A
dog on the loose. A boy yearning to connect to his family's roots. A
country in the midst of great change. And a vibrant exploration of the
power of stories--the ones we tell each other and the ones we find
ourselves in.
Twelve-year-old Marwand's memories
from his previous visit to Afghanistan six years ago center on his
contentious relationship with Budabash, the terrifying but beloved dog
who guards his extended family's compound in the rural village of Logar.
But eager for an ally in this place that is meant to be "home," Marwand
misreads his reunion with the dog and approaches Budabash the way he
would any pet on his American suburban block--and the results are
disastrous: Marwand loses a finger, and Budabash escapes into the night.
Marwand
is not chastened and doubles down on his desire to fit in here. He must
get the dog back, and the resulting search is a gripping and vivid
adventure story, a lyrical, funny, and surprisingly tender coming-of-age
journey across contemporary Afghanistan that blends the bravado and
vulnerability of a boy's teenage years with an homage to familial oral
tradition and calls to mind One Thousand and One Nights yet speaks with a voice all its own.
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