation, fundamentally his is a spiritual journey. The action begins with the adult Hamasa being interrogated in the USA, by whom or why, we don't initially know. However, it is during interrogation that he recounts his life: his early upbringing amongst the Taliban; his teenage years in Canada and the crazy antics of his posturing teenage friends, often with tragic consequences; how he fell in love, and that is just the start of his extraordinary life. The focus of the story, however shifts into an entirely different gear when Hamasa makes a remarkable discovery, involving ancient documents, which sends him on a perilous quest to find answers to ages old questions. In his search for greater truths, Hamasa goes into long and dense musings about religion and God, even coming up with his own revised version of The Lords Prayer. This is a deep and thought provoking thriller that races along at a cracking pace and keeps you turning those pages. This book being unlike anything I've read before made me wonder about the author and I was amazed to find he is a well-know American singer. Links: ~ Veryan Williams-Wynn , NetGalley
