Wow. I almost gave up on this book before I got 50 pages in, and I am glad I didn't It wasn't the best book I have read, by far, but It was interesting and I loved the writing style whenever the poet would take over in his letters. I would love to read a whole book of those letters.The basic story was of a woman who has allowed the disappearnce of her mother, and the death of her Omi (a poet and her step-father figure) to change her entire character. It isn't very suprising though, since they seemed to create the character she was as a child as well. When they were in her life she was an interesting, well educated and incredibly bright child who was always learning and curius and full of life. When they left her she stoppped trying to use her mind and found a rut to sink into, barely living at all. The people she still has in her life, the ones who have always been there for her and tried so hard to pull her back out of her shell, are her father, stepmother, and sister. Aasmani spends much of the book laying the blame of why she is who she is on everyone around her. It's her mother's fault (for choosing her lover over her daughter, for leaving without an explanation, for working so hard to make political changes when it was all useless, for becoming an icon) and her Omi's fault (for stealing her mother from her, for not thinking of the child in the situation first, for trying to make her grow up too quickly) and her fault (for not being a good enough reason for her mother to stay). Her memories and feelings change constantly throughout, showing how life is never one-sided. “And it was time for the morning prayer. Every prayer of mine for the last fourteen years had been one single word: Mama. Every prayer and every curse. Without her here, I didn’t know how to create for myself any story but that of the daughter she deserted, time and again; the one who never gave her a reason to stay. The one who now gave her no reason to return.”“We could spend all night out there, I knew, plunging our hands into the ice-cold river and pulling out squirming facts, entirely distinct from one another, which would wriggle out of our grasp almost as soon as we hoisted them above their fast-moving surface.” --This excerpt and the background of it remind me of arguments that I’ve been in that I thought would never end. A fight starts over one fact, but as that gets forgotten the debaters move onto completely different subjects that they also disagree on. It could go on forever with many uncommon faults dragged up but no conclusions or compromises made.“’I don’t know how not to fight for this.’ Mama, how long have you been hiding inside me? “Don’t talk to me as though there’s a choice involved. I must do whatever I can.’”“Come down to it, Ed was just another one of those men who wanted to fix me and believed that he could. Take me broken, I wanted to say. But I knew already that in his eyes each one of my breaks would shift from challenge to reproach.”“Fathers were efficient in matters of finance, and rewiring. They didn’t lack emotion, they simply didn’t express it except in tiny bursts. And they were always there. That was their most abiding quality – their thereness. That was Dad, that was fathers.”“Through me, Samina, you found love. If you were to be faithful to me in all my years of absence, you’d be unfaithful to love.”
I did not like this book. It was hard for me to get started, since I found both the writing and the characters uninviting.Once I got into the book, however, I was pulled into the story, and could not put the book down. I read most of the 330 page book in one day.This does not, however, change my assessment of the book or its writing.I could relate to a certain degree to some of the themes of the book. Two main characters were, as a poet and an activist, very important in the 70s in Pakistan. They challenged the government, the lack of democracy, and the roles of women. I, too, was an activist, especially in the area of women's rights, a very important part of my life during those years. And like the questions asked in the novel's story, I, too, wonder at what was accomplished. But, I feel that these characters were so exaggerated and glorified, made to be larger than life, that I could not thoroughly appreciate them. Do individuals really have such beauty and charisma that separates them from others? I did learn some things about Pakistan through this story. But, it seemed to me that the characters all had special privilege which made them seem overindulged.
What do You think about Broken Verses (2005)?
Very good for light reading - it is full of lyrical prose and references enough Islamic poetry and classical literature to make me want to delve a little deeper into the cultural and literary influences on the novel. The big hook for me was one of the supposed real-life antecedents of the book - a famous, left-wing, revolutionary Pakistani poet. The book led me to his poetry which I love and had neglected for a while. I've realized that it is hard for me to dislike writing that occupies itself with paying homage to language - they often lead me towards more sublime literature, and that is always a good thing.
—Kiran
I'm conflicted about this one. This is one of those books that you are so quick to devour that in your hunger to read the next line and then the next page you often miss out on the chance to actually stop and ponder over the words that were written and what they invoke in you. So, this is going to be a temporary rating till I reread the book.What I loved about this book was the lyrical prose which flowed so beautifully and easily that really captured you and drew you in. I found the character Aasmaani to be a delightfully frustrating read. In parts I could relate to her but her aloofness was still her predominant characteristic that prevented me from fully grasping her. My biggest qualm with this book is the plot and especially the ending of it which to be quite honest didn't quite live up to the sensational writing that preceded it and almost promised a truly spectacular read. However, I will still reread it and see what how I react to it. But, the topics that this book covers relating to Pakistani politics and the society's relationship with Islam and the marginalization of the left wing society is absolutely fascinating to me and I can understand how frustrating it would be for those with little to no knowledge or interest in the matter. Nonetheless, it is a truly fascinating book and Shamsie's writing style is superb as always.
—Faaiz
I read this book a couple of months ago. Then I checked it out from the library last week again to reread it. I still hardly have words to describe how much this moved me. She has this way of saying things that you've questioned or thought about at some point in your life. Her characters are brave. They are willing to rip open their flesh to bare the soul and scrutinize it, and with that those of the readers'. I loved the ending. I honestly believe there couldn't have been a better ending, not without belittling the rest of the novel. This book reminded me what it is like to fall in love with every single character. Ah, read it. Cherish it. Come back to it, and feel everything all over once again. It's one of those books.
—Mina
