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My Rating - 1 out of 5 stars

Publisher - Self-Published
Genre - Fiction
Publishing year - 2021
Language - English
ASIN - B09GN86Z66
Pages - 77

Airport Kabul by Anuj Tikku

Book Review - 

We all know about the Taliban situation in Afghanistan and how it is affecting their natives. So, when Airport Kabul came my way, I happily accepted it to read. It was my first read by the author Anuj Tikku, and I'm pretty disappointed. Let me tell you why I feel that way. Also, spoilers are ahead

Plot - The story is about Jalal, his wife Hasija, and their family. After the US army announced to leave Afghanistan, the Taliban started targeting the family who helped them, and Jalal and Hasija fit into the Taliban's kill list.

Hasija is eight months pregnant, and now she needs to leave her motherland along with her husband, her sister Rabia, and a servant Hamid. A US army officer, Joe Johnson, offered them aid, and Emma, a journalist they found in the crowd at Kabul airport, stays with them.


Writing and Narration - The story didn't touch my heart at all. I felt that I read a news article or watching the news. Everything the author puts in the story is taken from the headlines, apart from the fabrication of Hasija. 

The narration has to be robust and creative, especially when the topic is critical. There were loads of scope for the story if Anuj Tikku tried to connect with the characters, but he didn't. As a result, the narrative becomes dull and lacks depth.


Characters - I didn't connect with any person. They all seem superficial and lack the intensity of the situation they were put in, not to mention the ridiculous statements. 

For example, one time, Jalal said to Hasija, I'm sure you'll give birth to a boy because your stomach looks so big. Another example, Rabia assisted Hasija and proved to be a genuine person, but the author mentioned her as a slave who took care of her sister. 

Hamid met Emma and started calling her my good friend, my best friend, and what not? I mean, they just met, for god's sake. I understand that the book is short, so the characters didn't get much space to grow, but whatever the dialogue they had was simply obtuse and repetitive. I blame the author. 


Language - Don't get me started on this; with all the plot, narration, and character issues, I read a book filled with grammatical errors and spelling mistakes too. I'm not talking about a few inaccuracies; the whole book is filled with it. This book needs severe editing. 


Conclusion - I can go on with the issues in further detail, but I think you get the picture. I remember that Anuj Tikku put pictures of Afghanistan and its people between the story, which is not right and didn't work for me. He also didn't give credit to those pictures. I read the reviews of this book on Goodreads, and not a single person points out the mistakes or gives constructive criticism so that the author can improve. If you're reading this review, then know that you guys lost my respect. 


Recommended to - I feel bad to say this, but I will not recommend this book to anyone. However, I hope that the author works on the given suggestions because it's a long way for him to create a good book. 


You can find the book here - Amazon IN Amazon US

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