‘The finest supermarket in Kabul’, tale of a tragic bombing

KABUL (Khaama Press): The Finest Supermarket in Kabul creates a story of fictional characters involved in this real-life bombing in Kabul. The book is a window into Kabul on that day through three very distinct perspectives: an Afghan politician, an American journalist and a Canadian human rights lawyer.

Reading – or better yet listening to – The Finest Supermarket, readers can experience Afghanistan through the eyes of someone born there but also foreigners. It takes you to the secret back of a tea shop in Kabul’s outskirts to the ritzy Safi Landmark Hotel to the shops lining Chicken and Butcher streets. Rich in description, you get to know how families, friends and co-workers live and work together in the capital.

I was in Kabul in 2007-08, and struck by its stunning beauty – particularly when the sun glints off the mountains in winter. Afghanistan stuck with me ever since. It’s so much deeper and richer than its portrayal in the news, and revealed an abundance of stories everywhere I looked. Many of my observations and understandings found their way into the pages, and each character’s vision of Afghanistan’s future.

First, we meet Merza, an Afghan parliamentarian who has been receiving ominous threats since he won a seat in the 2010 elections. He’s loath to tell his father and mother, who already disapprove of his new career. He is driving by the Finest when the bomb detonates and believes he’s the target. Alive, but shaken, he stops to help the wounded. He’s heartbroken that Afghanistan can’t heal itself.

“The president talked about bringing democracy to Afghanistan in his speech the other day. It’s a worthy goal. Being a politician is one of the toughest jobs imaginable right now, but we are just trying to make Afghanistan a better place. So much needs to change. Because of this, being a politician is very honourable.”

Next is Alec, an American journalist stationed in Kandahar who secretly travels to Kabul looking for new stories focused on local families and communities. After the blast, he rushes to the scene alongside other reporters. He interviews those injured and sees the damage firsthand. He’s concerned for the next generation of Afghans that have seen too much war and violence.

“Not that I’m an expert on the Taliban, but having covered their emergence and subsequent takeover of Kabul in the mid-90s, they are generally a brutal lot, even if there’re some softer elements within. They’re targeting foreigners and Afghans alike. Be careful with this story.”

The final chapter belongs to Elyssa, a Canadian human rights lawyer who is working on a training project for female judges while trying to avoid unwanted attention from a male judge. She was buying rugs and gets locked down in the café where she’d stopped for coffee.

She follows news of the bomb and realizes her boyfriend may have gotten caught up in it but doesn’t know for sure. She’s distraught about her personal circumstances and wondering if she should stay in Afghanistan.

“A really tough day. There’s a security alert. The Finest Supermarket, I don’t know if you know it, but it’s a convenience store in Wazir Akbar Khan. I’m pretty sure it was attacked. I was there earlier today, only hours ago. It’s so strange.” The Finest Supermarket captures a specific moment in time in Afghanistan.

It was amazing to relive my memories of Kabul while writing it, and rewarding to research points I didn’t already know but wanted to include, such as a brief reference to Afghanistan in the 1970s. Live through a significant day in Kabul – buy the audiobook of Finest Supermarket in Kabul through Apple, Nook audiobooks, Google Play, Amazon, and other online stores.