The Almond Garden of Kabul
The Almond Garden of Kabul is a tale of courage, resistance and survival that lingers beyond the final page. It is about a group of women prisoners who risk everything to expose a network of abuse and corruption that reaches the highest levels of power in Afghanistan. Unlike many novels set in Afghanistan, which often focus on war, foreign intervention and women as passive victims, The Almond Garden of Kabul brings to light untold stories from a hidden world, where survival is a battle of wits, resilience and defiance. Rather than centring on external conflicts, it exposes systemic corruption, state-sponsored abuse, and the high-stakes risks of uncovering the truth from within.
When Niloofar, a teenage inmate, sets herself on fire, the authorities call it a suicide attempt. But two women – Sultan, a feared inmate who once killed her abusive husband, and Setara, a teacher and gifted artist imprisoned for a crime she did not commit – begin to suspect that the fire was not just a tragedy, but a protest. As they uncover a web of abuse and corruption, they draw in fellow inmates Sheyda and Geisha along the way. Together, they risk everything to expose a sinister secret that stretches far beyond the prison walls. In a land where fire once symbolised truth and divine power, their silence becomes the flame that sets the system ablaze. Set against a brutal system built to erase them, The Almond Garden of Kabul is a haunting story of resistance, remembrance, and the fire women carry within them.