A new edition of this acclaimed debut novel, published to coincide with the release of the author's new novel. A sensual love story set in 1967 in the bustling city of Chittagong, East Pakistan. It is a time of boom and ferment. A time when a household cook may dream of fame and fortune, a bearer brazenly spit in the drinks of oblivious sahibs, an ayah sublimely seduce a minisahib, and a letterwriter link the dead with the living.