What do You think about Season Of The Rainbirds (2005)?
this is nadeem aslam's first novel and it doesn't have the linguistic dreaminess of his later ones. i enjoyed it but couldn't help a constant comparison with his other work. it's set in a small pakistani town at a time when all hell is breaking loose in the rest of the country. it touches on the changing nature of islam (or maybe the constant tension in islam between common sense and lovingness, and oppression) and on the dirty intrigues of local government. it touches on the delicate play between local government and national government. especially, it touches on how religion can't avoid being in the pocket of power even when it strives not to. it reminded me a lot of Leonardo Sciascia and Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, who are both geniuses at capturing the large implications of local tyrannies (both writers write about sicily, which tends to be kind of its own country, while being very much part of italy). there are writers who represent local tyrants as caricatures, but aslam, sciascia, and lampedusa appreciate all the smarts, canniness, and skill that go into negotiating positions of local authorities when larger, more powerful authorities loom above. they are cynical, bitter writers, but they are also writers who pay homage to the resilience of the people and the endurance of culture.
—jo
I found this book much more difficult than his other books that I love - especially the brilliant 'Wasted Vigil' that everyone should read! This was his first book i gather, so maybe he was getting into how he wanted to show Pakistan to Western readers. Some of the writing is especially lyrical (I read the introductory chapter to my ESOL learners, several of whom are from Pakistan, and they really enjoyed it) but i found I got very confused between all the characters and kept thinking a lot more time had passed than 1 week. As with all his books, a very interesting look at Islam in operation in a small town, showing the range of different responses to 2 very different Imams, attitudes to people "breaking the rules", explanations as with all religions of the contradictions in holy books, so you can make them "say" almost anything to back up your opinion about good/errant behaviour.
—Anne Tucker
This was Nadeem Aslam's first novel, but I first discovered him when I read (and later ringed) his second novel - Maps for Lost Lovers - which I thought was wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed this one too.This beautifully written novel centres on the inhabitants of a small town and: the discovery of a sack of letters, missing for 19 years, the murder of Judge Anwar, and an affair between Muslim deputy Commissioner and a young christian woman. These different plot strands are subtely woven together, to create a community under pressure. The small town political and religious tensions are really well observed. Set against the backdrop of a monsoon season, this is an atmospheric novel, that doesn't have any shattering plot twists or very much to "say", it;s the story of a small isolated community in Pakistan, but it is a really excellent novel nontheless.
—Ali
