The Alterations Lady: An Afghan Refugee, an American, and the Stories That Define Us

An Afghan woman’s journey from her war-torn homeland to life as “an alterations lady to the wealthiest women” in Scottsdale, Ariz., is recapped in this sonorous but disconcerting debut from journalist Miller. Lailoma Shahwali grew up in Kabul during the Soviet-Afghan War in the 1980s and the country’s civil wars in the ’90s. She experienced violence firsthand, including surviving the Taliban’s 1996 bombing campaign against Kabul, recollections of which open the narrative with gruesome lyricism: “The stench of blood pervaded the air. Sometimes she found a body part, but knowing who it belonged to was often hard to tell.” That same year, Shahwali witnessed the murder her husband by the Taliban. Miller’s account, while sumptuously written, has oddities in its approach. Among them is that framing Shahwali as an everywoman feels disingenuous, given that her husband was “a highly placed general” in the Soviet-backed government; and that Miller can come off as condescending in the way she handles profiling someone she met working in a customer service role (Miller frequents the Neiman Marcus where Shahwali works). For example, after the opening bombing scene, Miller pivots to an account of Shahwali winning an employee-of-the-year award, presenting it as an almost equally emotional moment (“Lailoma’s heart thundered in her chest, and she realized she was holding her breath”). This falls short of the mark. (Oct.)