By Paul Sedan Correspondent
Jasmine Aimaqâs debut novel, âThe Opium Prince,â is enjoyable on multiple levels. First, itâs a captivating work of fiction that examines how its two protagonists move from guilt and despair to redemption. Second, Aimaq immerses readers into everyday life in Afghanistan with such skill that even a passage about buying freshly baked flatbread is a poetic experience.
Set during the late 1970s, âThe Opium Princeâ is faithful to the historical events that rocked Afghanistan during the period. Itâs also illustrative of the deep gap between the haves and the have-nots. And it provides a good example of what William Faulkner believed to be the goal of all authors and poets: to depict âthe human heart in conflict with itself . because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat.â
I’ve been spotting opium references in popular culture with interest for a few years now (2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013 & 2012) – just how opium keeps fascinating us…
Well, 2020 was a funny year but anyway.
Let’s start with a few novels – Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s
Blood and Sugar was a great trip to 1780s Deptford and the slave trade. Opium addicts of course and a few on tinctures of laundanum for various eighteenth century ailments. Lydia Kang’s
Opium and Absinthe took us to 1889 New York, vampire scares, and opium. Elizabeth Bailey’s
The Opium Purge is back in 1790 England with mysteries that lead back to dope.