Reading T.S. Eliot’s letters, one learns how an obscure work by an unknown writer is pushed to the attention of a...
Updated 28 Oct, 2019 11:39am
ATWOOD, EVARISTO SHARE 2019’S BOOKER PRIZE
The Booker Prize for Fiction this year has been awarded jointly to...
Published 27 Oct, 2019 07:04am
A translated collection of articles by fellow writers, publishers and relatives about arguably the greatest short story
Published 20 Oct, 2019 06:59am
An autobiography traces an exhilarating life spent in a ceaseless struggle to know, discover and inform
Published 20 Oct, 2019 06:59am
A debut novel from a celebrated poet shows glimpses of the gorgeous and original imagery and the elliptical and
Published 20 Oct, 2019 06:59am
Dr Rakhshanda Jalil is one of those rare language scholars and literary translators who have an exceptional command...
Published 20 Oct, 2019 06:59am
Arundhati Roy is a fiction writer reacting to the world around her with facts, which is why her words have the effect
Published 13 Oct, 2019 07:05am
A former career diplomat’s autobiography is full of sometimes hilarious and sometimes depressing anecdotes about
Published 13 Oct, 2019 07:05am
The 2019 Booker Prize for Fiction will be announced on Oct 14, 2019. Here’s a quick recap of the shortlist to know...
Published 13 Oct, 2019 07:05am
The most striking feature of the 6th Islamabad Literature Festival was that it provided a forum for open debate and bold
Published 06 Oct, 2019 07:04am
Despite the author’s considerable linguistic ability and acerbic wit, a very odd type of nervousness pervades this
Published 06 Oct, 2019 07:04am
One may not agree with the author’s treatise about its origins, but the superb photography and historical context
Published 06 Oct, 2019 07:04am
In the course of my journey with Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib’s Divans, I noticed how he carefully chose verses ...
Published 06 Oct, 2019 07:04am
The withdrawal of the Nelly Sachs Prize to Kamila Shamsie devalues the prize itself, rather than diminish the stature
Published 29 Sep, 2019 07:09am
A book takes the hot-button topic of match-fixing in cricket and handles it with great dexterity, providing tremendous
Published 29 Sep, 2019 07:09am
An insightful writer contemplates knowledge that cultivates wisdom, as opposed to the mere accumulation of information
Published 29 Sep, 2019 07:09am
This August, the Hindu right-wing leader Narendra Modi provocatively revoked India-held Jammu and Kashmir’s (IHK)...
Published 29 Sep, 2019 07:09am
The Key to the American Constitution
Ali Tahir
According to the author, a barrister from Lincoln’s Inn, law...
Published 29 Sep, 2019 07:09am
Umera Ahmed’s latest novel is all about simplistic binaries and the rejection of the world in
favour of the author’s
Published 22 Sep, 2019 06:58am
Despite sometimes mawkish dialogue and a lack of character development beyond its protagonists, a novel attempts
Published 22 Sep, 2019 06:58am
In the absence of a truly free press, a journalist lets readers draw their own conclusions about the 2018 elections
Published 22 Sep, 2019 06:58am
As I drove through the unfamiliar suburb of Acton on a sunny Sunday afternoon, I was thinking how London, with its...
Published 22 Sep, 2019 06:58am
A novel by a first-time writer and set in the bleak and wintry landscape of Kamchatka is unlike anything else recent
Published 15 Sep, 2019 07:02am
A valuable addition to Sindh studies, a new book presents the history and oral narratives of a community largely
Published 15 Sep, 2019 07:02am
The 1884 satirical play The Ilbert Bill is a classic and, like all classics, it is speaks to us even today
Updated 16 Sep, 2019 11:23am
She was born in the same year as Allama Muhammad Iqbal, but outlived him by three decades. A true polymath, a woman...
Published 15 Sep, 2019 07:02am
A Taiwanese-American computer scientist examines what the race for global Artificial Intelligence dominance between
Published 08 Sep, 2019 07:06am
Two novelettes offer an empathetic portrayal of the brutal effects political environment and economic conditions
Published 08 Sep, 2019 07:06am
Hassan Abbas’ latest book provides good summaries of existing knowledge, but few fresh insights into a much-addressed
Published 08 Sep, 2019 07:06am
Every year around mid-August, with some degree of fanfare, the civil awards are announced by the government of...
Published 08 Sep, 2019 07:06am
IN THE AUTHOR’S OWN VOICE
Easily available text-to-voice technology means that any book can be turned into an...
Published 08 Sep, 2019 07:06am
An earnest debut that juxtaposes a family saga with the zeitgeist of pre- and post-Partition turmoil is richly detailed
Published 01 Sep, 2019 07:27am
A debut foray into adult fiction is like a force of nature, a testament to the power of words and masterful storytelling
Published 01 Sep, 2019 07:27am
Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s exile in Beirut has been written about. But his contribution to the magazine Lotus still need to
Published 01 Sep, 2019 07:27am
Stories based on crime are of interest to many readers. They highlight the socio-legal stalemate in society. ...
Published 01 Sep, 2019 07:27am
Daisy Rockwell’s superb translation of Khadija Mastur’s posthumous and oft-neglected novel makes it even more compelling
Published 25 Aug, 2019 07:11am
A strange sickness spreads through the land in a languorous, well-crafted novel about love and loss, fear and endurance
Published 25 Aug, 2019 07:11am
A seminal Urdu treatise on the Progressive Writers’ Movement is rendered into English by the formidable author’s
Updated 27 Aug, 2019 05:01pm
The letters in the seventh volume of T.S. Eliot’s massive correspondence — written during 1934-35 when he was a...
Updated 26 Aug, 2019 09:55am
Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize-winner Toni Morrison, who died August 5, allowed her imagination to boldly go where no
Published 18 Aug, 2019 07:16am
A must-read for those among us willing to critically re-examine our ideas about the past, sets the record straight about
Published 18 Aug, 2019 07:16am
Arundhati Roy’s most recent novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, is set largely in Delhi and Kashmir and weaves
Published 18 Aug, 2019 07:16am
As I write this column, a sense of agitation and urgency threatens to overpower my emotions. Recently, the Indian...
Published 18 Aug, 2019 07:16am
Health and Sustainable Development Goals for Pakistan Edited by Zulfiqar A. Bhutta and Jai K. Das
Published 18 Aug, 2019 07:16am
An English translation of the jail memoirs of the only surviving member of the Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case accused,
Published 11 Aug, 2019 07:06am
A sequel to a critically acclaimed debut novel allows us to see the lives of characters beyond the last page of the
Published 11 Aug, 2019 07:06am
Three collections by British poets give Pakistani English poetry new dimensions
Published 11 Aug, 2019 07:06am
M.D. Taseer, a leading poet and critic in the early and mid-20th century, gained recognition for his writing under...
Published 11 Aug, 2019 07:06am
A new presentation of Rumi’s verse is visually delightful and, while the English rendition is more interpretation than
Updated 05 Aug, 2019 01:06pm
Recently translated into English from Norwegian, a novel explores human loneliness, the power of words and what it means
Published 04 Aug, 2019 07:08am
A public health specialist urges us to look beyond doctor-patient relationships and at the policymakers
Published 04 Aug, 2019 07:08am
Hujum-i-fikr se dil misl-i-mauj larze hai Keh shishah nazuk-o-sehba-i-abginah gudaz [The heart pulses with a storm
Published 04 Aug, 2019 07:08am
Celebrated poet, lyricist, essayist and researcher Himayat Ali Shair, who passed away on July 16, never compromised
Published 28 Jul, 2019 07:00am
Turkish author Elif Shafak’s latest novel traces the life of an Istanbul prostitute after her death
and of others
Published 28 Jul, 2019 07:00am
In the 46 years since the demise of this iconic and enigmatic figure, there is still no singular biographical work that
Updated 02 Aug, 2019 08:52am
The Sensational Life and Death of Qandeel Baloch by Sanam Maher is about to be published in the United Kingdom as A...
Published 28 Jul, 2019 07:00am
A must-read biography of Begum Rana Liaquat Ali Khan pulls in material from both sides of the border to paint
Published 21 Jul, 2019 05:53am
The latest literary endeavour from a Pakistani author is a satisfying novella, two short stories and a narrative poem
Published 21 Jul, 2019 05:53am
A book expands the purpose of the art exhibition catalogue from a marketing tool and takes it into a discursive space
Published 21 Jul, 2019 05:53am
In November last year, during a session about literature and language at the International Islamic University in...
Published 21 Jul, 2019 05:53am
In Omar Shahid Hamid’s latest potboiler, games are being played, and not just on the cricket pitch
Published 14 Jul, 2019 06:55am
A book delves into the largely invisible phenomenon of transmen in India and attempts to highlight the discriminations
Published 14 Jul, 2019 06:55am
The importance of judicial commissions’ role in environmental protection is offset by the inadequacy of ad hoc solutions
Published 14 Jul, 2019 06:55am
In this age of mindless populism, narrow nationalism, renewed misogyny and personality cults, we stand sharply...
Published 14 Jul, 2019 06:55am
A translation of a French novel tells the tale of three characters separated by geography and social circumstances,
Published 07 Jul, 2019 07:24am
A fourth coffee-table book by an artist equally at home in poetry, prose, painting and music is deeply marked with
Published 07 Jul, 2019 07:24am
Richly illustrated and flawlessly written, the Mumbai-based Hecar Foundation’s Sindhnamah is a treasure trove on
Published 07 Jul, 2019 07:24am
There are several new books on Saadat Hassan Manto. Slowly and steadily, the pile keeps growing. Most are new ...
Published 07 Jul, 2019 07:24am
The 2nd Quetta Literary Festival was remarkable in particular for the quality of its audience, showcasing its political
Published 30 Jun, 2019 07:06am
The Quetta Literary Festival lived up to its hopeful tagline, discussing subjects ranging from the political to the
Published 30 Jun, 2019 07:06am
An invaluable resource provides an overview of where Sindh stands today, in any of the sectors related to its economy
Published 30 Jun, 2019 07:06am
Many years ago, in the bustling urban anarchy of Harvard Square, sprawled just outside the Harvard University ...
Published 30 Jun, 2019 07:06am
Celebrated Western scholar Juan Cole situates the birth of Islam in the middle of an apocalyptic showdown between Rome
Published 23 Jun, 2019 07:00am
An almost pre-adolescent high school take on the persecution of the vulnerable and on the gore, the greed and the
Published 23 Jun, 2019 07:00am
Peter Frankopan’s sequel to his bestseller is a breezy and compelling contemporary history combined with an insight
Published 23 Jun, 2019 07:00am
As we read in history, since ancient times the Indian subcontinent has attracted explorers and invaders to raid its...
Updated 24 Jun, 2019 09:40am
Introspection: Soul-searching Essays
Cdr (R) Khalid Durrani
This collection of essays — many of which originally...
Published 23 Jun, 2019 07:00am
Javed Jabbar’s latest book attempts to deal with Pakistan’s ‘image’ and integration problems, but is less than scholarly
Published 16 Jun, 2019 06:38am
Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina died in May 2019 at the young age of 48 but, in his short lifetime, he made as ...
Published 16 Jun, 2019 06:38am
A Russian scholar’s exploration of the rule of four female heads of government in South Asia makes for fruitful reading
Published 16 Jun, 2019 06:38am
A new novel presents a very believable oral history of a fictional band from the 1970s, with all the sex, drugs, rock
Published 16 Jun, 2019 06:38am
An anthology of essays on the critical challenges facing Pakistan tries to identify the reasons for the chronic problems
Published 09 Jun, 2019 07:03am
A celebrated Tamil novelist writes two sequels to his own award-winning and vilified novel and allows the reader
Published 09 Jun, 2019 07:03am
Mountains, forests, the earth and waters in Pakistan’s enchanting folk tales are characters in their own right
Published 09 Jun, 2019 07:03am
I begin with a qualification that Pakistan’s intellectual scene — academic, artistic, literary and social — is...
Published 09 Jun, 2019 07:03am
Muhammad (PBUH): Role Model for Humanity Professor Muhammad Rafi A simply written, easy-to-read-in-one-go summation
Published 09 Jun, 2019 07:03am
A new novel about Bahadur Shah Zafar’s court and one of his concubines goes further than most popular historical fiction
Published 02 Jun, 2019 07:16am
The psychiatrist author of an award-winning collection of short stories isn’t interested in the endings of stories —
Published 02 Jun, 2019 07:16am
A new book explores the nexus between Indian politics and Bollywood
Published 02 Jun, 2019 07:16am
Have you ever looked at your bookshelf and noticed how many titles by women have made it there? Not many, I would...
Published 02 Jun, 2019 07:16am
Nasir Abbas Nayyar’s latest collection of short stories uses symbolism to code real life social experiences into pieces
Published 26 May, 2019 06:15am
A delightful travelogue not only captures the essence of long-distance train travel but imbues the reader with the
Published 26 May, 2019 06:15am
An Iranian philosopher ponders about existence and the difference between thinking and philosophy, among other things
Published 26 May, 2019 06:15am
In her polyvocal novel The Runaways, Fatima Bhutto examines Pakistan’s fluidity and reinvention in a digital age...
Published 26 May, 2019 06:15am
Former cricketer Shahid Afridi’s memoirs of his career are as freewheeling and explosive as his batting and will likely
Published 19 May, 2019 07:19am
A debut collection of short stories ranges in topic from nostalgia and politics to media and sexual abuse, but mainly
Published 19 May, 2019 07:19am
A respected police officer boils down Pakistan’s various governance challenges to an elite capture of the state and
Published 19 May, 2019 07:19am
Partition is not the end, but a beginning for Krishna Sobti’s elegiac and lyrical A Gujarat Here, A Gujarat There,...
Published 19 May, 2019 07:19am
Uzma Aslam Khan’s latest novel can be a difficult read at times, but she deserves credit for her vast research and for
Published 12 May, 2019 07:02am
