num_pages: 336
description: Written by critically acclaimed author Nazneen Sheikh The Place of Shining Light is the story of three men in pursuit of a stolen Buddhist statue. Set against the backdrop of India Pakistan and Afghanistan  three countries riddled with political chaos and seared by terrorist activity  The Place of Shining Light is a riveting and timely story of art war greed and spirituality.Khalid a leading Pakistani antiquities dealer arranges the illegal importation of a antique sculpture from neighbouring Afghanistan for his client Ghulam a wealthy landowner and avid art collector with political aspirations. Adeel a highly recommended ex-military officer is hired by Khalid to go to Afghanistan to collect the sculpture.Adeel has a reliable reputation and has never failed to execute an assignment but when he first sees the statue in a cave in the town of Bamiyan  known as the place of shining light  he has a profound spiritual reaction and decides to steal the sculpture for himself and go into hiding. When Khalid and Ghulam realize Adeel has disappeared with their prized possession they conspire to do whatever it takes to have the statue returned.Taking readers on a wild journey from the country estates in the Punjab and the valleys of Afghanistan to the magical mountain kingdoms of Northern Pakistan and the diplomatic enclaves of Islamabad The Place of Shining Light is the riveting story of the modern trade in illegal antiquities in the war-torn regions of Central and South Asia.
language: English
title: The Place of Shining Light
publisher: House of Anansi Press