One woman's revelatory journey on foot exploring Kabul's war-torn past and scarred present
**Winner of the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year Award 2021**
**Winner of the Tata Literature Live First Book Award for Non-Fiction 2020**
'A fabulous piece of writing . . . I recommend it unreservedly'
william Dalrymple
'A brilliant book'
Christina Lamb
One of the first things I was told when I arrived in Kabul was never to walk...
When journalist Taran Khan arrives in Kabul, she uncovers a place that defies her expectations. Her wanderings with other Kabulis reveal a fragile city in a state of flux: stricken by near-constant war, but flickering with the promise of peace; governed by age-old codes but experimenting with new modes of living.
Her walks take her to the unvisited tombs of the dead, and to the land of the living - like the booksellers, archaeologists, film-makers and entrepreneurs who are remaking this 3,000-year-old city. And as NATO troops begin to withdraw from the country, Khan watches the cycle of transformation begin again.
'A wonderful journey'
Atiq Rahimi
'Khan illuminates Kabul's life-affirming humanity'
TLS
About the Author
Taran N. Khan is a journalist and non-fiction writer based in Mumbai. Her writing has appeared in Guernica, Al Jazeera, Berfrois, Himal Southasian, Gulf News and Dagsavisen, as well as in leading publications in India like The Caravan, Open, The Hindu and Scroll.in. She has received fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, Logan Non-Fiction Program, Jan Michalski Foundation and Pro Helvetia. From 2006 to 2013, Khan spent long periods living and working in Kabul. Shadow City is her first book.
Industry Reviews
Offers a unique on-the-ground view of the city...a refreshing counterpoint to the macho foreign correspondent genre... Khan's interviews during her walks powerfully evoke the fluctuating mood in a city that is trying to heal itself
Amelia Gentleman * Guardian *
These stories conjure a magic in the labyrinthine streets and reveal a fragile city in a state of flux, shape-shifting and flickering with the promise of peace
Sophie Lam * i *
Any reader of this book is sure to discover a Kabul so unlike what the media portrays. Taran's love of her city comes across in her enchanting evocation of a city where so many tragedies echo from across Kabul's decades of war. On her last walk, she writes: "to leave Kabul was to take it with you." This is what happened when I finished reading this book, I took Kabul with me
Raja Shehadeh, author of Palestinian Walks
By excavating Afghanistan's forgotten past, Khan rescues its future, too. Her lyrical prose brings to life the most daring truth a writer can offer: that these tragedies were not preordained, and another Afghanistan is possible
Anand Gopal, author of No Good Men Among the Living
A lyrical discovery... As a Muslim woman from India, Khan is able to present a unique social and historical perspective
Edward Girardet * Global Geneva *
