The Swallows of Kabul

The Swallows of Kabul is a novel by Yasmina Khadra.

Plot

Chapter 1

You meet Atiq Shaukat, a jailer. His wife, Musarrat, is very sick and dying. She is a burden to him and made him late for work. He escorts a prostitute to be executed. You meet Mohsen Ramat. He's against the new Taliban rule. He is in the market place when he sees a prostitute being stoned to death at the public execution. Even thought he thinks it's wrong, he loses himself, picks up a rock and throws is it at her, cracking her head open.

Chapter 2

Atiq is starting to question his belief in the Taliban. You meet his childhood friend Mirza Shah. Mirza was one of the first soldiers to desert his unit and join the Mujahideen during the war. Now Mirza does cocaine for money. Atiq tell Mirza about his troubles and his concern for his ill wife. Mirza says he should divorce her and throw her out, that is “God's will”, and that women have no feelings. Atiq feels indebted to his wife because she saved his life.

Chapter 3

Mohsen Ramat goes home and you meet his wife Zunaira (a beautiful woman who used to be a school teacher). They have a small house with a blanket over the windows because they can’t afford to fix them. The windows must be covered because it would offend a man if he walked by and saw Zunaira. Mohsen tells his wife what happened at the market place and she is horrified.

Chapter 4

Atiq is patrolling a sanctuary, seizing men and forcing them to join the assembled faithful. During Maghreb prayer, Atiq is mad at himself for thinking angry thoughts about the poor and elderly. After the prayer, he doesn’t want to go home to his wife so he stops to listen to some old war vets. Goliath tells a story about being ambushed, having to lie surrounded by smelly corpses. This caused an uproar because mujahideen’s “dead don’t stink;” it must have been the Shuravi (opposite side during the war). Atiq finally goes home and is surprised to find his wife Musarrat out of bed. She has cleaned and cooked for him. They argue and Atiq gets mad and leaves. Mohsen’s wife isn’t talking to him so he steps outside as well.

Chapter 5

Atiq goes to the jail to sleep. You meet Nazeesh, who comes into the jail to comfort the jailer because he see the light on. Nazeesh talks about his father being sick and being a burden on him. He says he’s going to run away. Atiq insults Nazeesh, telling him he is never going to run away: he always talks about it but never follows through. Nazeesh leaves the jail upset. Atiq thinks to himself that if Ms. Conner doesn’t start acting better, he’ll stop being gentle with her.

Chapter 6

Zunaira is no longer mad at Mohsen. She realized that he didn’t mean it he just went crazy for that minute. Mohsen wants them to go for a walk but Zunaira doesn’t want to because if she's going out there it’s like she’s an object not even human. She will have to cover her face with a “burqa” and she’s not ever allowed to hold Mohsen’s hand. And they will be scolded if they talk to each other. But see that he is very sad she agrees to go.

Chapter 7

Atiq finds Kelly Conner and apologizes for last night but before leaving he once again is mean to him. Atiq is upset at himself for this but notices he is starting to be mean to people without thinking. He is talking to himself out loud when Mirza yells out to him that he’s going insane talking to himself. This upsets Atiq so he rushes off knocking over Zunaira and Mohsen. Zunaira and Mohsen are knocked over by a guard. They think that is very rude. They look at each other and start to laugh. A different guard comes over and hits Mohsen for laugh in public. Zunaira tell Mohsen that they should leave and gets hit for talking at all. Other guard come, they ask where they are headed. Mohsen lies and says to Zunaira’s parents house. They tell him that he’s wife will wait there and he will attend the faithful in hearing Mullah Bashir preach.

Chapter 8

Mullah Bashir preaches on how the western world is evil. Meanwhile, Zunaira sits outside in the hot sun for two hours trying to get a tanline. She can’t get a drink and can’t even go home. Finally it’s all over and they start to walk home. Zunaira starts to cry.

Chapter 9

Nazeesh actually leaves the village (Kabul). He is past by a car (4 x 4 military truck). In the car you meet a man named Qassim. He is on his was to his mother's funeral. He doesn’t know her very well, he left that village at age 12. and his mother was both deaf and mute. He is # 6 out of 140 kids. He makes it back to Kabul and stops to eat. There, he sees Atiq, an old war buddy, and invites him to hang out at Haji Palwan with all of their old war buddies. Atiq just walks away. Musarrat, Atiq’s wife, is still very sick and now she is losing her hair. She falls asleep on the floor.

Chapter 10

Zunaira and Mohsen are not on speaking terms. She won’t remove her veil. They start to fight. She says that she never wants to see him again. He tells her that he loves her and that she is the only reason he lives. She still tells him to go away. He demands that she takes off her veil. He tries to force it off. She bites and scratches him. He hits her with a chair, he didn’t mean it and tries to apologize but she shoves him away. He falls backward off the tallest tower in Kabul screaming, falls into the street and gets run over by Qassim's truck.

Chapter 11

Atiq is sitting waiting for a new order. He is with an old war buddy. He asks him about Qaab and old friend. The buddy asks if he is feeling OK because Qaab is dead and has been dead for two years. That he went to the funeral with everybody. Atiq still can’t remember and asked how he died. The buddy tells him that there is something wrong with Atiq and walks away. Later Qassim comes with a women prisoner and tries his best to cheer Atiq up. Zunaira is in jail for killer her husband and Atiq is the jailer. She and many others are to be executed on Friday at a big rally.

Chapter 12

Zunaira removes all her clothes exposing herself to Atiq. Atiq thinks she is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. He tells his wife Musarrat how beautiful she is. Oddly enough this make his wife for he is finally able to express his feelings to her and this make her happy.

Chapter 13

Atiq doesn’t want Zunaira to die, he pleas her case to Qassim but he tells her that she is tricking him and even if she is innocent there is no women on the execution line for the big rally and to remember she is just a woman. Atiq returns to the jail and unlocks it, he tells her to escape. But she refuses, she has no family to go to and she said she died a long time ago.

Chapter 14

Atiq doesn’t know what to do with himself. He loves Zunaira but she won’t run away, and if he runs away with her they will catch them for sure. His wife see that he is in love and tell him to go to her and escape. He leave to the jail and starts to pray and falls to sleep. Musarrat come in and wakes him up. She tell him that she is going to take Zunaira's place and die for her because she is so happy to see him with this much emotion and she will die within a few weeks anyway. He tells her no, but she keeps trying to convince him.

Chapter 15

His wife make the switch with Zunaira but Atiq didn’t tell Zunaira about the plan. When Qassim comes he takes Musarrat and tells Atiq that he has to come to the rally to. Him and his wife who is in the jail office. He agrees and tells his wife (Zunaira) to wait at the rally until it’s over. Musarrat is shot. After the rally Atiq can’t find Zunaira. He search for her everywhere calling out her name. When that doesn’t work he starts to think that every girl is Zunaira and he just wants to see her pretty face so he corners women and takes there veil off. Some guys pick up and hit him in the head and cracks in open. He gets back up He hears people calling him a monster and that he should be hang or shot he still continues to look for Zunaira until everything falls dark and silent.