This novel by Jamie Jan Kochai set in Afghanistan in the early 2000’s has humour and violence, down to earth descriptions of family life and almost mythic tales with a timeless quality. It is told by a 12 year old who has travelled with his family from America to visit relatives in Logar. A dog who Marwand, our narrator, had tormented the summer before, has gone missing and Marwand and his cousins go in search of him. (Marwand feeling secretly vengeful as the dog bit off the end of his finger. The quest takes us through the war ravaged landscape, into encounters with villagers, soldiers, thieves and relatives, and into the stories they have to tell. With thought provoking ideas about identity, language, history and family, 99 Nights in Logar gave me more of a sense of Afghanistan than anything else I’ve read.

Not only did I not fully understand what was going on or what the author was trying to communicate for the most part of this novel, I also found it highly irritating. I felt alienated from the text by the way the author chose to present the narrative and I wasn't sure if that was deliberate on the part of the author or not.

There were a lot of indistinct characters and struggled to remember who was who and what the relationships were - hard work for characters that were essentially set dressing.

The use of Afghan language words was, I assume, to add authenticity but, as so many were used in a single sentence, I struggled to understand it! A glossary would have been useful as it was impossible to work out words from context. So for me the inclusion of these words was counterproductive as it inhibited my understanding of the text and distanced me further from it.

Also the complete chapter in this language was frustrating and confounding and rendered my reading of the rest of the text largely pointless. As a reader I fail to see any reason why this was done as it brought nothing to my experience of this novel - nothing positive anyway.

I really didn't enjoy this book.

A boy and a dog

Marwand is twelve, an Afghan raised in the USA, lately returned to his home province of Logar in Afghanistan for a vacation. Early in his stay he approaches the guard dog, Budabash, an animal he has abused in the past. Now conditioned by an American education which praises kindness towards animals, Marwand attempts to pet the dog, and it promptly bites off the tip of his index finger.

There is a metaphor in this incident for East/West, USA/Afghan misunderstandings which pervades the rest of the book. It is fair to say that I learned much and understood more about Afghanistan and Afghan people from this novel than I had ever known before, and in my Western arrogance I thought I knew quite a lot. It is also fair to say that I still do not know very much, and part of that is because the author has constructed his book without making things easy for Western readers. Words, phrases and an entire chapter towards the end of the book are presented without translation in the various languages common in Afghanistan. The author asks the reader to work hard, not to expect that everything should be sanitised and made accessible just because the English-speaking world might want it so.

I have never read a novel quite like this. The use of language, the preconceptions of society, the resolutely Afghan standpoint, the various tribes, the US soldiers, the Ts (guess who they are), the tradition of storytelling, the magical elements both in folk tales and in the central narrative – the fact that a key chapter, presumably of revelation, is presented entirely in Pashto, without translation or explanation, although a full understanding of the plot is not possible without this section. Why is this? Perhaps the author wishes the reader to understand that the language of the Afghans is every bit as important as the language of the reader. Perhaps he wishes the reader to understand that the Afghan mindset remains out of reach and elusive. Whatever, I was gripped by this odd, witty, infuriating novel which constantly pays tribute to the wonderful variety in the storytelling tradition.

DNF

This was an advanced copy on Kindle and whilst there are sometimes errors with these the formatting on this made it very difficult to read. It took me ages to read one sentence as some words were on different lines and missing letters. There were also lots of words and terms that English readers would need help with. This is hopefully all fixed in the published edition.

I managed to get part way through but couldn't get into the story and didn't enjoy the animal abuse theme.

NetGalley/Publisher review:

I got so annoyed at this book that initially I didn't want to leave any review at all. Why I ask myself did I waste my time reading a book that I wouldn't be able to find out the whole point of it. No. Irritating. Sorry otherwise it was a lovely read so such a waste.

Sorry but the formatting on my copy made it unreadable. I’m used to ARCs being unfinished but this had numbers and breaks after every line. DNF

"A coming-of-age story about one boy’s journey across contemporary Afghanistan to find and bring home the family dog"

I enjoyed the idea of this book more than the story itself and though I fully believe that is down to my taste and preference in books I just couldn't get on with this book at all.

It started off badly with the horrible descriptions of animal abuse which personally I couldn't abide and although the character of Marwand was compelling and the writing was lovely, the plot was very all over the place. I felt that there were too many elements at play at the one time which made for a confusing and long-winded plot. Also, there was a section that hadn't been translated that I couldn't read at all.

Overall, I wasn't a huge fan of this one but it may be more suitable for someone else.

99 Nights in Logar is a well-crafted novel where the main plot thread is entwined with multiple incidents and tales, interesting characters, enthralling history and a harsh location. There is a common sense of atmosphere from many books based in Afghanistan and it’s probably due to the wonderful writings that depict a culture always guarded against occupying forces and the imposing landscape of the country. The real occupants of the country have their own myths and culture that feed great storytelling.

Marwad is a 12-year-old boy who has just returned from the US after 6 years and has been broadened by his experiences and differences yet reintegrated into the wider family circle of aunts, uncles and cousins, and life within the compound. Marwad feels guilty of how he abused the guard dog Budabash and his last engagement with the dog left him losing the top of his finger and an escaped guard-dog.

Marwad and his friends Gul, Dawood and Zia set off to find Budabash in an adventure that crosses paths with American soldiers and Taliban, and is regaled with interesting tales, often with a dark sense of humour. I find it exciting to read about regions I may never visit and get a glimpse into a new culture and lifestyle. I enjoyed many of the tales told here, however, after a while I became less interested and just wanted day 99 to arrive.

In a very strange and confusing way, the publishers tried on a number of counts to damage the readers’ experience. Firstly there are the formatting issues which resulted in me giving up a few times and it took quite a while to finish this book. Secondly, the untranslated story of Watak is just dead text for me, and the use of unfamiliar terms were effectively blanks. I feel I should be rating this story much higher but I’m just worn down with the physically difficult to read text.

I would like to thank Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in return for an honest review. For future reference, it is counterproductive providing book texts in this state.

I love unreliable or conflicting narrators and I’m a great fan of stories within stories. As I’m also trying to read stories by a more diverse range of authors and set in a wider range of geographical locations, this book seemed an obvious pick for me when I was offered a review copy. The narrator of the main story is twelve year old Afghan-American Marwand, who returns to his parents’ home in Logar six years after his previous visit. During his stay, he meets with relatives, neighbours and others, all of whom have stories to tell about their lives, their families, and the legends embedded into the landscape.

On his first visit, Marwand joined his young uncles and his cousins in tormenting the family’s guard dog, Budabash. Returning older and wiser, he is keen to make amends, only to discover that the beast is more wolf than dog, with their first encounter this time resulting in the loss of part of Marwand’s finger. Budabash becomes a formidable enemy, almost gaining the status of mythical monster, and the boys return to tormenting him, only for Budabash to escape from the family’s compound one night. As the men prepare to mount a search, the boys plan an expedition of their own, determined to find and return Budabash before the adults.

As they travel, the boys encounter a variety of strangers, some more friendly than others, but each with a story to tell. These interludes are interspersed with tales told by the boys, many passed down from their older relatives, giving the reader a vibrant picture of the country’s history and legends. Not all the stories are happy, as might be expected from a country that has experienced so many wars. Sometimes the boys find themselves in danger, and sometimes their adventures take on a fabulous or fantastical element. The boys are cruel at times: to Budabash and other animals, to each other, and to adults – known and unknown – whom they encounter on their travels; however, they also have a great deal of determination to succeed in their quests against all odds and to triumph where their older relatives might fail. In the end, they all mature to different extents and one falls in love.

This was a beautiful, lyrical book, although a couple of sections dragged a little. There were a fair few unfamiliar words, most of which were explained by the narrative or the context in which they appeared. My biggest regret, however, is that we, who speak only European languages, never get to learn what really happened to Watak, the long-dead uncle whose grave marker features in several adventures. I want to learn more about the real Afghanistan now.

Built partly around the story of a road trip Marwand and his three companions make in search of the escaped Budabesh, 99 Nights in Logar is an insight into Afghan culture, the recent turbulent history of that country and an exploration of storytelling. Told in the narrative style and colloquial speech of a teenage boy, Marwand's experiences are interspersed with lists, travellers stories, cautionary tales and religious parables.

In the book, stories function as a source of entertainment, an expression of a shared culture and history, and as a repository of received wisdom. Inventiveness and creativity in the act of storytelling is valued and celebrated. At one point, it's even what tips the balance in considering an offer of marriage.

Although I enjoyed learning about Afghan culture and liked the colourful characterization of Marwand's companions, there were a number of things that made this a difficult and slightly disappointing read for me. Firstly, the frequent use of dialect words with no glossary to refer to. Secondly, the size of Marwand's extended families of uncles, aunts, cousins, etc. and the various ways they were referred to (not always by name but by relationship to someone else) meant I found it difficult to keep track of who everyone was. Finally, there were formatting issues with the eARC such as line numbers showing and breaks in the text (which I assume will be corrected for publication). There was also a section just before the final chapter in Arabic script with no translation provided.

99 Nights in Logar is a rich and intricately detailed novel and paints a vivid picture.

99 Nights in Logar is set in Logar, Afghanistan. Marwand is there for the summer after living in America with his family for years.

On his arrival he is bitten by a guard dog from the village named Budabash who escapes shortly after.

“Budabash got free sometime in the night. We didn’t know how. Just that he did and that we needed to go and find him.”

Over the next 99 nights Marwand and his family search for the dog. The resulting tales intertwine mythology, history and family legends are reminiscent of Arabian Nights.

99 Nights in Logar was an interesting read but I did find the host of characters confusing at times and wasn’t always able to remember who they were in relation to Marwand.

I have heard some people say that the non-English words within the text and the chapter in Arabic script towards the end are off-putting, but I found it added to the novel and provided a sense of context. 99 Nights in Logar is set in a foreign place and it would be inauthentic not to include things like this.

The style in which 99 Nights in Logar is written lends itself well to enabling the reader to understand how Marwand and his brothers find themselves torn between two essentially opposing cultures.

This book reminded me in some ways of A Confusion of Languages and Flesh and Bone and Water because of the sense of being thrown into a foreign culture.

99 Nights in Logar was a unique read.

Twelve-year-old Marwand is in Afghanistan with the rest of his family for the summer. It is a time to hang out and connect with his cousins in a land that has been ravaged by war and where the possibility of violence might not be far away. The reunion with every member of Marwand’s newly acquired extended family does not go well, because after taunting Budabash, the guard dog, the animal takes off the tip of Marwand’s finger in retaliation. Over a period of 99 nights Marwand goes on a quest to find Budabash who has escaped and taken off. In the process of this odyssey Marwand begins to learn a great deal about himself and his place in the world.

In many ways the basic premise of this story, a boy reconnecting with his roots and discovering himself in the process, could has been set anywhere in the world. The way the book is written, from a twelve-year-old’s viewpoint, really makes it feel like a memoir rather than a novel, adding to its credibility in the mind of a reader.

This is a story about the strength of family, the joys of family life and being a child. The warmth of the family really comes over, so much you want to be a part of it.

You can still be a child finding adventure, and getting into scrapes with your cousins, even in a place where danger potentially lurks around every corner from Afghan-American crossfire and “Ts” (Taliban) lurking in plain sight. Although there is constant threat to physical safety, but this is offset by a sense of this is a way of life to be pushed to one side and that communities and families have adjusted around it because they stick together.

There is animal cruelty throughout this novel, a society norm in this new world of Marwand’s, which he takes on as something acceptable and is probably an insight into how easily we can slip into what is normal for communities if we live within them.

In many ways Marwand’s voyage through this part of his life resembles a grouping of short stories in that this world is full of ordinary people with interesting life stories. As reality slips further into the relation of cultural stories become ever entwined with those of the real world.

Although told through a twelve-year-old’s eyes this is very much a book for adults, conceptually and with regards to the content.

Jamil Jan Kochai does write well and lyrically, so I will be interested in reading more of his work.

Part coming of age story, this story set in Afghanistan also has touches of magical realism in its collection of stories, songs and fables. Marwand is our twelve year old narrator, who embarks on a quest, along with some similarly aged cousins and uncles, to track down the family dog who has bitten the tip of his finger off. This quest encompasses the 99 days of the title, and along the way Marwand meets a diverse cast of characters, and learns about the family history and that of the war torn country.
Despite the difficulty in reading my ARC copy because of severe formatting problems, I persevered with the book because I found the characters and location compelling. However by the end I had begun to regret my decision, especially when the author, for his own reasons, decided to leave the reveal of one of the central stories in the book in untranslated arabic script. The highlights were the vivid descriptions of both people and places that brought them to life on the page, and really transported me to another place, but besides the lows already mentioned there were also numerous incidences of animal abuse and cruelty, and I also struggled at times to keep the characters and their relationships to each other straight.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher , all opinions are my own.

Twelve year old Marwand and his family have traveled from their new home in America to to visit their extended families in the Logar Province of Afghanistan. It is six years since they were last there and Marwand and his younger brothers revel in reconnecting with their cousins and being free to run around. When Marwand tries to make friends with the family guard dog, Budabash, he has his finger bitten off and the dog escapes. Against family orders, Marwand and his band of friends leave the compound to go in search of the dog through dangerous countryside where they encounter thieves, Taliban fighters and US soldiers.

Kochai has not only given us a rich glimpse of what it is like to live in Afghanistan, a country wearied by war and constant fighting but through the stories told and passed on through the generations shown us the rich traditions and history of the people who live there. As the bombing in the mountains continues, life goes on in the villages as marriages are negotiated and celebrated in age-old traditions. The boys are delightful in their innocence but on the verge of becoming old enough to be embroiled in the never ending politics and fighting.

The book would benefit from a glossary as there were many Afghani words I had to go and look up. The ARC also suffered from poor formatting (with line numbers sprinkled through the text) that made it difficult to read but this should not be an issue once published.

99 Nights in Logar is a wonderful exploration of Afghani culture and the Islamic faith. While the story opens up with Marwand’s search for his family’s missing dog, Budabash, but as the story progresses it pieces together the tales of Logar and its people.

This story reminds me of a mix between A Thousand and One Nights and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Marwand is an unreliable narrator. His creativity and storytelling, adds a magical realism element. It’s like as the stories Marwand learns becomes more fable-like so the narrative adpots that quality.

The setting is vivid and I enjoyed that it was set in a country that I have not read about before. It’s harrowing to see how war has affected Afghanistan and its people for what seems like forever. War plays a huge role in each of the stories Marwand learns. Whether it was the Soviet Union or the Americans. Marwand states that the people of Logar can tell the difference between weapons just from the sound of it.

It's not all dark and dreary. We also get to see the strength of these people, despite the violence surrounding them. Music, food and family show up time and time again. I also loved that we get the ceremony of an Afghani wedding.

I really enjoyed the inclusion of Arabic words and phrases. However, I will say I wish there was a glossary. While you can piece together the meaning of each word having a glossary will help to keep you engaged in the narrative.

I will say that I think for a story this short there was way too many characters. It was hard to keep track of who was Marwand’s cousin or uncle or aunt. Off the top of my head, I think there were15 people in Marwand’s family, most of who didn’t play a huge role in the story. Unfortunately, that means a lot of the characters aren't fully developed.

Overall, I think this is an important book, as we aren’t taught a lot about Islamic culture.

I don't like giving low marks, but I really struggled with this book. The synopsis of the book was very interesting: 12 year old Marwand and his young cousins set off on a journey to find the family dog after it bites off Marwand's finger and escapes. They travel through a remote area of Afghanistan without any adults knowledge. So far so good. I liked the premise of the story.
Where I struggled was the style of writing. Pakhto and Farsi were used in the story, and I found it impossible to understand. Perhaps the end published book will have a glossary to refer to? Even the context where the language was used didn't help me. The family relationships and forms of address were complicates and I really couldn't keep track of who was who (could this be added into a glossary?). Finally, for me, the animal cruelty was pretty difficult to stomach.
Other readers may be able to see past this last point, and a glossary may well be added in the finished, published book, but I'm afraid this is just not for me personally.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book to read and review.

See link to online review: https://www.themodernnovel.org/asia/central-asia/afghanistan/jamil-jan-kochai/99-nights-in-logar/. Very much enjoyed the novel.

Jamil Jan Kochai writes a beautifully multilayered and complex novel structured with stories within the main narrative that comprises of a coming of age tale and the challenges of identity and belonging that will resonate for all of us who have moved and made their homes in another country. 12 year old Marwad moved to the US six years ago but is returning home to Logar in Afghanistan for the summer. Marwad is guilt ridden over his past cruel treatment of the guard dog, Budabash, a product of the differing perception of dogs in the US, but his remorse leads to Budabesh biting off a bit of his finger and then proceeding to run away. Young Marwad and his cohorts embark on a dangerous and adventurous journey amidst the labyrinth of streets of Logar constructed to act as defence, to find Budabesh.

With rich descriptions Kochai paints a picture of the forbidding geography of Afghanistan, its history and culture, with its strong tradition of storytelling, with its myths and legends and the nature of family, secrets and the nature of the extended family. The story of Marwad and his journey outlines the dangers of its political situation with the US occupation as they encounter US soldiers. No picture of contemporary Afghanistan would be complete without its historical perspective of being constantly occupied, religion and the Taliban. The novel does a brilliant job in portraying the tragedy of a nation's history and its present through the narrative and eyes of a young boy on his return to an Afghanistan that was once home.

I really enjoyed reading this but my experience was marred by the poor formatting issues and the lack of required translations at key points of the story. These issues will no doubt all be rectified on publication but perhaps publishers might consider the disservice done to the novel and the novelist when they issue ARCs in this condition to reviewers. Many thanks to Bloomsbury for an ARC.

There's a narrative energy about this book that is engaging but I also found something strained in the juxtaposition of the young narrator and the almost Famous Five set-up, and the coarse language and swearing that abounds: it's not that I object to crude language, it's that it didn't seem to fit the characters or the tone of the book.

It's always fascinating to see a country through the eyes of its own inhabitants: Afghanistan, especially, has become the site of 'our' stories, and I appreciated this aspect of the tale. Overall, though, this wasn't as engaging to read as I expected it to be.

I'm not sure about this book. The premise is interesting, but the actual fleshing out of the story hasn't been done very well. I found it strange that in an English novel, the Arabic and Pashto bits were left untranslated. If it is meant for an esoteric group of readers, then it doesn't really make sense to market it as an English book.