Burned shadows

The novel "Burned Shadows" by the Pakistani novelist Kamila Shamsie.. her first novel translated into Arabic.. a beautiful novel.. remarkable and human.. extending over more than half a century.. from the end of World War II in 1945 until after the events of September 11, 2001.. geographically spanning from Nagasaki, Japan, passing through Delhi, India, Karachi, Pakistan, and Afghan refugee camps on the Afghan-Pakistani border, ending in New York, USA.. "Heroku," the delicate Japanese girl who survived the horrific tragedy of Nagasaki.. with prominent burns on her thin back.. and her spirit completely crushed under the weight of losing her German lover, Conrad Weiss.. whose human shadows are found in his Muslim Indian companion, Jaddad Ali Ashraf.. the greatness of the novel lies in depicting the tragedy of the contemporary world after World War II.. the decline of old colonial empires and the rise of new empires on the ruins of major national, ethnic, and regional units that disintegrated into smaller entities.. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh.. North and South Korea.. etc.. I loved "Heroku" and sympathized with her, and I cried with pain and doubled grief for her.. and I cried for Conrad Weiss and his thoughts, the eight planes.. I admired Jaddad for his simplicity and his representation of the Indian (later Pakistani) spirit close to the spirit of Eastern societies in Arab countries.. a beautiful and wonderful novel with its great humanity..