Newspaper - Books & Authors - March 11, 2026

NON-FICTION: FORMIDABLE AND FRAGILE

Farhatullah Babar’s reflective, insider account of Benazir Bhutto’s life and politics corrects the twin caricatures that dominate

Published 08 Mar, 2026 10:41am

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FICTION: AMBITIOUS CONCEIT, FLAWED EXECUTION

A debut novel has a strong idea spanning two plot lines and two time periods but desperately needed a strong editor as well

Published 08 Mar, 2026 10:27am

NON-FICTION: THE LEGACY OF PAKISTAN CRICKET

A coffee table book on Pakistan’s beloved sport brings together the printed and visual artefacts of the country’s cricketing...

Published 08 Mar, 2026 10:18am

COLUMN: PHOBIA OF THE ABSTRACT

In one of his most complex and deceptively crafted verses, Mirza Ghalib says that the poet’s pen vibrates with the frequency of...

Published 08 Mar, 2026 10:14am

NON-FICTION: POPULISTS AND THEIR REBELLIONS

Nadeem F. Paracha’s latest book explores contemporary populism by comparing three modern-day populist uprisings in the global...

Published 01 Mar, 2026 09:28am

FICTION: IMAGINARY HOMELANDS

The winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize 2025 is a debut novel by a Palestinian author about the complexities that lie at the heart of

Published 01 Mar, 2026 09:24am

ESSAY: JAUN ELIA BEYOND THE ICON

The popularity of Jaun Elia’s deceptively simple verse, which has become all the rage with the youth, often obscures the depth...

Published 01 Mar, 2026 09:21am

COLUMN: FARHATULLAH BABAR’S BENAZIR

Farhatullah Babar is known to us as a veteran politician, a legislator and a human rights defender. He is currently...

Published 01 Mar, 2026 09:15am

FESTIVAL: LITERATURE IN THE TIME OF BASANT

The 14th Lahore Literary Festival put its focus on history and in diversifying away from English but was impacted by scheduling

Published 22 Feb, 2026 06:45am

FICTION: SETTING THE STAGE

An elegantly structured novel, told through through the eyes of a young lad, is the first part of four interconnected novels...

Published 22 Feb, 2026 06:45am

NON-FICTION: BLAME IT ON BASHIR

A former journalist’s book on Princess Diana’s infamous 1995 Panorama interview with Martin Bashir expects readers to consider...

Published 22 Feb, 2026 06:45am

COLUMN: THE GHAZAL: ARROW, HEART, LIVER

I grew up with Urdu poetry, learning to recite verses from ghazals as soon as I could talk. Words held only visual meanings for me

Published 22 Feb, 2026 06:45am

NON-FICTION: PAKISTAN’S AID TRAP

A book by a former chief economist at the State Bank of Pakistan critiques international aid and its deleterious impact on...

Published 15 Feb, 2026 07:41am

FESTIVAL: THE FRAGILE PULSE OF WORDS

The 17th Karachi Literature Festival was fuelled by an unswerving, if wildly optimistic, belief in the transformative power of the

Published 15 Feb, 2026 07:38am

FICTION: DEMONIC POSSESSIONS

Ayesha Muzaffar’s latest offering strings together three novellas that will undoubtedly delight fans of the horror genre

Published 15 Feb, 2026 07:33am

COLUMN: THE FIRST NOVEL — I

There are many ways to go about writing one’s first novel, and here I would like to share how I went about writing...

Published 15 Feb, 2026 07:21am

NON-FICTION: PAKISTAN AS A GLOBAL GATEWAY?

A recent book argues Pakistan can leverage its strategic location and become an engine of trade and global growth, but seems...

Published 08 Feb, 2026 09:41am

FICTION: BEYOND THE WINDOW

Set in Swat during the rise of militant violence in the region in the mid-2000s, a debut novel wrestles with themes of patriarchy

Published 08 Feb, 2026 09:36am

NON-FICTION: A SENSE OF GRACE

From Kurram Valley to the World Bank’s corridors, a Pakistani internationalist retraces a global journey marked by discipline,...

Published 08 Feb, 2026 09:32am

COLUMN: STORIES FROM REAL LIFE

In the recently published Urdu book of stories titled Tamasha-i-Ahl-i-Karam [The Circus of the Benevolent] by Dr...

Published 08 Feb, 2026 08:43am

FICTION: THE EMOTIONAL ECONOMY OF SERVITUDE

Daniyal Mueenuddin’s much-anticipated first novel does not retreat from the terrain that made his reputation; it expands it.

Published 01 Feb, 2026 08:47am

NON-FICTION: A MOMENT BACK IN TIME

Actor Michael J. Fox recounts how he managed playing Family Ties’ Alex P. Keaton by day and Back to the Future’s Marty McFly by...

Published 01 Feb, 2026 08:42am

FICTION: AN ASSURED DEBUT

A restrained first novel invites the reader to reflect on history, engage with an often-overlooked city, and witness a woman’s...

Published 01 Feb, 2026 08:38am

STILLNESS IN THE SEASON OF SURVIVAL

This year marks the centenary of Virginia Woolf’s essay ‘On Being Ill’, which still shapes how we read sickness

Published 01 Feb, 2026 08:31am

NON-FICTION: THE LONG ROAD TO HUMAN RIGHTS

An Urdu book free of complex theoretical jargon and clearly intended for students combines conceptual discussions about the idea

Published 25 Jan, 2026 09:39am

NON-FICTION: KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON, AGAIN

A follow-up to one man’s recounting of whimsical stories from his life retains the original’s wit and nostalgic narration of an...

Published 25 Jan, 2026 09:33am

FICTION: BEAUTY IN BROKEN THINGS

A slim collection comprising a novella and a number of short stories portray a search for beauty in a disintegrating world

Published 25 Jan, 2026 09:29am

COLUMN: THE RETURN OF DANIYAL MUEENUDDIN

Interviewing him in London many years ago, I asked Daniyal Mueenuddin what he was working on after his acclaimed...

Published 25 Jan, 2026 09:10am

FICTION: The real thing

Maha Khan Phillips’ fast-paced third novel is both historical fiction as well as a thrilling murder mystery and cements her

Updated 22 Jan, 2026 06:22pm

INTERVIEW: ‘I HAD TO SEPARATE TRUTH FROM FICTION AND LET MY IMAGINATION TAKE OVER’

Maha Khan Phillips (nee Maha Khan) is a Karachi-born fiction writer and an award-winning financial journalist. She...

Published 18 Jan, 2026 06:44am

NON-FICTION: REVISITING FIRST LOVE

Mustansar Hussain Tarar returns to Paris after half a century and uses the city as a canvas to explore art, history, exile

Updated 02 Feb, 2026 03:40pm

FICTION: TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED

A whimsical novel brings together an Indian prince from more than 2,000 years ago and a young woman from contemporary Karachi

Published 11 Jan, 2026 10:55am

NON-FICTION : ON THE TRAIL OF THE GAKKHARS

A well-researched, first-ever critical look at the origins of the Gakkhars of Potohar and Jhelum region demolishes some well

Published 11 Jan, 2026 10:54am

FICTION: NEWSY FICTION

A collection of 17 insightful Urdu short stories combines a matter-of-fact, almost journalistic clarity with underlying warmth

Published 11 Jan, 2026 10:52am

COLUMN: The deranged leftist

The American poet Cornelius Eady has co-founded the Cave Canem Foundation, a non-profit organisation that serves...

Published 18 Jan, 2026 06:44am