Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
When the Moon Is Low
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Sneha Mathan, Neil Shah
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
£0.00 for first 30 days
When the Moon Is Low
Buy Now for £12.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Summary
The unforgettable story of an Afghan family’s escape from the Taliban and perilous trek across Europe to seek asylum, led by one extraordinarily courageous woman. This is the second novel by Nadia Hashimi, the author of last year’s breakout The Pearl That Broke Its Shell.
Mahmoud’s passion for his wife, Fereiba, a schoolteacher, is greater than any love she’s ever known. But their happy, middle-class world - a life of education, work, and comfort - implodes when their country is engulfed in war and the Taliban rises to power.
Mahmoud, a civil engineer, becomes a target of the new fundamentalist regime and is murdered. Forced to flee Kabul with her three children, Fereiba has one hope to survive: She must find a way to cross Europe and reach her sister’s family in England. With forged papers and help from kind strangers they meet along the way, Fereiba make a dangerous crossing into Iran under cover of darkness. Exhausted and brokenhearted but undefeated, Fereiba manages to smuggle them as far as Greece. But in a busy market square, their fate takes a frightening turn when her teenage son, Saleem, becomes separated from the rest of the family.
Faced with an impossible choice, Fereiba pushes on with her daughter and baby, while Saleem falls into the shadowy underground network of undocumented Afghans who haunt the streets of Europe’s capitals. Across the continent Fereiba and Saleem struggle to reunite and ultimately find a place where they can begin to reconstruct their lives.
Listeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about When the Moon Is Low
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- mmmaisha
- 28-11-23
The reality of the story line
Narrators were not the best and detracted from the story however it was a good listen
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- KT
- 06-09-23
Captivating story but poor narrantion
I really enjoyed this story. It was eye opening to understand what migrants face when trying to find a safe life for their family. The female narration was excellent but the male
Narration was the worst I’ve ever heard. It sounded like a robot talking and at times I thought it had been done using AI it was so poor. There was no intonation at all, no emotion. After the beautiful female narration this male narration nearly ruined the book for me as it was painful to listen to but I persisted as I enjoyed the story. I would recommend reading the book rather than listening to it so you don’t have to suffer listening to this narrator and ruining the story for you.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mena
- 11-08-22
The most beautiful story I have ever heard
The story is so beautiful, so heart breaking and it really put you in the shoes of people that have made similar journey for decades.
Being an Afghan it is particularly difficult to listen to this story. I certainly needed to take breaks when it become too much and too real.
Important side note: the voice actors are not Afghan and their pronunciation of Afghan words was god-aweful. The voice actor for Salim being the absolute worst offender. Why the producers could not make the effort of finding two Afghans to voice the story is beyond me. Nadia Hashimi had created a masterpiece and you have to listen to the most emotional parts trying to enjoy the truly terrible voice acting and pronunciation.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amanda Morrison
- 20-10-24
Enjoyable
I really enjoyed the story line and the emotion of this story, but disappointed with the abrupt ending.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sinead Collins
- 02-09-22
A Brilliant Listen
I really liked this book, a difficult story that is all too true, told with compassion but very sad at times. It really makes you think differently about refugees and how it could have been any one of us. Perhaps it should be played in UK schools. I liked most of the narrative apart from when the man was depicting Salim and other voices. They were a bit gruff, comical and quieter than the rest of his audio. I had to turn the volume up at these parts sometimes and down again afterwards. His normal narrating voice was very good though. The woman also narrated well and was easy to listen to. Despite that I would still really recommend this audio book. I hope there will be a sequel as it stopped a bit ubruptiy.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Olga Joy
- 08-12-21
A beautiful book sensitively written
It really helped me to understand better the state of the dispossessed in life who need to flee their Country ( in this case after the Taliban took over Afghanistan) and to follow a family ( mother and 3 children) in their ordeal through different Countries and many distressing situations. But this book is a positive book: the resilience of the two main characters Fereiba and Saleem, their strength and determination and the way in which they are portrayed by the author makes this book a true gem. I think it is one of the best books I have ever read .
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful