Burnt Shadows

With Kim now back in America, Harry goes to the beach with Hiroko, Sajjad, and Raza. Hiroko teases Harry about his dyed hair, which is for Harry’s cover as a Pathan Afghan man, for which he uses the alias “Lala Buksh.”

Hiroko tells Harry about the elaborate fairy tales she created to abstract the horror of Nagasaki but says that she was never able to tell them to Raza or show Raza her scars. Harry recalls that the only issue when he applied to the CIA was his belief that America should never have dropped the nuclear bombs. Harry feels awkward at pushing Hiroko to discuss her past, but Hiroko assures Harry that she lives without survivor’s guilt and is grateful for her rekindled friendship with Ilse, whom she now talks to by phone. Harry marvels at all that Hiroko and Sajjad have overcome, and Hiroko admits that Raza may have a harder time overcoming obstacles because he has faced fewer of them. After the second failed exam, Sajjad made Raza come to work in the soap factory, hoping to frighten Raza into pursuing college. Hiroko tells Harry about Raza’s test anxiety.

Hiroko and Sajjad go walking on the beach while Harry talks to Raza. Raza, who now calls the American “Uncle Harry,” is delighted that Harry remembered to bring him the marshmallows he asked for, as Raza plans to use them to impress Bilal’s older sister, Salma. Harry invents a story about Kim having test anxiety to make Raza feel better and promises to teach Raza test-taking strategies, using the possibility of attending university in America as motivation and suggesting that Raza could earn a scholarship. Harry tells Raza, “In America, everyone can be American” (189). Harry briefly considers that Raza—ethnically ambiguous, desperate for purpose, and gifted with languages—would be an ideal CIA recruit. 

Raza calls Salma to tell her that he got her marshmallows from New York, as promised. As their relationship has never gone beyond secret phone calls, Raza insists that Salma meet him in person to collect the marshmallows, but Salma demurs. Raza tries to impress Salma by announcing that his Uncle Harry is going to help him get into an American university and jokingly suggests that Salma marry him and come to America, too. Salma tells Raza that her parents would never let her marry him because of Hiroko’s history in Nagasaki. The parents in the neighborhood are all too afraid that Hiroko’s radiation exposure will result in unhealthy babies and are worried that Raza may be secretly “deformed.”

Salma hangs up, and Raza is devastated by the rejection. Raza considers that Salma would be allowed to marry Raza’s cousin Altamash, who recently visited Karachi and was immediately more popular than Raza. Raza was also upset that people assumed Altamash, and not Raza, was Sajjad’s son, because of Raza’s Japanese features. Raza even considers his German middle name, Konrad, as another factor that makes him a foreigner in his own home. Raza resolves to take the college entry exam again and to go to an American university after all. 

Chapter 20 opens on Raza standing in the doorway of Hiroko and Sajjad’s room as Sajjad lies on the bed in deep distress, then flashes back to the night before, when Harry comes to dinner at the Ashrafs’ to celebrate Raza’s decision to take the exams a third time. Raza wears the cashmere jacket, which he jokingly offers to return to Harry. Raza announces that Harry promised to get an American university to pay his tuition. Harry clarifies that he only promised to help Raza with test strategies and that he can’t promise that Raza will be accepted or earn a scholarship. Harry explains that the test Raza failed, Islamic Studies, isn’t necessary for admission to American schools and that he encouraged Raza to retake the test so that Raza could also have options for university locally. Sajjad compares Harry’s promises to James’s promises to make Sajjad a lawyer and throws Harry out of the house.

The next morning, Raza accidentally breaks Sajjad’s tape recorder, one of his most prized possessions. Desperate to please his father, Raza goes to Sohrab Goth to buy a new tape recorder at the flea market. Raza searches the slums for Abdullah, hoping he can help him barter with the merchants. Raza finds Abdullah and evades his questions with a cover story: Raza claims to be an orphaned Afghan refugee who made an oath never to speak of his past until the Soviets leave Afghanistan. Abdullah believes Raza’s story and welcomes Raza as a brother. Raza asks Abdullah for help bartering, but Abdullah assumes that Raza wants to buy weapons, which Abdullah helps smuggle into mujahideen training camps. Abdullah promises to teach Raza how to handle an AK-47 if Raza tells him what Harry was doing at the fish market. Raza covers by saying that there are other ways than guns to beat the Soviets, implying that he works with Harry and unwittingly hinting at Harry’s real role with the CIA. Abdullah asks Raza to teach him English, and Raza agrees.