While researching her novel in the late 1990s, Ellis spent time interviewing girls and women in refugee camps in Pakistan. The ‘honey light’ of early morning Kabul as portrayed in The Breadwinner. But the storm clouds of war are gathering once more, and Parvana must secure her father’s release before it’s too late. “When you’re a boy, you can go anywhere you like!” says fellow traveller Shauzia (Soma Chhaya) as Parvana experiences a whole new world – a magic-carpet ride full of vibrant colour and bustling life. So Parvana cuts her hair, puts on the clothes of her dead brother, and ventures out into the streets. When Nurullah is arrested by the Taliban, Parvana’s family (mother, sister, baby brother) are unable to buy food, since women cannot leave their homes unchaperoned. “Stories remain in our hearts, even when all else is gone,” Nurullah tells Parvana, although she’s starting to wonder: “What’s the use?” A teacher by trade, he lost a leg in the Russian war, but is now considered a subversive for encouraging his daughters to be independent – to learn the history of their land and to understand the liberating power of its stories.

We first meet 11-year-old Parvana (affectingly voiced by Saara Chaudry) on the streets of Kabul, where she is helping her father, Nurullah (Ali Badshah), to sell their meagre goods.

Nu kin breadwinner