Episode 125 with Jamil Jan Kochai, Master Allegorist/Worldbuilder and Author of the Award-Winning 99 Nights in Logar, and the Upcoming Story Collection, The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories

Episode 125 Notes and Links to Jamil Jan Kochai’s Work

 

    On Episode 125 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Jamil Jan Kochai, and the two discuss, among other topics, his early relationship with languages and reading, an early fascination with Harry Potter, his family’s proud histories and storytelling legacies, Jamil’s hoop skills, his book 99 Nights and Logar and its allegory and realism, its connections to contemporary Afghan history, as well as his recent “love letter to his father” in The New Yorker.  

    Jamil Jan Kochai is the author of 99 Nights in Logar (Viking, 2019), a finalist for the Pen/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel and the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. He was born in an Afghan refugee camp in Peshawar, Pakistan, but he originally hails from Logar, Afghanistan. His short stories and essays have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Ploughshares, and The O. Henry Prize Stories 2018. Currently, he is a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. 

Jamil Jan Kochai’s Website

 

Preorder The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories

 

“Jamil Jan Kochai on Résumés as Stories” from The New Yorker, May 2022

 

“Occupational Hazards”-Short Story-from May 2022, The New Yorker

 

At about 1:40, Jamil and Pete discuss NBA loyalties as fellow Sacramentans 

 

At about 2:30, Pete shouts out some unique description from Jamil’s 99 Nights in Logar

 

At about 4:05, Jamil gives background on his family roots in Logar, Afghanistan and Peshawar, Pakistán, as well as how amorphous borders have affected loyalties and pride 

 

At about 7:00, Jamil describes his childhood moves and family circumstances that led to his family laying down roots in California, as well as his relationship with language  

 

At about 9:15, Alice Norman Elementary and Mrs. Long are shouted out as huge parts of Jamil learning and loving the English language

 

At about 10:20, Jamil responds to Pete’s questions about the roles of lore, stories, and storytellers in his life

 

At about 12:30, Jamil lists books and writers that captivated and inspired him from an early age, as well as ideas of escape and fantasy-entering a “new world”

 

At about 16:25, Pete wonders about “generations” of Afghan immigrants, Khaled Hosseini’s impact on a younger Jamil, and Jamil’s current view of The Kite Runner

 

At about 19:30, Jamil compares The Kite Runner to a seminal book in his life, One Hundred Years of Solitude

 

At about 21:20, Jamil discusses ideas of pressure that may come with being seen as a representative of Afghan/Afghan-American cultures

At about 24:00, Pete asks Jamil about “the white gaze” and feedback and thought process that went along with not translating many words from the book

 

At about 29:35, Pete and Jamil fanboy about Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Jamil details One Hundred Years of Solitude importance to him, in addition to listing 1984 and Native Son and other formative texts

 

At about 31:40, Jamil does an almost perfect job in recounting the iconic opening line of One Hundred Years of Solitude

 

At about 34:10-35:50, Pete and Jamil sing the praises of Jess Walter, as both a writer and baller 

 

At about 35:50, Jamil diagnoses his own basketball game in a detailed scouting report

 

At about 36:50, Pete asks a followup question regarding Jamil’s growth and awareness as a writer and “ ‘Eureka’ moments,” including early work done in high school English classes

 

At about 41:40, Jamil shouts out some standout Italo Calvino work

 

At about 43:10, Pete speaks of pitch for a future article 

 

At about 43:40, Pete fanboys over “The Gospel According to Mark” by Borges 

 

At about 45:25, Jamil responds to Pete’s questions about the two epigraphs for 99 Nights in Logar 

 

At about 50:00, Jamil focuses on the Kipling epigraph in describing his objectives and challenges in writing 99 Nights in Logar 

 

At about 51:40, Jamil traces the evolution of Budabash as a character and symbol in 

 

At about 54:00, Jamil responds to Pete’s questions about Marwand as a musafir and the book as charting an ephemeral journey      

 

At about 56:00, Jamil explains his mindset about giving Marwand “agency,” including how his writing training prepared him for writing about agency

 

At about 59:40, Pete summarizes the moving story of Marwand’s uncle

 

At about 1:00:50, Jamil provides background on the genesis and role of “The Thief,” an intriguing character from the book

 

At about 1:06:00, Jamil and Pete discuss the history of Afghanistan that is incorporated into the novel, including how Jamil finessed this history in a way that “benefited the story itself”

 

At about 1:09:05, Jamil describes the significance and real-world links to a scene from the book involving an uncovering of bones

 

At about 1:10:40, Pete and Jamil ruminate on praise for his writing from Jesmyn Ward

 

At about 1:11:10, Pete and Jamil discuss Jamil’s recent publication from The New Yorker, “Occupational Hazards”

 

At about 1:14:50, Jamil highlights his upcoming collection of short stories and highlights local bookstores as great places to buy his books-Bookshop.org and The Indie Book Store, among others

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The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.

    Please tune in for Episode 126 with Kevin Owens, a veteran of overseas professional basketball and a current teacher and basketball coach. He is an entrepreneur and founder of Overseas Famous LLC, a multimedia platform created to give athletes playing abroad a voice. These stories provide a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on with overseas sports. His 2021 book is called Overseas Famous. While he had the name first, he is now the second most popular Kevin Owens in the world.

    The episode will air on June 7.