In his third novel, Mohammed Hanif challenges us to recognise the absurdity of what we have become while making us
Published 04 Nov, 2018 07:06am
Oscar Wilde famously said that “the true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.” But the...
Published 28 Oct, 2018 07:09am
The science of publishing is distinct from the art of writing, but it is equally important for aspiring writers to
Published 28 Oct, 2018 07:09am
A dystopian novel imagines a future where a South Asian city is segregated along communal and caste lines
Published 28 Oct, 2018 07:09am
Thoroughly researched history told with the intimacy of fiction captures an era of great upheaval in the subcontinent
Published 28 Oct, 2018 07:09am
Humans are limited in what they can experience and know by their ability to perceive through the five senses. What...
Published 28 Oct, 2018 07:09am
In his entertaining latest collection of short stories, Sir Jeffrey Archer demonstrates he is not simply a gifted writer
Published 28 Oct, 2018 07:09am
Despite its self-serving nature and the withholding of significant information, former intelligence chief Gen Asad
Published 28 Oct, 2018 07:09am
Milkman wins the Man Booker 2018 Northern Irish author Anna Burns has won this year’s Man Booker Prize for her novel
Published 21 Oct, 2018 08:34am
Muhammad Hasan Askari has always intrigued me as a formidable scholar, writer and critic. But his conceptualisation...
Published 21 Oct, 2018 08:34am
The naiveté of the modernisation project was a direct result of uncritical acceptance of the colonisers’
Published 21 Oct, 2018 08:34am
In a new novel, a young woman attempts to sleep away an entire year to get over her existential ennui
Published 21 Oct, 2018 08:34am
Reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s famous murder mystery, this whodunnit is surprising and gratifying
Published 21 Oct, 2018 08:34am
Yasmeen Hameed has published five collections of poems from 1988 to 2012 and edited anthologies of Pakistani Urdu...
Published 21 Oct, 2018 08:34am
A fresh and exciting approach to pen portraits attempts to include the milieu of the subjects, but only manages to
Published 21 Oct, 2018 08:34am
A new collection of 13 poignant short stories showcases the quietness with which Aamer Hussein portrays turmoil and
Published 21 Oct, 2018 08:34am
From Stasis to Mobility: Arab Muslim Feminists and Travelling Theory
Saiyma Aslam
The author looks at works by...
Published 14 Oct, 2018 07:11am
Usually, the crassness of politics and power agitates you and the refinement in art and literature soothes. But then...
Published 14 Oct, 2018 07:11am
A critique of liberalism from a conservative perspective argues that there is an unresolved contradiction within it
Published 14 Oct, 2018 07:11am
Nisar Muhammad Khan, who passed away on September 7, will be remembered for his singular contributions to Pakhtun
Updated 16 Oct, 2018 11:23am
A travelogue of great erudition, but also a heartfelt lament about the ecological degradation of the author’s native
Published 14 Oct, 2018 07:11am
At the age of 31, I read widely in about four languages: English, French, Italian and Spanish. By the age of 36 ...
Updated 15 Oct, 2018 02:24pm
In a collection of essays, Raza Rumi goes back into a shared history to understand what it means to be a Pakistani in
Published 14 Oct, 2018 07:11am
Bina Shah’s novel about a dystopian future paints a fascinating world, rich with detail and intricate in its imaginings
Published 14 Oct, 2018 07:11am
Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, our major poet, fiction writer and literary editor from the last century, once recalled meeting ...
Published 07 Oct, 2018 07:00am
The poster of a recent film adaptation of Ismat Chughtai’s famed short story indicates that it may yet again be
Published 07 Oct, 2018 07:00am
Although called a novel, this book is based upon real experiences the author shared with his young son and is a
Published 07 Oct, 2018 07:00am
A collection of short stories that anyone can see themselves in, with Indian American culture humming in the background
Updated 04 Nov, 2018 04:42pm
If you’ve been online dating for more than a hot second, you’ve probably encountered a range of joys and ...
Published 07 Oct, 2018 07:00am
After a spell of five years, Fatima Bhutto is back with her second work of fiction, The Runaways. Set largely in...
Published 07 Oct, 2018 07:00am
Fatima Bhutto’s sophomore novel is a tender account of how identity, representation, alienation, faith and desire are
Published 07 Oct, 2018 07:00am
In Pakistan, India or other developing countries, it is a common sight that old buildings of bricks and mortar are...
Published 30 Sep, 2018 06:28am
A book argues that seminaries need to be viewed as an educational challenge rather than be looked at through the prism
Published 30 Sep, 2018 06:28am
Two new books of Punjabi poetry by the prolific Najm Hosain Syed continue his exploration of his immediate environment
Published 30 Sep, 2018 06:28am
A feminist retelling of a popular children’s story turns it on its head
Published 30 Sep, 2018 06:28am
The Zee Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) came to Houston, Texas for the first time in September and it was an...
Published 30 Sep, 2018 06:28am
A promising start to a novel is gradually squandered through forays into politics, geography and ambition
Published 30 Sep, 2018 06:28am
Bob Woodward’s latest bestseller, already in its 10th reprint since its release on September 11, has broken a number of
Published 30 Sep, 2018 06:28am
Nahin Naqshgar, Nahin Naqshgar Ka Kamaal Hum!
Makhdoom Tipu Salman
From a lawyer with books on law, history and...
Published 23 Sep, 2018 06:41am
In his 2005 introduction to ‘Jejuri’ — a celebrated poem by the leading English and Marathi language poet Arun...
Updated 24 Sep, 2018 03:57pm
The following extract has been taken from Saif Mahmood’s book Beloved Delhi: A Mughal City and Her Greatest Poets,...
Published 23 Sep, 2018 06:41am
Dr Shenila Khoja-Moolji is Assistant Professor of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at Bowdoin College, US. ...
Published 23 Sep, 2018 06:41am
A book looks at the diverse strands of thought that fed into concepts of the educated Muslim girl in South Asia
Published 23 Sep, 2018 06:41am
The stinking water in a flower vase begins to swelter and bubble with fermentation as chemical processes unleash a...
Published 23 Sep, 2018 06:41am
While many in Pakistan may not know the eminent Urdu poet Shahryar, a slim volume may help correct that oversight
Published 23 Sep, 2018 06:41am
The grande dame of prose poetry has mellowed and her anger has been replaced with wistfulness about love
Published 23 Sep, 2018 06:41am
Diary of a Vagabond
Mustansar Hussain Tarar
A collection of travel columns that have been previously published in...
Published 16 Sep, 2018 06:45am
It is problematic when great poets in any language are not only identified but categorised by their geographical...
Published 16 Sep, 2018 06:45am
This motivational business fable was a monster hit. Twenty years later, we’re still wondering why
Published 16 Sep, 2018 06:45am
An account of the men and women who built it from a haphazard group of amateurs into the sprawling behemoth it is today
Published 16 Sep, 2018 06:45am
A journalist explores everyday life in the four quarters of Old Jerusalem
Published 16 Sep, 2018 06:45am
Many readers may have heard of a French novel called La Disparition by Georges Perec, written without using the...
Updated 16 Sep, 2018 10:37am
An anthology of short stories revolving around women offers a compelling, poignant and inspirational read
Published 16 Sep, 2018 06:45am
Syeda Muhammadi Begum died at just 30 years of age, but managed to author more than 30 books for women and children
Published 16 Sep, 2018 06:45am
Writing for television can be challenging and lucrative, but there are limits to how deep one can venture into the...
Published 09 Sep, 2018 06:55am
A polemical new book looks at the rise of the popularly elected dictator around the world
Published 09 Sep, 2018 06:55am
A voracious exploration of femininity, suburban malaise, societal pressures and politics
Published 09 Sep, 2018 06:55am
Making villages active in governance processes is crucial for national progress, argues a development practitioner
Published 09 Sep, 2018 06:55am
A poem of Faiz Ahmed Faiz that begins with the line
[And so we shall witness] has become over the years perhaps ...
Published 09 Sep, 2018 06:55am
Anam Zakaria is a researcher, development professional, educationist, and winner of the KLF-German Peace Prize 2017...
Published 09 Sep, 2018 06:55am
A new book uses oral histories to explore the larger Kashmir conflict through the lens of Azad Kashmiris
Updated 10 Sep, 2018 12:24pm
I would truly feel small if asked to comment on a work of art as brilliant, celebrated and so thoroughly analysed ...
Published 02 Sep, 2018 06:58am
Professor Shamim Hanafi is a leading Indian Urdu literary critic, poet and playwright. He has penned several books,...
Published 02 Sep, 2018 06:58am
Driving the plot are dead relatives, strange wills and ominous birds
Published 02 Sep, 2018 06:58am
A Young Adult novel that is much more than the usual and tackles issues of religion, culture, mental health and abuse
Published 02 Sep, 2018 06:58am
One of the year’s biggest #MeToo scandals came in the literary world earlier this year when Pulitzer Prize-winning...
Published 02 Sep, 2018 06:58am
Challenging dominant historiographies of the indigenous feminist movement
Updated 05 Sep, 2018 03:36pm
An anthology of translated Urdu short stories by brilliant wordsmiths that is a joy to read
Published 02 Sep, 2018 06:58am
The dreamiest job in the world Bookseller Philip Blackwell, scion of the family that owned — from 1879 until 2006 — the
Published 26 Aug, 2018 07:40am
Global Wrongs! Zulfiqar Ali Lessani In looking at a world hurtling into an uncertain future and yearning for a past that
Published 26 Aug, 2018 07:40am
It seems that what the state traditionally thought was its responsibility — particularly during the Zia years —...
Published 26 Aug, 2018 07:40am
Mirza Azeem Baig Chughtai’s granddaughter argues that her grandfather was much more than a stellar humourist
Published 26 Aug, 2018 07:40am
A new book about Bollywood is a treasure trove of facts, anecdotes and trivia that movie buffs love to read about
Published 26 Aug, 2018 07:40am
An Indian author insightfully examines the personality traits and leadership styles of the individuals who have held
Published 26 Aug, 2018 07:40am
In 2005, the art connoisseur Philippe Costamagna and a colleague were in a museum in Nice, on the French Riviera,...
Published 26 Aug, 2018 07:40am
In her new novel, the author builds an engrossing world particularly for young adults, ingeniously incorporating
Published 26 Aug, 2018 07:40am
Cultural critic Nadeem Farooq Paracha’s third book attempts to provide easy access to a diverse Pakistan with
Published 26 Aug, 2018 07:40am
Pehla Rang Milawat Wala Asif Memmood A collection of 34 poems on an eclectic mix of subjects, ranging from
Published 19 Aug, 2018 07:21am
V.S. Naipaul and Samir Amin — one a celebrated man of letters and the other an outstanding political economist —...
Published 19 Aug, 2018 07:21am
Fiction’s most significant form appears when it creates grey areas and challenges black-and-white certainties
Published 19 Aug, 2018 07:21am
Humorous vignettes about a tyrannical and uninformed mother’s impact on a family
Published 19 Aug, 2018 07:21am
A selection of articles on Sindh printed in the last days of British colonial rule provide a useful tool for students,
Published 19 Aug, 2018 07:21am
Smell, which I explored in my previous column, is hard to extricate from the next sense under discussion: taste. ...
Published 19 Aug, 2018 07:21am
Nadia Akbar’s debut novel is a startling look at contemporary upper-class Lahore society. Here, the author — who...
Published 19 Aug, 2018 07:21am
Nadia Akbar’s debut novel is an explosively racy one, with witty and unapologetic observations about desi culture and
Published 19 Aug, 2018 07:21am
Letters to the Editor Dr Pir Mohammed V. Shallwani A compendium of missives written by one prolific letter-writer to
Published 12 Aug, 2018 07:47am
Universally, there is a love-hate relationship between literary criticism and creative writing. On the one hand,...
Published 12 Aug, 2018 07:47am
Gulzar’s first novel is set in his beloved Punjab and traces familiar themes of grief, senseless violence and
Published 12 Aug, 2018 07:47am
Retelling a Greek classic from the viewpoint of a peripheral character is an exploration of femininity, feminism,
Published 12 Aug, 2018 07:47am
A series of interviews provides evidence for the growing communalisation of India and its effect on children
Published 12 Aug, 2018 07:47am
Living and teaching in the United States for the last 20 years in departments of languages and cultures, I have...
Published 12 Aug, 2018 07:47am
With Independence Day right around the corner, we asked some Pakistani fiction authors to tell us which Partition-themed
Published 12 Aug, 2018 07:47am
Prince of Physicians: The Life and Times of Ibn Sina (Avicenna)
Prof. Dr M. Habib, Prof. Dr Syed Irfan Ahmed
A...
Published 05 Aug, 2018 07:28am
What we see in Pakistan today has been the case for long. The biggest irony that marks South Asian Muslim upper and...
Published 05 Aug, 2018 07:28am
A new book attempts to add complexity and layers to Pakistan’s uni-dimensional image as a ‘dangerous’ country
Published 05 Aug, 2018 07:28am
A collection of Pakistani short stories in English is marked by its pitch-perfect writing and the empathy it brings
Published 05 Aug, 2018 07:28am
A debut novel from India-held Kashmir weaves beautiful landscapes and ugliness of violence into a painfully beautiful
Published 05 Aug, 2018 07:28am
When Shahbano Alvi, my friend and the publisher of my forthcoming book, asked me to give the first of a series of...
Published 05 Aug, 2018 07:28am
The following is an extract from Indian journalist Karan Thapar’s book Devil’s Advocate: The Untold Story,...
Updated 05 Aug, 2018 01:44pm
