The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories by Jamil Jan Kochai

4.05 AVERAGE

kbratten's review

5.0
Really, truly stunning. Kochai paints a vivid picture of the Afghan diaspora, with full and imaginative stories, richly drawn and packing a punch. He doesn't shy away from violence, geopolitics, and the identity crisis of the Afghan characters, but they don't feel shoe-horned in or too heavy-handed. Characters are mostly male, and I see likely blindspots as a male in the culture, but the women he does feature are generally fully formed, so I don't begrudge his perspective. The audiobook was excellently narrated.
lizsg's profile picture

lizsg's review

4.5
dark mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

jvord777's review against another edition

4.5
emotional reflective sad medium-paced
elisendemeter's profile picture

elisendemeter's review

3.0
dark emotional reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: N/A
Strong character development: N/A
Loveable characters: N/A
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

ndalquest's review

4.5
challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
mallorymatherne's profile picture

mallorymatherne's review

4.0
i luv short stories 

jenniferlynnkrohn's review

5.0
challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
madcrazyreviews's profile picture

madcrazyreviews's review

4.0
adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
The only story I wouldnt recommend is "Occupational Hazards." Otherwise, this is a fantastic story collection, with with multiple 5-star entries.
eeculp's profile picture

eeculp's review

3.0
challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
Beautifully written and thought provoking. Learned a lot. 

jmille32's review

4.0
Short stories with lasting impact.