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

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

What a thought-provoking collection of interconnected short stories. Kochai does a phenomenal job bringing attention to the contemporary political landscape of Afghanistan in a way that openly challenges a Western (especially US) audience to consider the ramifications of war and imperialism. While taking place primarily in Afghanistan, Kochai draws attention to the Afghan diaspora as well, particularly in the Sacramento area, and how they, too, are impacted by war.

These stories are tragic; after all, Kochai is showing us the impact of war, death, and displacement. But, critically, he explores these in the everyday lives of Afghans (sometimes in fantastical ways), bringing to attention that there are names and faces of the people who are living through this violence. Considering this, I appreciate how Kochai shows that people aren’t in a constant state of despair; there were moments of humor and tenderness throughout this collection that breathed so much life into these characters.

I really look forward to Kochai’s future work, because I thoroughly enjoyed this collection and feel that this is a must read.
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