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The Patience Stone  By  cover art

The Patience Stone

By: Atiq Rahimi
Narrated by: Carolyn Seymour
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Publisher's summary

In Persian folklore, Syngue Sabour is a magical stone, a patience stone, that absorbs the plight of those who confide in it. But here, the Syngue Sabour is not a stone, but a man lying brain-dead. His wife sits by his side, resenting him for not resisting the call to arms, for wanting to be a hero, and in the end, for being incapacitated.

Yet she cares, speaking to him, revealing her deepest desires, pains, and secrets. She speaks of her life, not knowing if her husband hears, confessing about sex and love and her anger against a man who never understood her, and who mistreated her. Free of oppression, she leads her story up to a great secret that is unthinkable in a country like Afghanistan. Rahimi captures with great courage and spare, poetic, prose the reality of everyday life for an intelligent woman under the oppressive weight of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

©2008 Polly McLean (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Rahimi's lyric prose is simple and poetic, and McLean's translation is superb. With an introduction by Khaled Hosseini, this Prix Goncourt-winning book should have a profound impact on the literature of Afghanistan for its brave portrayal of, among other things, an Afghan woman as a sexual being.” ( Library Journal)
“The Patience Stone is perfectly written: spare, close to the bone, sometimes bloody, with a constant echo, like a single mistake that repeats itself over and over and over.” ( Los Angeles Times)

What listeners say about The Patience Stone

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Interesting though not fascinating

What did you like best about The Patience Stone? What did you like least?

It is a very interesting book, as far as the way to tell the condition of Muslim women in some countries live in. Horrible! In this sense the book is good and valuable. It is very informative. It uses very unusual form of telling the story. Whereas I do not regret reading it, it is not a book that will catch your attention. It is mostly...sad, and depressing. But it is, as I believe, reflecting the truth... That is why I think it is valuable.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Patience Stone?

all of it

Have you listened to any of Carolyn Seymour’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

Did The Patience Stone inspire you to do anything?

no

Any additional comments?

no

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2 people found this helpful