From bestselling novelist Nadia Hashimi—a gripping, occasionally terrifying, yet ultimately hopeful novel focusing on the women of Afghanistan in the years since the Taliban regained power. In February 2020 the US began to withdraw troops from Afghanistan after nearly twenty years of occupation. A whole generation of Afghan women had been born during that time—women who had grown up in relative peace, gone to school, entered the professions, even served in the army and Parliament. The women of Afghanistan watched as the Taliban filled the streets again. They knew everything was about to change. In the bustling, cosmopolitan city of Kabul, women are TV newscasters, shop owners, doctors, teachers, lawyers, even soldiers. They include Marjan, who fought with the Afghan army, and will risk everything to keep her daughter Hawa safe. In her earlier days Marjan was called Rahima and had lived the life of a bacha posh —a girl raised as a boy until she came of age. Forced into an early marriage, Rahima took the name Marjan when she fled her warlord husband. She’s created a whole new life for herself, one she will not give up easily. So has Soraya, who defiantly wore red lipstick as she led the army’s all-female combat force over the objections of her upper-class family. Soraya’s now a wanted woman whose brother may choose not to shelter her from the Taliban. What will become of her? Or Mina, a journalist and broadcaster whose beautiful face is known to everyone in Kabul—including the new regime? Fight or flight? Or find a third way? One thing is for certain: none of these women will meekly accept her fate. An epic saga of fear, resistance, change, and reinvention, City of Widows gives voices to the unforgettable Afghan women at a crossroads of history. “An essential read…heartbreaking, powerful, and indelible.” — Booklist (starred review) “Nadia Hashimi’s eagerly anticipated new novel is an immersive, compelling, and unforgettable story of resistance, community, and hope in the face of extraordinary hardship. Written with exceptional insight and empathy, City of Widows evokes the past to illuminate the present as only the very best historical fiction can.” - Jennifer Chiaverini, New York Times bestselling author of Resistance Women “Nadia Hashimi has written, first and foremost, a tender and beautiful family story. Her always engaging multigenerational tale is a portrait of Afghanistan in all of its perplexing, enigmatic glory, and a mirror into the still ongoing struggles of Afghan women.” - Khaled Hosseini, author of And the Mountains Echoed and The Kite Runner “The question of whether Sitara can go home again is the existential and physical journey Hashimi conjures, in a story at once surreal and deeply rooted in the history of Afghanistan’s modern turmoil and ancient enchantment.” - NPR “A fascinating epic tale.” - New York Post “Hashimi weaves together two equally engrossing stories in her epic, spellbinding debut.” - Booklist (starred review) “Hashimi celebrates the unsung heroism of Afghan women in City of Widows . There were moments when I gripped the book so hard, I permanently creased the pages. Similarly, this story changed me. Harrowing, breathtaking, and transformative. An empowering must-read for generations of women." - Sarah McCoy, New York Times bestselling author of Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely? “An essential read…heartbreaking, powerful, and indelible.” - Booklist (starred review) Nadia Hashimi  is a pediatrician turned international bestselling novelist and daughter of Afghan immigrants. She is the author of four books for adults: The Pearl that Broke Its Shell , A House Without Windows , When the Moon Is Low , and Sparks Like Stars , as well as the middle grade novels  One Half from the East  and  The Sky at Our Feet.  She lives with her family in the Washington, DC, suburbs.