Jamil Jan Kochai, "The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories" (Viking, 2022)

New Books in Literature · Dec 8, 2022 · 31m

The first story in Jamil Jan Kochai’s newest collection has an interesting title and premise. “Playing Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain” leads The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories (Viking: 2022). But what starts as a story of a young Afghan-American man buying the latest installment of the stealth video game becomes an exploration of Afghanistan, how its borne the brunt of generations of imperial and geopolitical conflict–and how that history is etched on its people. Jamil’s book is about Afghanistan–as well as Afghans and Afghan-Americans, grappling with history and strife…