Product Description

A world-class tale of love and deceit, rivalry and destiny ifrom the Lahore-based writer Uzma Aslam Khan. 'Standing in a room with eight thousand tiny creatures, witnessing them perform a dance that few humans even knew occurred; this was life. Everywhere she looked, each caterpillar nosed the air like a wand and out passed silk...When Dia watched one spin, she came closer to understanding the will of God than at any other time.' Dia is the daughter of a silk farmer, Riffat -- an innovative, decisive businesswoman. Like her mother, Dia seems at first sight unrestricted, spirited and resourceful. She seems free. But freedom has its own borders, patrolled by the covetous and the zealous, and there are those who yearn to jump the fence. Daanish has come back to Karachi for his father's funeral, all the way from America, a land where there are plenty of rules but few restrictions. When Dia and Daanish meet, they chafe against all the formalities. It is left to a handful of silkworms, slipped inside a friend's dupatta, tickling skin, to rupture the fragile peace of both their houses -- to make the space in which Dia and Daanish can create something together...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28395 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

Review
'A story of cultural and ethnic conflict in spare and elegant prose that resonates beyond its immediate setting' Observer 'A haunting and beautiful book' Glasgow Sunday Mail 'Original and emotional... as intricately patterned and vivid as lengths of top-quality silk.' Sunday Telegraph 'Cocoons are not the only things that explode in this novel. The silken prose emphasises the conflict between the tender subject and a world (in this case Pakistan) where violence of every sort has become institutionalised. It is a self-confident novel and marks the emergence of a new generation of Pakistani novelists unencumbered by the icons or the ideology of a wretched state.' Tariq Ali

Sunday Telegraph
‘Original and emotional... as intricately patterned and vivid as lengths of top-quality silk.’

Glasgow Sunday Mail
‘A haunting and beautiful book’

Customer Reviews

beautiful more than clever
I ordered this book from the UK even though the US version is going to be out soon, because I heard some intriguing things about it. What I realize after finishing the book is that it's great not just because of its lyrical prose and passionate storylines, but because it's been a while since I read something this sincere. It will not appeal to those looking for pat breezy one-liners, although, for a pretty big book, it reads surprisingly quickly. But it will appeal to those who want to think, and feel.

Also, it will surprise readers who assume that a book set in a Muslim country will be about Islam. This isn't. It's more about race, class, environmental destruction, forbidden love, and even more forbidden sex. And it's all woven together so smoothly it's easy to lose sight of how many threads this author's tapestry is made with. Take the character Salaamat, for instance. He is one of the indigenous people of Sindh, a southern province of Pakistan. What he suffers at the hands of opportunists both within and without the country, and his subsequent fury, disillusionment, and revenge, is delicately, yet horrifyingly, dealt with. Specially in the context of today, his story begs the question: is he a terrorist, a freedom fighter, or a victim? Then there are steamy scenes on the beach between two young lovers, and there is a hilarious window into Pakistani television.

Overall, a beautiful book, which, unlike a lot of the clever tongue-twisters in the market today, will stay with you a long time after you've read it.

very original, very strong
This is not like other books I've read by Indian and Pakistani authors. It stands on its own. This is not to say that it isn't about the place; it is, specifically, about Karachi during the turbulent 80s. But the story and the very accessible and intimate style its told in resonates beyond its own borders in a way that not all subcon literature -- in fact, not all literature -- does for me, especially these days. Trespassing is charged, even fierce. And yet it is very tender. It is this combination that makes it feel so real. Plot-wise, all the many threads tie up so smoothly and at such a high dramatic pitch that I raced through this book in just three days. Then I went back and read some of my favorite passages again. Extremely powerful. A must read!

What a book!
This is a terrific novel. It seems to have flown under a lot of people's radar but really it's streets ahead of a lot of what passes for great literature these days. Surprised it hasn't picked up a prize or two, oh well...

There's far too much here to summarize. Suffice to say the writing's terrific, the plots (there are several) trundle along and the writer doesn't shy away from controversy (sex, torture, geopolitics anyone?) while at the same time putting the characters first in her story. Also the structure is brilliant, five or six plot threads that join and separate and then come around again unexpectedly. If you're looking for a big satisfying novel to settle into for a while, here it is.

Oh and it may change your thinking about Pakistan. It certainly did mine.