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More copies of this ISBNBroken Versesby Kamila Shamsie
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:In 1986 Pakistan's greatest poet was found brutally murdered, beaten to death by government thugs. Two years later his lover, blazing beauty and fearless activist Samina Akram, disappeared. Her daughter, Aasmani, has always assumed her mother abandoned her--since she had left so many times before, following the Poet into exile. But now, working at Pakistan's first independent TV station, Aasmani runs into an old friend of her mother's who hands her a letter written--recently--in the Poet and Samina's secret code. As more letters arrive, Aasmani becomes certain that the Poet is still alive, and that he will lead her to Samina, if only she can find him. Despite menacing signs, the disbelief of her family, and the worries of her new lover, Aasmani decodes the letters and searches for their source. But if she manages to locate it, what will she find? Merging the personal with the political, Broken Verses is at once a sharp, thrilling journey through modern-day Pakistan, a carefully coded mystery, and an intimate mother-daughter story that asks how to forgive a mother who leaves. Praise for Kartography "This 30-year-old has been described as a young Anita Desai, and her third book . . . is worth all the prepublication fuss."--Harper's Bazaar "A gorgeous novel."--Los Angeles Times "[Shamsie] packs her story with the playful evidence of her high-flying intelligence."--San Francisco Chronicle KAMILA SHAMSIE is the author of four novels. She has been twice short-listed for the John Llewelyn Rhys Award and is the recipient of two prizes from the Academy of Letters in Pakistan. She lives in London and Karachi and serves as a visiting professor of English at Hamilton College. Review:"Turbulent Karachi is the backdrop for this intriguing, shimmeringly intelligent fourth novel by Shamsie (Kartography), which tells the story of progressive, overeducated Aasmaani Inqalab, the utterly likable 31-year-old daughter of fiery feminist icon Samina Akram. Since the age of 17, Aasmaani has been haunted by the brutal murder of her mother's lover — known simply as 'the Poet' — and by her mother's disappearance two years later. As she eloquently puts it, 'every prayer of mine for the last fourteen years had been one single word: Mama.' Aasmaani takes a job as a quiz show researcher where she falls for the 'dazzling' television producer Mir Adnan Akbar, who goes by 'Ed.' Ed is himself the child of a larger-than-life mother, the retired Pakistani actress Shehnaz Saeed, who happens to be Samina Akram's former confidante. Shehnaz's eagerly anticipated return to acting brings her into contact with Aasmaani. When she receives a cryptic letter, Shehnaz delivers it to Aasmaani knowing that Aasmaani's mother and the Poet developed a secret code to communicate with each other. As more letters arrive courtesy of Ed, Aasmaani convinces herself that the Poet is alive, held captive by a group he calls 'the Minions.' Although Aasmaani's interiority occasionally overwhelms the otherwise well-paced narrative, her characterization is Shamsie's crowning triumph. Wry, fetching and too clever for her own good, she is a captivating, unexpected heroine. Agent, Victoria Hobbs at A.M. Heath & Co. Ltd. (U.K.). (June)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Synopsis:Fourteen years ago, famous Pakistani activist Samina Akram disappeared. Two years earlier, her lover, Pakistan's greatest poet, was beaten to death by government thugs. In present-day Karachi, her daughter Aasmaani has just discovered a letter in the couple's private code-a letter that could only have been written recently. Aasmaani is thirty, single, drifting from job to job. Always left behind whenever Samina followed the Poet into exile, she had assumed that her mother's disappearance was simply another abandonment. Then, while working at Pakistan's first independent TV station, Aasmaani runs into an old friend of Samina's who gives her the first letter, then many more. Where could the letters have come from? And will they lead her to her mother? Merging the personal with the political, Broken Verses is at once a sharp, thrilling journey through modern-day Pakistan, a carefully coded mystery, and an intimate mother-daughter story that asks how we forgive a mother who leaves. About the AuthorKAMILA SHAMSIE is the author of four novels. She lives in London and Karachi and serves as a visiting professor of English at Hamilton College. What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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