Facing up to acid violence in South Asian writing
Published 19 Jun, 2016 07:33am
On the immensely popular Humans of New York project as a social commentary of our times
Published 19 Jun, 2016 07:26am
Malik Sajad takes us on a chilling ride as he tries to grapple with Kashmir’s history
Published 19 Jun, 2016 07:15am
An exploration of the role of the public intellectual in society through a volume of essays compiled by Romila Thapar
Published 19 Jun, 2016 07:06am
Zarina Bhatty recalls the course of the unconventional life she chose in From Purdah to Piccadilly
Published 19 Jun, 2016 07:06am
A Drop: Lost in Time contains poetry that has a simplicity to it
Published 19 Jun, 2016 07:06am
Nile Green offers illuminating historical accounts of people advocating for their faith as entrepreneurs in the exchange
Published 12 Jun, 2016 07:46am
On writers who manage to escape exoticism and stereotypes while working in an idiom entirely alien to the setting,
Published 12 Jun, 2016 07:38am
Joseph E. Stiglitz’s latest publication is a scathing, statistically-backed indictment of modern-day capitalism, which
Published 12 Jun, 2016 07:33am
Despite offering witty insight into an array of topics, the many neuroses of Elizabeth McKenzie’s squirrel-obsessed
Published 12 Jun, 2016 07:27am
Through the prism of linguistics and lexicography, one can see the changed and the changing face of Urdu language
Published 12 Jun, 2016 07:19am
A study of forest management and accompanying issues in Swat from 1915-1969
Published 12 Jun, 2016 07:19am
Nearly 4,000 entries from 47 countries were received for this year’s Commonwealth Short Story award, for the best...
Published 12 Jun, 2016 07:19am
A novel based on Partition, Tamas tells a story of dark times, yet with moments in which humanity triumphs above all
Updated 05 Jun, 2016 08:32am
The 100-year art project is gaining momentum, as it chose its author of 2016 — David Mitchell, author of the...
Published 05 Jun, 2016 07:01am
Anjum Katyal’s well-researched study gives insight into the life and work of Badal Sircar and highlights the need for
Updated 05 Jun, 2016 08:12am
A new female voice in Urdu writing, Saima Iram holds her own with stories that are hard-hitting and reflective of
Updated 08 Jan, 2017 08:32am
Sophia Khan’s novel is an absorbing read which has an intricate plot — and therein lies its weakness
Updated 05 Jun, 2016 08:20am
Adam Johnson’s latest collection of uneasy short stories presents characters struggling with a displaced and besieged
Updated 05 Jun, 2016 08:21am
Jem Roberts encapsulates the journey of the writer Douglas Adams and his most popular creation
Updated 05 Jun, 2016 08:30am
This memoir of a retired senior scientist provides a glimpse of the atomic energy development programme in Pakistan.
Published 29 May, 2016 08:11am
JLF Southbank was a pared-down affair this year
Updated 05 Jun, 2016 08:40am
Taking a broader look at the strengths and weaknesses of Pakistan’s taxation system
Published 29 May, 2016 08:11am
The beauty of the tale lies in the telling, and the narrative here is characteristic Ghulam Abbas; lucid and layered
Published 29 May, 2016 08:11am
The poet whose life coincided with one of the most important periods in the history of European poetry called
Published 29 May, 2016 08:11am
Nadeem Farooq Paracha draws on his experiences to depict the volatile social and political landscape of the 1970s
Updated 05 Jun, 2016 08:44am
Journalist Danny Lockwood’s account of changing demographics in his hometown Dewsbury is polemic but speaks of a larger
Published 29 May, 2016 08:11am
Akbar Naqvi demystifies Sadequain’s body of work
Published 22 May, 2016 07:26am
On the cross-cultural vicissitudes of an Arabic work of fiction
Updated 25 May, 2016 06:31pm
This book is a corpus of stage, radio, and television dramas. A writer is chosen for each category, to express the
Published 22 May, 2016 07:26am
Utopia is not merely a work of fantastical fiction; it is one of the most influential and prophetic books ever written
Updated 27 May, 2016 09:12pm
While Urdu literary criticism is thriving, Nasir Abbas Nayyar’s pioneering contributions elevate its colonial
Published 22 May, 2016 07:02am
A treatise on the lives of Muslim women of the subcontinent from the 13th to 18th century
Published 22 May, 2016 07:02am
The novelist’s short story is a step down from Gone Girl
Published 22 May, 2016 07:02am
Despite some interesting first-hand accounts, maulana Samiul Haq reveals little about Taliban thought — whether of the
Published 15 May, 2016 08:37am
Despite somewhat dreary content, Vanessa Tait’s writing style is contemporary and refreshing in The Looking Glass House
Published 15 May, 2016 08:26am
Fates and Furies is a novel that is somewhat reminiscent of Gone Girl, at the outset at least
Published 15 May, 2016 08:21am
Written in an engaging style, Kitchen comes across as a work of fiction that belongs in our social milieu.
Published 15 May, 2016 08:15am
Kamal Ahmed Rizvi’s posthumously published book makes the art, literature and theatre scene of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s
Published 15 May, 2016 08:11am
Nazneen Sheikh’s latest novel is about a Buddha statue that seems to carry a curse which brings death and misery to
Published 15 May, 2016 08:04am
Various factors associated with the 18th Amendment are analysed by scholars in Making Federation Work
Published 15 May, 2016 08:02am
Historian Murad Ali Baig’s first novel takes us into the world of Shah Jahan’s four sons and his daughters Jahanara
Updated 21 May, 2016 04:04pm
Haroon Khalid’s new book is a study of religious folk practices, fertility cults, sacred trees and legends about saints…
Published 08 May, 2016 07:28am
Haroon Khalid is an educationist with an academic background in anthropology from the Lahore University of Management
Published 08 May, 2016 07:28am
How the rich and political flavours of Shakespeare’s plays are inspired by the Muslim world of his times
Published 08 May, 2016 07:28am
Muhammad Umar Memon’s selections and commentary on Manto are a critical intervention in liberating Manto from commonly
Published 08 May, 2016 07:28am
Essentially a light read or coffee-table book, this illustrated history includes many a fascinating photograph too.
Published 08 May, 2016 07:28am
Andrew Michael Hurley’s eerie novel is an impressive debut
Published 08 May, 2016 07:28am
Tariq Hasan studies the Deobandi and independence movements in British India, attempting to distinguish the former from
Published 08 May, 2016 07:28am
John Grisham’s Rogue Lawyer lacks a gripping central plot driving the narrative
Published 08 May, 2016 07:28am
An addition to the very few travel guides available, Islamabad Travel Guide packs in detailed information which will
Published 03 May, 2016 12:28am
J.M. Coetzee and Arabella Kurtz attempt to bridge the distance between narrative technique and psychotherapy
Updated 02 May, 2016 11:49pm
A mystery with a parallel plot: Akbar Agha’s new novel is a thriller
Updated 02 May, 2016 11:55pm
Water in the Wilderness is a study of the biological and cultural diversity of Pakistan, and makes us understand the
Updated 03 May, 2016 12:03am
Ali Madeeh Hashmi’s biography covers all the facets of his grandfather’s life
Updated 03 May, 2016 12:13am
On the writer’s use of coded language to present his contemporary reality
Updated 03 May, 2016 12:48am
Yann Martel’s latest novel is no less brilliant than the preceding ones
Updated 03 May, 2016 12:54am
In his treatise on the princely states, Yaqoob Khan Bangash examines their historical trajectories as well as the post
Updated 03 May, 2016 01:08am
Literature festivals should focus on celebrating the written and spoken word, and should bring together those with a
Published 24 Apr, 2016 08:27am
“What is the media?” This was one of the questions panellists attempted to answer at the session titled ...
Published 24 Apr, 2016 08:22am
You know, I’m a lawyer by profession. But I was born and brought up in a family where poetry is the spoken language,
Published 24 Apr, 2016 08:21am
Several panels dwelled upon the inspiration behind fiction narratives
Published 24 Apr, 2016 08:13am
The session titled ‘Regional Connectivity and Stability?’ at ILF was moderated by Haroon Sharif. The discussion...
Published 24 Apr, 2016 08:12am
The sessions based around Pakistan’s qaumi zubaan introduced a variety of thoughts
Published 24 Apr, 2016 08:10am
ILF carried on the tradition of the Urdu mushaira by inviting around 20 poets representing both the younger...
Published 24 Apr, 2016 08:08am
In your books, there is a theme of feminism running side by side with patriarchy in Pakistan. You have these strong
Published 24 Apr, 2016 08:05am
From the women’s protection bill to education issues and projection in art, several sessions focused on gender-specific
Published 24 Apr, 2016 08:00am
Does a liberal arts training aid the development of a “civic sense”, a realisation that “there are multiple,...
Published 24 Apr, 2016 07:59am
For many people, particularly those who aren’t enthusiasts, literature is little more than a subject studied in...
Published 24 Apr, 2016 07:57am
The successful launch of Hyderabad Literature Festival’s first edition at a time when a literature festival was...
Published 24 Apr, 2016 07:55am
A chessboard analogy of politicians is an extended metaphor … Rifaat Hamid Ghani’s debut novel is a teaser that is not
Published 17 Apr, 2016 09:27am
Julien Columeau’s works have added to Urdu’s repertoire by introducing new ways of engaging with its cultural rhetoric
Published 17 Apr, 2016 09:21am
David Mitchell’s latest novel Slade House says something about humanity, immortality and if it’s even possible to save
Published 17 Apr, 2016 09:16am
Dr Tehseen Firaqi’s new book, a collection of essays and research papers, is an invaluable addition to critical writings
Published 17 Apr, 2016 09:13am
The latest in the Shopaholic series has its redeeming points, but lacks the punch of the previous novels
Published 17 Apr, 2016 09:08am
An analysis of the All-India Muslim League’s role in the developments leading up to 1947
Published 17 Apr, 2016 09:04am
Sleeping on Jupiter may be Anuradha Roy’s attempt to bear witness to circumstances she feels she cannot otherwise alter
Published 17 Apr, 2016 07:27am
Zia Moheyddin’s recently published collection of essays is a rewarding volume
Published 10 Apr, 2016 06:58am
On writing in a foreign language — English — and the penchant for using quotations
Published 10 Apr, 2016 06:58am
The magical surrealism of Naiyer Masud is well-translated by Muhammad Umar Memon
Published 10 Apr, 2016 06:58am
During schooldays when he would come home, we would be asleep. In the morning when we would leave for school, he would
Published 10 Apr, 2016 06:58am
The independent documentary movement in India from the 1970’s onwards is examined in Filming Reality.
Published 10 Apr, 2016 06:58am
The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for children’s literature, which honours the complete works by an author, has been
Published 10 Apr, 2016 06:58am
Rakhshanda Jalil’s translation of Intizar Husain’s Aagey Samandar Hai does complete justice to the original text
Published 03 Apr, 2016 07:15am
On the Andalusian Arabo-Muslim milieu of the “world’s greatest novel”
Published 03 Apr, 2016 07:15am
A study of two different books on similar historical themes
Published 03 Apr, 2016 07:15am
Julian Barnes’s latest work is an absorbing fictional biography of the composer Shostakovich
Published 03 Apr, 2016 07:15am
Jason Burke explores all possible dimensions of militancy in his new book, yet avoids suggesting any systemic solution
Published 03 Apr, 2016 07:15am
Aliette de Bodard has become the first writer to get both the best novel and best short story award in the same year at
Published 03 Apr, 2016 07:15am
A study that aims to evaluate the impact of research in violently divided societies
Published 27 Mar, 2016 07:20am
A young French woman goes undercover on social media to investigate how IS brainwashes young Europeans into joining its
Published 27 Mar, 2016 07:20am
Claire Chambers’s research on Muslim writers’ accounts of visits to Britain from 1780-1988 is a unique inquiry
Published 27 Mar, 2016 07:20am
A critical reading of the dastan fiction in Urdu unveils the glorification of violence
Published 27 Mar, 2016 07:20am
In Andaz-i-Bayan Aur Qurratulain Hyder can be seen speaking on a range of subjects while refusing to talk about her
Published 27 Mar, 2016 07:20am
This unusual novel centres on social ills and dilemmas. The storyline revolves around the fact that if society is going
Published 27 Mar, 2016 07:20am
Ernest Cline’s second science fiction novel is as far away from hitting all the right notes as it could be
Published 27 Mar, 2016 07:20am
Steven I. Wilkinson’s work on the Indian military and democracy presents a comprehensive view of the political
Published 20 Mar, 2016 07:41am
On the stories of Muslim refugees in Europe
Published 20 Mar, 2016 07:41am
Stephen Kelman’s second novel has in its depths the search for dignity and meaning in human experience, but fails to
Published 20 Mar, 2016 07:41am
