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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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
