The Opium Prince

I have never read another book like this one. The Opium Prince is a crime novel, a work of historical fiction, and a literary gem. It defies categorization in any one genre, and is written with such vivid prose that it is hard to believe that it is a debut novel. I was immediately drawn into the wo......more

An Afghan-born American diplomat Daniel Sajedi is posted to Kabul in the 1970’s to head a U.S. foreign aid agency whose agenda is to eradicate poppy fields. He accidentally kills a young Kochi nomad girl (Telaya), who runs in front of his car. In trying to make reparations, he meets a powerful opium......more

I loved this book so much! It tells the story of Daniel, a young Western-educated idealist in 1970s Afghanistan whose life changes in a single, tragic moment on a deserted highway. The accident pulls him into the brutality of the opium trade, forces him to reckon with his past and leads him to make......more

I’ve been reading a lot of books — I’m up to 106 so far this year — that end the way I expect them to, about characters who do what I expect them to do. My heart might still be in the middle of the story, and I’m still feeling the characters, but the question that arises as I turn the corner for the......more