A House Without Windows audiobook

This was a wonderful story of love, sacrifice and redemption. I really like the way this author writes. She really helps you understand the characters. A story of a young lawyer who wants to help the people in his home country but helping to change the way the laws are read and it has a good ending because somehow the judge decides to be fair! I learned a lot of historical things in this book also. Very good.

Imagine how bad things must be for some women in Afghanistan that they are happier, and feel safer, in prison than in their normal lives. Chil Mahtab was the House Without Windows. It was a female prison in Afghanistan. A place filled with women charged with moral crimes. Their "crimes" included such things as leaving an abusive husband, meeting male colleagues unaccompanued, outside working hours, or zina - the name applied to unlawful sexual relations (e.g. sex before, or outside, marriage). In the opening scenes Zeba, the central character has the blood of her dead husband on her hands. Despite the lack of witnesses and the almost the non-existent police investigation, she is charged and imprisoned for murder. She refused to speak up in her own defence and as the story progressed and her reasons were revealed I was shocked. Not only at her thought process but by the way others congratulated her on her decision. To my way of thinking - with my western values - this was all kinds of wrong and defied all logic. House Without Windows shone a spotlight on the cultural differences between Western society and Islamic Afghanistan. It highlighted the enormous chasm between the value systems of each. As I was reading I became outraged on behalf of these fictitious women and was angered by the Afghani judicial system which seemed farcical. Later I was astounded to learn the author, Nadia Hashimi, had used the Human Rights Watch report to model her female characters and their "crimes". This stuff actually happens!Though I felt ambivalent about the story during the first half of the book, having only a mild curiousity about whether or not Zeba had actually committed this crime, the second half grabbed me and made me think. I love it when works of fiction open my eyes and force me to think about real world situations the way this one did. In this manner it reminded me of Kahled Hosseini's "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and "The Kite Runner", two books I loved. 3 stars for the first half, 4 stars for the rest. I'm calling it 3.5 and will round up.

*Read for my library's Readers' Roundtable group, November, 2018.Yusuf, a young American lawyer of Afghani descent, decides to return to Afghanistan to practice law with an humanitarian group. The case that has piqued his interest is that of a young mother named Seba who is accused of killing her husband. He is hired by her brother to defend her but frustratingly, she won't speak in her own defense, won't explain what happened--and in fact, appears quite insane at time. What dark secret is Seba refusing to reveal? While Seba is in the women's prison, the reader learns that what we would think of as petty offenses can land a woman in jail, sometimes for years. Everything seems to come down to male honor, even if the woman is the victim. "What good is a woman's telling of truthWhen nothing she says will be taken as proof?"Yusuf wants to be part of the rebuilding of his birth country and to help establish 'a new era of Afghan jurisprudence' in which the letter of the law is strictly followed. He is frustrated to learn that no investigation into this murder was conducted; it was automatically assumed that Seba was guilty without due process. Will the judge listen to his reasoned arguments even if he cannot provide an alternative theory? What a terrific insight into what life is like for women in Afghanistan! The Taliban may be gone but their influence is still felt in how women are treated. It is easy to judge customs that are not our own but real change has to come from the people on the inside who see the injustice in the way things are carried on, even if it is part of a long tradition. The oppressor does not easily give up his control.

"No criminal is worse than a woman who wants to live for herself."Zeba is a mother of four, a quiet villager and wife to Kamal. While he is abusive, there is little that Zeba can do for herself so she does her best to shelter her children. When Zeba is found with Kamal's blood on her hands and Kamal dead with a hatchet to the back of his head, she is accused of murder. Not uttering a single word, Zeba is taken to the Chil Mahtab jail while she awaits trial. Yusuf, an Afghan-born and American-raised man, idealistic but persistant becomes her lawyer and soon learns that this is no ordinary case.Having read 'When the Moon is Low' and 'The Pearl that Broke Its Shell', I had high expectations of Nadia Hashimi. Just lke with the two previous books, 'A House Without Windows' is rich in culture, traditions and history. Hashimi did not disappoint. This work is a masterpiece, thought-provocking and a well crafted book. The book opens with Zeba being charged with murder when her husband is found dead in their courtyard. A hatchet is the murder weapon and his blood is on Zeba. To save her from a mob, the police take Zeba to jail. Once there she meets a whole cast of women charged with 'morality crimes', or zina. I particularly enjoyed the bond and friendship of the inmates. That is the heart of the book. Jailed for fleeing abusive husbands, fathers & homes, falling in love with a different man other than the one their family had chosen for them or being pregnant out of wedlock, these women become a family far more supportive than their own. The prose was well written, characterization spot on and the pace well meted out. All throughout the narrative, I kept wondering wether Zeba was guilty or not but either way, she was a victim too. Poignant, relevant and broad in scope, this is one great read. Its quite saddening that currently, many woman are jailed because of zina. Zina refers to premarital or extramarital sex, illegal and illicit in many middle eastern countries. What is more confounding is the fact that rape is considered part of zina and many woman have been jailed, stoned and lashed for it. Not surprisingly, men do not face zina with the same harhness as woman, if at all. In the early 2000's there were cases (yes, plural cases) of women jailed because they reported a rape. A pregnancy resulting from their ordeal was further proof of their "crime" Under Sharia Law, they admitted to having sex outside of marriage and were punished. It sounds arcaic but for many its a devasting reality. Tradition vs progress. Justice vs vengeance. Shame vs honor. These are the themes that Hashimi explores with her work. Highly recommended!

The more she writes, the better Nadia Hashimi becomes. Of all of her novels, A House Without Windows is my favorite. Over the course of three days, I read the book twice simply because it resonated so much with me. Ms. Hashimi's novels are never the same, and her characters are richly developed, leaving readers moved by their experiences long after the story has ended.The story of Zeba brings to light the imprisonment of Afghani women for crimes of immorality, particularly "zina" (a category encompassing much more than what it means--sex outside of marriage) a blanket term applied to any behavior or accusation the society deems immoral. This riveting tale of what it means to be a daughter, mother, wife, and friend strikes readers' hearts; the search for the truth and justice in a prison where women's testimonies do not matter brings to light the struggle for progress in modern day Afghanistan. This is a must read. It is a book that will stay with you for days after you have finished reading it.

It is very exciting to discover an author who’s novels are so compelling, educational and engrossing that I want to read everything they have written. Nadia Hashimi is one of those brilliant and heartfelt authors. Her writing is smart and rich in history and traditions. Over the past few years she has published three fantastic novels, The Pearl That Broke Its Shell, When The Moon Is Low, and A House Without Windows. She also wrote a YA book, One Half from the East which came out in Sept. 2016.In A House Without Windows, Nadia Hashimi shows us how honor and integrity pay a significant role in the lives of Afghan women. She also gives us an indication of how men rule the court system and how women’s prisons are full of modern women who have fallen victim to acts of violence and misfortunes by men. The people of the country have great respect for spiritual leaders, sorcerers and special powers/magic-like spells, and family honor is of utmost importance and runs deep. Even though this novel takes place in current times it feels old fashioned with superstition a real part of the belief system of the people. I love a mysterious crime and a court case. When it is set in a tradition rich, male driven country with multiple, strong women characters with flaws and good intent, I am in heaven!Nadia Hashimi’s writing is brilliant and A House Without Windows, The Pearl That Broke Its Shell and When The Moon Is Low all take the reader on intense, soul seeking journeys with strong, determined and deep thinking women of Afghanistan.

A House Without Windows is a story that reveals itself in layers. It’s very often a painful story to read – the rawness of injustice toward Afghani women, the disgusting cruelty of one man in particular, the anguish of souls on these pages. It is a cry for fairness that should cut deep in the hearts of women who complain over relatively minor (in the scheme of things) issues like equal pay. The characters, too, are layered and but for the grace of God could be any of us. Yusef’s story … i didn’t think it added much to the narrative one way or the other. It felt almost like one layer too many. I was captivated by Zeba, by her story, by her mother. And other than how Yusef’s story intersected with Zeba’s, I could have done without it.Bottom Line: A House Without Windows by Nadia Hashimi is lyrical and diverse, the Afghani culture (the good and the bad) richly painted across the pages. Zeba’s story is intriguing and wonderful and horrible all at once. But most of all it’s inspiring and I recommend it for anyone who wants more than the status quo in their fiction.(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)see my full review at Reading Is My SuperPower

A House Without Windows is a sad but realistic tale of modern day witch hunts. But it’s not full of raging force like you’d expect. The book is quiet, but powerful – Nadia just has to throw the words up into the night sky and we just have to lie down and look up into the darkness. Yes, there is the mystery of if Zeba killed Kamal or if it was someone else, but there’s also so much to unpack from how she got to that point, and how the women in the prison begin to rely on her for powers like her mother’s. Read our full review here.