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Dive Deep Into Other Cultures With These Three Novels
3 Book Reviews
Through experiences we recreate;
through stories we educate.
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When you can’t travel,
open a book.
This House Of Clay and Water by Faiqa Mansab
(Present day Lahore, Pakistan)
This book is an excellent commentary on rigid class structures and gender roles in Pakistan. The author lives in Lahore so her take is that of a true local. And she holds nothing back while wading through her character’s darkest thoughts.
Our protagonist, Nida, is a rich politician’s wife. She is lost, fat, and traumatized by a death. Nida’s interactions with her husband Saqib and her in-laws lift the burqa off the societal traps around rich, educatied women of Pakistan. But that’s still the best life a woman can live in Pakistan.
Nida’s friend, Sasha, is her anti-thesis: A middle-class woman trying to turn her crude iron prison into a cage of gold. I won’t give spoilers but the way Sasha’s life turns out reveals a lot about fanaticism.
On the other hand is Bhanggi, a hijra (transgender), who is looking for answers to life’s ultimate question.
