Karachi
Fahmida Riaz
2018
Vani Prakashan
I listened to this novel in the audio version so I am not sure of the page numbers or the publication details. Storytel lists it as a Hindi novel, which if it is, is a Hindi that I am not familiar with. It is so replete with Urdu words that five minutes into the book, I was sure I cannot fully comprehend what they are saying. You will get the gist of the narrative but the inability to understand every word meant that I could not grasp the beauty of it fully. The narrative is not so easy to follow in the audio form as there are many plots and many voices. Each is significant and engaging in itself. But I often lost track of the thread that was binding the whole thing together. The book starts with a description of a plane journey of a women in Pakistan but fast moves to commentary on the social, political, economic situation of Karachi as well as the rest of Pakistan. Much of the struggle that followed partition and the change of East Pakistan to Bangladesh, has been covered from a macro perspective and how that impacted individual lives.
Riaz’s work is always exemplary. Her writing is bold and strong enough to awaken people from their slumber as she made clear through her writing and recitation of ‘Tum bilkul hum jaise nikle’ (available on youtube for those who wish to hear).
I can’t say it is a must read but if you are familiar with Urdu and are interested in Pakistan, I think you will enjoy it more.