Eliza Griswold

The Gifts of the State and Other Stories: Afghan Authors Under Thirty radically re-shapes our idea of Afghanistan as a place of unquestioning religiosity, brutal sexism, and anti-American and Russian resistance. Rather, employing stark naturalism, surrealistic and genre elements, these writers bravely depict western-styled women in former Russian apartments and men obsessed with fantasies based on Mickey Spillane novels.