{"product_id":"the-taliban-cricket-club-a-novel-isbn-9780062091253","title":"The Taliban Cricket Club: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e“A moving, splendidly realized story of courage and grit in modern-day Kabul.”\u003cbr\u003e—Vikas Swarup, author of \u003cem\u003eSlumdog Millionaire\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA harrowing yet tender novel—\u003cem\u003eBend It Like Beckham\u003c\/em\u003e in a burka—\u003cem\u003eThe Taliban Cricket Club\u003c\/em\u003e is a moving and unforgettable tale of one woman’s courage and guile in the face of terror and tyranny. Set in war-torn Kabul, Afghanistan, this extraordinary new fiction by Timeri N. Murari, acclaimed author of the international bestseller, \u003cem\u003eTaj\u003c\/em\u003e, is a sweeping story of love, family, resilience, and survival, featuring an unforgettable heroine determined to help her loved ones win their freedom with a bat and a ball.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003eRukhsana is a spirited young journalist who works for the \u003cem\u003eKabul Daily\u003c\/em\u003e in Afghanistan. She takes care of her ill, widowed mother and her younger brother, Jahan. But then Rukhsana is summoned to appear at the infamous Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, and their quiet and tenuous way of life is shattered. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere, the malevolent minister, Zorak Wahidi, announces that the Taliban has found a new way to pursue the diplomatic respect it has long been denied: cricket. On the world stage of sports, the Taliban will prove they are a fair and just society. Rukhsana and several other journalists are to report that a tournament will be held to determine who will play for Afghanistan. Anyone can put together a team. Women are forbidden to play. The winners will travel to Pakistan to train, then go on to represent Afghanistan around the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRukhsana knows that this is a shameful, and deeply surreal, idea. The Taliban will never embrace a game rooted in civility, fairness, and equality, with no tolerance for violence or cheating. And no one in Afghanistan even knows how to play the game.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eExcept for Rukhsana.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis could be a way to get her cousins and her brother out of Afghanistan for good. But before she can organize a team, the terrifying Wahidi demands her hand in marriage. He finds her both exciting and infuriating, and wants to control her unruly, willful nature. The union would be her prison, stripping away what few freedoms she has left under Taliban rule and forcing her away from her family. Not marrying Wahidi, however, might mean her death. Her family rallies around her, willing to do anything to protect her, even if it means imprisonment or worse.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut Rukhsana realizes that Wahidi may have given her a way out, too. With the help of her loyal, beloved brother and cousins, she forms her own cricket team and sets about teaching them how to win their freedom—with a bat and a ball.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInspired by the Taliban's actual and unprecedented promotion of cricket in 2000 in an attempt to gain acceptance in the global community, internationally bestselling author Murari weaves a riveting story of strength, hope, and soaring human triumph that proves no tyranny is ever absolute in the face of love.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“A moving, splendidly realized story of courage and grit in modern-day Kabul. I was won over by Murari’s uplifting and vastly entertaining sporting tale, which reaffirms the power of friendship, fellowship, and love in the face of all forms of tyranny.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eVikas Swarup, author of Slumdog Millionaire and Six Suspects\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“An engaging new novel. . . . Murari’s imagined tale of how a desperate group of Afghans seizes this opportunity to seek their freedom offers insights into the dangers, deprivations, passions, and aspirations of everyday Afghan life.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNational Geographic Traveler\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Required reading.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“There is a twist in the tale—and it is a clever one.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A beautifully written novel that takes the reader through the shrouded world of one woman whose only crime is being a woman, \u003ci\u003eThe Taliban Cricket Club\u003c\/i\u003e provides a rare window into the realm of tender emotions as Rukhsana and her family struggle and triumph despite the horrors of Kabul. I loved this riveting book.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDeborah Rodriguez,  New York Times bestselling author of Kabul Beauty School\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A beautifully written novel that takes the reader through the shrouded world of one woman whose only crime is being a woman.... I loved this riveting book.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDeborah Rodriguez,  New York Times bestselling author of Kabul Beauty School\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A compelling novel about cricket in war-torn Kabul, narrated by a young woman who refuses to be silenced by the Taliban.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Fans of Khaled Hosseini’s \u003ci\u003eThe Kite Runner\u003c\/i\u003e will here find a similarly uplifting story about good people surviving their horrific circumstances. . . . Murari has crafted a tense, compelling story.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A lovely, diverting and moving tale of contemporary Kabul, about love, courage, passion, tyranny and cricket. Murari has an uncommon tale to tell, and does so with imagination and empathy.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eShashi Tharoor, award-winning author of The Great Indian Novel\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ecco","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44888678170853,"sku":"NP9780062091253","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780062091253.jpg?v=1730229598","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-taliban-cricket-club-a-novel-isbn-9780062091253","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}