This Shall Be a House of Peace by Phil Halton

This Shall Be a House of Peace Reviews

• 
  Lauren Sapala

  I started this novel not really knowing what to expect. I didn’t know much about Afghanistan or the Taliban, although I was open to learning about both. I thought maybe this would be a war novel that would teach me a few things along the way.
  
  And then I read the book and all my expectations were blown away.
  
  This Shall Be a House of Peace isn’t just the story of the origin of the Taliban and the historical events that shaped it, but also a novel that transforms stereotypes and rumors into real people with complex motivations living in a society that is just as complicated, and at war with itself. As I was reading, I paused many times and asked myself if I could have acted any differently in the circumstances given to the characters and usually my answer was “no.” It’s easy to judge people who commit violent actions from the outside, but once you’re on the inside with them the answers quickly become not so clear. That was what so deeply impressed me about this book, the way the author seemed to effortlessly bring me into the inside of this world and give me such an intimate view of the society of Afghanistan after the Soviet-Afghan war.
  
  However, even though the historical angle was very well done, what really had me spellbound were the characters. Each character was rich and multi-layered, flawed and broken, but also admirable and even beautiful. The novel began with the story of two brothers and their storyline (one of a few) carried through until the end and had me enraptured the entire time. I cried at a couple different points as I was reading, and one of those times was in public, so this book definitely left a deep emotional imprint on me. This Shall Be a House of Peace is a book that’s going to stay with me, for a long, long time.
  
  Highly recommended for anyone who loves extremely well-written historical fiction, political fiction, and contemporary literature.
  
• 
  Paltia

  Weirdly comforting and chilling. A historical adventure story depicting the foundations of the taliban.
• 
  Eric Hudson

  Every once in awhile, I come across a book that just blows away my expectations in every way, and this book is one of them.
  
  Phil Halton accomplished something very special with this book.
  
  This story is a brilliant representation of the events that took place in Afghanistan, and I found that even though it was a piece of fiction, I would often forget, as it immerses you in a spectacular fashion. It twists your emotions in every which way, and has you questioning your views on society, which was something I found particularity interesting.
  
  I found it amazing how a human could make such an impact on me in a short period of time. I would highly recommend this book.
• 
  Rosemary Standeven

  In the West, the Taliban, along with Al Qaeda, Al Shabab and Boko Haram, has become synonymous with religious intolerance, misogyny, brutality and iconoclasm. It is the antithesis of what we, in the West, regard as legitimate governance, and “evil” is the adjective most commonly applied to it. This book gives a different perspective – charting a possible beginning for the Taliban, through the lives of a Mullah and two teenage boys, Wasif and Amin, in Afghanistan after the retreat of the Soviet army. By putting human faces and believable personalities onto the main characters, and by describing the desperate environment in which they find themselves, the emergence of the Taliban becomes understandable and, indeed, inevitable – if still (from a Western viewpoint) deplorable.
  The Mullah is a good man. He has rescued about twenty orphaned boys, whom he teaches in a madrassa in an abandoned village – his “House of Peace”. He fought the Russians – they are now gone – and he now wants only to devote himself to his protégées, the Koran and living a righteous life. Unfortunately, they live in a very violent and unjust world, where the only authority is at the end of a gun. When Amin is badly beaten by a bandit, while shopping for cooking oil, the Mullah feels he has to intervene. Then there are the murdered father and daughter, more bandit incursions – and soon the Mullah becomes the leader that everyone in the area looks to, to save them from the evil that surrounds them. They desperately need someone to believe in, some small piece of hope in a hopeless world, certainty in the face of chaos.
  For the Mullah, the solution is in the Koran: “The real struggle was not against the Russians, it is within ourselves. It is against all inside each of us that is less than perfect. Everything within us that is made in less than the very image of God.” And later: “Remember, we are not punishing men for the sake of punishing, or fighting for the sake of fighting, or even fighting just to protect ourselves. We are engaged in a struggle – all of us – to rebuild society as it once was. A society that is perfectly in line with the will of God”.
  The brothers, Amin and Wasif have been traumatised by their situation. They believe implicitly in the Mullah (the only positive role model in their short lives), but also as young boys, they are attracted to the power gained by holding a loaded gun. Wasif “didn’t think of the bandits he saw in his sights as people, but as something less. Sinners. Apostates. Murderers.” Killing those who do not follow the Mullah’s teachings becomes a passage to manhood, to acceptance by the adult male world: ““What have you done?” demanded Rashid. Wasif smiled and pushed out his chest. “Only the will of God, brother.” … “I only did what had to be done. What any righteous man would do””. The Mullah then states: “This man, no longer a boy, saw the solution while the rest of us were blind. He chose to stab evil in the heart, not to live with it in our midst. … Wasif is no longer one of us. Instead we must welcome Jan Nasrollah, brother of Asadullah Amin”.
  At the start of the book, you become really invested in the lives of the Mullah, Amin and Wasif, of Faizal (the shopkeeper), Lala Chai, Rashid and Umar. You want them to live, to prosper, to find peace in the hell-hole that is Afghanistan. But as the book continues, violence mounts and attitudes harden, your empathy slowly turns to antipathy and horror. But you have to ask yourself – could there possibly have been a different outcome?
  “We have built this House of Peace. But out there, all around us, until all men submit to the will of God, shall be the House of War”
  The last sentence of the book: “In Afghanistan the word for students is Taliban”.
  I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
  
• 
  T. Fowler

  
  In an abandoned village in a remote, impoverished district of Afghanistan, a mullah establishes a shelter for homeless boys. Having experienced violence when fighting Soviet invaders in the recent past, he now only wants to raise these boys in a madrassa, or religious school, where he can teach them to live peacefully as good men by following the principles of the Quran. But life in Afghanistan is too unstable and violent to allow this to happen and he is drawn into helping the local villagers defend themselves from bandits and local strongmen who threaten them. Despite his best efforts to lead a simple life, the mullah is inexorably drawn deeper into conflict against these threats until he finally must choose violence again, leading the villagers and his young students with an unrelenting religious fervour. From the peaceful beginning to the violent denouement, Halton’s skill in writing maintains a good suspense to keep the story moving forward nicely.
  
  Based on his personal experiences in Afghanistan, Phil Halton tells the story in a detail that allows the reader to gain some understanding of a culture quite foreign to Western readers. Throughout the book he shows how the daily lives and thoughts of all the simple characters in he book are influenced by their strong religious beliefs which guide everything they do; he then takes us into the social centre of the village – the chai khana or tea house – where the local men spend hours sipping tea while discussing village problems; and later, in one amazing scene, brings us into a complex wedding ceremony between one of the boys from the madrassa and a girl from a nomadic Kochi tribe. All such scenes in the book give the discerning reader an understanding of this strange, suffering country in a better way that can be found in any other memoir or history.
  
  
  
• 
  Maria Ashen

  This story evolved differently than I had imagined, in the beginning it was hard to get into because of the said religious aspects, but that suddenly changed. I saw a story of how rough life can be in the other-world countries, and that everyone ain’t as lucky or gifted as most of us are. This book made me appreciate what I have more, and be grateful for the opportunities I have. It reminded me that there are people out there, struggling everyday to survive.
  The spirit of these boys, touched me somehow, they are forced to be strong and tough. They each got a lot of personality and spirit, which surprised me a bit considering where they come from, and what they experience. Their familiar bond is strong, and as the story evolves further, we see a darker picture of how easy pressured and broken kids can turn to an ease, that children shouldn’t even know of. So, you easily sympathizes with them. As I got toward the end, I didn’t at all predict that it would end how it did. It closed everything off well, and gave me great hope for the future of our characters.
• 
  Eddy Tan

  This is a captivating story of how desperation, ambition, and faith can cloud the judgment of even those with the best intentions. Written with urgency and empathy, the author paints a human face for Afghanistan’s modern Taliban, illustrating the humble, honourable origins of a group that would become feared and misunderstood around the globe. Almost void of political views or biased messages, the story focuses rather on the human struggles and motivations behind this charged topic. The lens is one of compassion—it’s easy to relate to the characters, believe in the necessity of their mission, and understand what drove them—yet it doesn’t fail to reveal the moral superiority and blinding zeal that resulted in such violence.
  
  My only criticism is that I wanted to get closer to the character’s hearts and minds. It felt at times that the story was unfolding at arm’s length, when I wanted to be more intimate with their thoughts and feelings. Overall, though, I highly recommend this novel.
• 
  C.S. O’Cinneide

  I was mesmerized by the writing, the characters, and the setting. The author weaves a cautionary tale, but also a real one, of the people who suffer from a vacuum of power and how it may be devastatingly filled. Told with compassion and brutal honesty, the authentic details of culture and history immersed me in the story in a magical way. Highly recommended.that whisked me awaywe look at the origins of
• 
  Jypsy

  This Shall be a House of Peace sounded intriguing. It is, but it's too steeped in religion for me to read it. It's slow going and difficult to understand. Unfortunately, it's not for me. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Craig DiLouie

  In THIS SHALL BE A HOUSE OF PEACE by Phil Halton, a mullah teaching at a religious school in Afghanistan in the aftermath of the Soviet occupation becomes a local hero for standing up to bandits, only to be sucked into using violence as a way to end violence. Along the way, we see his students become fighters. In the local language, the word for “student” is taliban.
  
  The story begins with a mullah (an Islamic scholar), a former Mujahid who fought the Soviets in the Eighties. The Soviets and the reforms they introduced resonated with many people in the cities, but in the more traditional rural areas, the people balked at what they saw as a foreign attempt to change their culture, resulting in an insurgency and brutal response from the Red Army. Now the war’s over, the country is lawless and broken and even more impoverished, and many Mujahideen have resorted to banditry. When local bandits beat and rob one of the mullah’s students, he drives them away, making him a local hero. One thing leads to another, and he finds himself engaging in increasingly complex problems and escalating conflict until he and his students finally see no other path than jihad to make not only their village, but their entire country, a “house of peace.”
  
  When I first picked up this book, my first thought honestly was, “Somebody actually wrote and published this?” Either it would serve up virtue-signaling drivel denouncing the Taliban’s founders as evil, blah blah, we know already, or it would portray them as real people deserving understanding, an idea I found proverbially ballsy. The author is a Westerner; even if he chose the latter path, could he deny his own innate biases to do such a story justice?
  
  The answers to these questions are yeah, it’s historical fiction about the origin of the Taliban, and yes, the author at least for me did an admirable job presenting it from the point of view of Pashto/Afghan culture. The result is a story about men struggling on a righteous but increasingly bloody path where I found the characters and their mindset both understandable and alien. While the flashpoint of how the Taliban formed is historical, I couldn’t determine via Googling how much of the rest of the novel is historical versus fiction.
  
  The author is Phil Halton, a Canadian Forces officer who served in conflict zones around the world as a soldier and security consultant. He did an amazing job presenting characters who live in a very different world than most Westerners and have a different morality, while being understandable. The mullah, for example, is uncompromising in his pursuit of righteousness, but righteous in this case means fundamentalist observance of Islamic law (and Pashutanwali). To Westerners, that observance sometimes appears noble (e.g., hospitality), other times strange and even brutal, especially to women.
  
  Overall, I enjoyed THIS SHALL BE A HOUSE OF PEACE quite a bit. I admired its courage and aspirations, enjoyed the perspective of historical fiction that tried to tell it like it is without propagandizing either way, and found the narrative of escalating conflict compelling. In the end, I didn’t like the Taliban any better than I do now, which is to say not at all, but I feel like I understand them better with his story that portrays them as real people instead of comic-book villains.
• 
  Rebecca Moll

  From the ravages of war rise the ravages of war…
  
  In this haunting novel, Halton delivers the truth unclothed, gnarled, and beaten, desperate and emaciated. War torn Afghanistan is finally Russian free, but what remains is barely beyond survival. Years pass and men prove over and over a baseness true to human nature. But out of the ashes rises hope, the resurrection of a way of life, the way of life for those who follow Allah.
  
  One man, a former mujahedeen now Mullah, shepherds the boy orphans and establishes a madrassa high upon a hill, an abandoned, crumbling village. Upon this lofty precipice, recitations of the Quran fill the skies and hearts of young boys with love, hope, honor, and praise. Their days, once scrounging the barren landscape for food and shelter, vulnerable and victimized, now have structure and meaning. Soon, other men seeking peace follow, too.
  
  Turning the world away, this mullah, reaches out his long, strong arms to protect the faithful and build a future. But the ugly world will not stay away and survival becomes appropriated with the will of God.
  
  There are subtle, yet intriguing, allegories to the betrayal of Christ, the sacrificing one’s life for the sins of all, a shepherd who gathers the lambs in his arms. There is the offer of salvation to all who are true Muslims, even the most unlikely convert. But, most of all, there is the truth that this could happen anywhere, to anyone and finally, that it is happening, this world, right now.
  
  A window into the Afghanistan Pashtun culture from a westerner with first-hand experience, this novel offers unanticipated take-aways. Admiration for an ancient culture, its inherent reverence for respect, even in the face adversity and atrocity. A simple greeting, infused with banter of blessings and well-wishes, a clever and practical stepping-stone to uncovering motives, establishing mutual understanding, but above all acknowledging the good in each other as faithful followers of Islam.
  
  “Asalaam aleikum,” said the farmer respectfully.
  “Wa Aleikum salaam,” said the man. “I hope you are well. I hope that your house is strong. I hope that your family is well. May your health be ever good.”
  
  Compelling and very readable, this heart-breaking novel ends with the door to the madrassa and its future wide open. What lies ahead? A history with many different tellings, the Afghanistan people is widely known but, as for the truth, little understood.
  
  What will emerge from the ashes of Afghanistan? The answer lies in little boy eyes.
• 
  Elite Group

  “The ideas of truth, trust, loyalty and reconciliation are universal.”
  
  Motivated by his time living in Afghanistan this book is written with honesty and I believe integrity by Phil Halton as he examines and tries to understand the roots of the Taliban.
  
  As he takes the reader back to the origin, Halton himself says: “The ideas of truth, trust, loyalty and reconciliation are universal and are no less applicable to the Taliban than to ourselves.”
  
  The setting is post-collapse of the Soviet-based Afghanistan government with warlords creating havoc and fear. A Mullah in his humanitarian, charitable nature has taken in orphans who are victims of the chaos. They become his students (Pashto) in what eventually becomes a house of peace.
  
  Amin and Wasi are brothers and students living with the Mullah. Many important characters enter the scene one of the first being Faizal, shop keeper (chai khana). It is in the chai khana where ideas of justice, peace and open discussion aired by the Mullah. Yet the book takes on much violence, fear and terror before the Mullah finds his goal.
  
  The Mullah's ultimate aim was to restore peace and enforce the laws of God to make the country a house of peace. The peace began in what was the home of Nasir Khan where many of the characters in the narrative also became teachers for students, the Taliban.
  
  If you can bear the violence, there is much education of the origin of the Taliban and basic human goodness. The rest is history.
  
  BonnieK
  
  Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.
  
• 
  Wes F

  Thought this might be an interesting read, but overall it was rather a drag & dragged. It's a fictional telling of the origins of the Taliban, though by my understanding, a quite rosy re-telling. It does remind one that in the beginning--when they were getting their start--the Taliban had high aspirations & dreams for bringing peace to a land wracked by warlords, bandits, perverts, and law-breakers (well, was there really any law, since there'd been war & civil war for some 15 yrs?). But, it was all based on a very simplistic, extremist view of Islam that was skewed by the hateful/vengeful perspectives of the Muslim Brotherhood, which gave birth to al Qaeda...which led to ISIS/Daesh...which led to horrible repression, deaths & killings, buckets of ignorance, etc. Not to mention a lack of any kind of joy & pleasure in things like music, flying kites, etc. "House of Peace"--NOT--only a sham & shame & fruit that gave no life & that brought only death & destruction. All only a focus on the external, a fastidiousness of dry & dead religious rules/laws, completely lifeless & bringing only death & the destruction.
• 
  Emily Quinn

  This Shall Be A House Of Peace was a well put together book with a strong, emotional story that will be difficult to forget. Phil has done a great job here. As much as I really liked how Phil delivered his story and each chapter, I felt it was very heavily religious. This is purely a matter of opinion but it was sometimes difficult to stay focused on the story line when I was also trying to fathom out religious terms and scenes. It is something to expect in a story of this nature, however. I wrote a more in depth review over on my blog if anyone wants to check it out:
  https://aquintillionwords.com/2019/04...
• 
  Vikkie

  This has been a really difficult read for me. I found I wasn't fully absorbing the content of the book. However, I must admit- this is far from my preferred genre of romance reads.
With that said, I have the greatest respect for Phil Halton. He has laid out the reality of life in Afghanistan and the harsh struggles that have been going on for decades.
This is a well written book, it is clear that the author has done his research. I have no doubt that the inspiration for this book has come from Halton's time as a soldier. The reader is definitely able to learn from this book.
I have to emphasise that although this isn't my preferred genre, I would highly recommend this book to other readers.
• 
  Kendra

  A fictionalized imagining of the development of the Taliban in Afghanistan, centring on an enigmatic Mullah (religious teacher). It's a quite horrifying and violent story.
• 
  Raya P Morrison

  Not a perfect novel, but deeply human, positing a lot of questions about devotion, religion, purity of our intentions and righteousness.
• 
  Crystal Hunter

  For readers of Khaled Hosseini, this is a definitely worthwhile read. It looks at the rise of the Taliban and the current war for Islam from the "other" side. Well-written and researched novel.
• 
  Michelle Reardon

  Loved this book. Brought me into the world of Islam in a deeply personal way.
• 
  Nicole

  Wow...super interesting read...I'm not sure if it's historical fiction, but provides insight into how the taliban came to power in Afghanistan.