This book revealed to me how little I knew about Pakistan's modern history. The circular nature of the narrative highlighted the circular nature of politics. I tend to enjoy works with this structure, a personal story told against a backdrop of political change. The Lowland and Kolya are two of my favorites of this style. ( )

This is a first novel by this author. I believe that the story is good. The writing is somewhat uneven. Parts of it seem irrelevant or insubstantial for the story. The overall flow is stilted. There are portions that are poetic and evocative. Also, there are some parts that nicely portray or provide cultural background and practices. ( )

Allicht geeft dit boek een goed beeld van het leven in Pakistan in een middelklassefamilie, verwijzigen naar politieke en sociale achtergrond eind twintigste, begin eenentwintigste eeuw. De soms oppervlakkige dialogen, de eenvoudige stijl deed het boek vroegtijdig dichtklappen. ( )

The Review

I’ve heard quite a bit of praise about this debut novel from Ali Sethi. I admittedly had high expectations for this novel based on my love of the assumed similar novels The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. Like these two novels, Sethi has written a book about living a live in a country undergoing turmoil and political unrest. However, this story is much different than those written by Khaled Hosseini.

There were parts of this novel that I found to be intriguing and enlightening. I did feel a greater sense of understanding about what has transpired in Pakistan’s recent history. Political activities and religious influences have caused great effects on the country’s people and culture, specifically on the women of Pakistan and the rights they were afforded. Zaki, the main character, is surrounded by the women in has family in such a great way that he was sensitive to human nature and rights. Zaki was a bright young boy and a deeply introspective thinker and saw the inequality that surrounded him. The reader of this novel comes to sympathize for Zaki and his wishes for a better life, not only for himself but for those who he loves.

What made this novel a difficult read was the structure in which this book was written. There is inconsistency in the storyline which tells the histories of the characters involved. Specifically, the timeline of the story is visited at different intervals of the characters’ lives. Therefore, it takes the reader some time to understand where he is at in the story and whose history he is reading about. This, in addition to the numerous characters with ethnic names, made it challenging for me to follow. The “back and forth” in the story line works for some novels, but for this particular read, I would have recommended a beginning to end method of story telling by starting with the Grandmother’s life through the ending.

Another hurdle that I faced was the language barrier and method of communication, or lack thereof, between the characters. I didn’t find their prose intriguing enough. Much is learned in the overall story telling, however it is effortful to understand their psyches.

One thing that I took away from this novel is the ultimate peace and joy that I was born a citizen of such a remarkable and wonderful country. I live in a land that is not dominated by religious insistence. I breathe and speak in a country in which I am entitled to my opinion and may speak of it as freely as I wish. As a woman, I fear that I never take for granted the liberties and equality that I enjoy in my daily existence. This is not the case in so much of our world… today and yesterday.

On Sher’s “Out of Ten Scale:”

The motto of one of Zaki’s schools was “I think and therefore I am.” I can appreciate this novel for making me think about and question the inequalities of this world. As far as providing a recommendation, I struggle with that. This book is not for everybody. Of that, I am certain. If the history of this region intrigues you and you are interested in learning more about growing up in Pakistan, this book will be one that you will certainly enjoy. However, for me it was a book that took me considerable time to read and absorb. I felt weighted down by its topic with little hope for the characters. With the stack of novels that awaited my eyes, I felt resentfully trapped in such a sad tale. Therefore, for the genre Fiction:Historical (Foreign), I am going to rate this book a 5 OUT OF 10. However, please note that the average rating on Amazon.com is 3 1/2 stars with nearly every reviewer giving it 4 stars. So, this rating may be specific to my reading interests. ( )

This is the story of a young Pakistani boy, Zaki Shirazi, being raised by his widowed mother who publishes a women's magazine. They live with his paternal grandmother who is also raising her niece, Samar Api. The story begins with Zaki's arrival in Pakistan for Samar Api's wedding, then reverts to his mother's youth and works it's way back to the wedding at the end.

This story kept me engaged, and I enjoyed it very much. However, until the middle of the 4th chapter (almost 100 pages in), I was thoroughly confused. The 2nd & 3rd chapters jumped around too much, and there were a lot of conversations in Pakistani (is that what the language is?) that were neither translated, nor discernible by context. But Sethi hit his stride in Chapter 4 with stories of 3 generations coming of age in Pakistan.

To my shame, I had little knowledge of Pakistan's history before I read this. I still had little knowledge after, because historical incidents were alluded to in family conversations & actions, but not explained outright. The book did send me off for a history lesson, though, and that may have been the point.

All in all, an enjoyable and definitely recommended book! ( )