The Haunting of Hajji Hotak

A finalist for the National Book Award - a luminous new collection of stories from a young writer with 'a singular, resonant voice, an American teenager raised by Old World Afghan storytellers' (New York Times) **WINNER OF A 2023 O. HENRY PRIZE FOR SHORT FICTION** **FINALIST FOR THE 2022 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION** **SHORTLISTED FOR THE LA TIMES BOOK PRIZE FOR FICTION** **NAMED A BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022 BY THE NEW YORKER AND THE ATLANTIC** PEN/Hemingway finalist Jamil Jan Kochai breathes life into his contemporary Afghan characters, moving between modern-day Afghanistan and the Afghan diaspora in America. In these arresting stories verging on both comedy and tragedy, often starring young characters whose bravado is matched by their tenderness. In “Playing Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain,” a young man’s video game experience turns into a surreal exploration on his own father’s memories of war and occupation. Set in Kabul, “Return to Sender” follows two married doctors