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Read Trespassing (2005)

Trespassing (2005)

Online Book

Rating
3.45 of 5 Votes: 4
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ISBN
0312423551 (ISBN13: 9780312423551)
Language
English
Publisher
picador

Trespassing (2005) - Plot & Excerpts

Uzma Aslam Khan’s character driven tale of two young Pakistanis, Trespassing, lays out in sweaty detail the tension between the old adage “you can’t go home again” and the one that says you can take the Pakistani out of Pakistan, but you can’t take the Pakistan out of the Pakistani.Through Daanish, a Pakistani studying in American, and Dia, the precocious daughter of a silk merchant, Khan explores the interplay between tradition and modernization, culture and prejudice.Structurally, Khan’s book is told in alternating points of view. This works well for the novel because the characters are intriguing enough that the reader doesn’t mind the same events being told over by several characters. It also works well because the books ultimate destination isn’t where the reader might predict at the outset. It becomes apparent only about halfway through the novel that Khan is weaving a complex web of disparate people and events that slowly rise toward the climax of the story. The meaning of the title of the novel doesn’t become clear until you reach the center of the story web.The picture of Pakistan painted by Khan is different than the stark and exotic desert landscapes of many recent books set in the Middle East. The setting is overwhelmingly suburban, mostly taking place in a Daanish’s depressing middle-class house in a neighborhood plagued by a lack of dependable utilities like water and electricity. With a few exceptions, the landscapes of this novel are of human nature.Khan, raised in Karachi, Pakistan, succeeds in producing inner-dialogues of the important characters that ring true across cultural divides, while maintaining the texture of authentic Pakistani tradition.

I am not a regular when it comes to fiction, but this book opened up more about the place where I come from, the life in Pakistan, from bureaucrats dinners to the American academic system... If you really want to know about the people who are not just from Pakistan but from India as well..go for this one! Because somewhere in the novel i felt that this is exactly what is going on in India as well, same stories...same motherhood level.. the corruption, the tales of pretending to have qualities but in the end blaming each other for the bad times.. and not to forget the confused society where men are superior to women (without knowing why? or even considering this question! ) ..This book is a wonderful example of how people in east make their decisions..their fears and more importantly what they think! At last, all my thanks/praises to Uzma Aslam Khan (Author of Trespassing) Bless you!

What do You think about Trespassing (2005)?

At first it definately caught me into the story, and by the middle I was already building my own ending. Unfortunately a few chapters later I found myself dragged into the conflict of the time (the Gulf war) instead of the story that got me interested at first: The love story between Daanish and Dia and the silk worms. I won't reveal the ending, but for me, at least it left me in the air and with many questions unsolved. I believe that is what made me feel dissapointed. Though it's an entertaining book, it lacks of objectivity at telling the story.
—Cynthia

ăscută in Lahore, la o aruncătură de băț de granița cu India, Uzma Aslam Khan sare în Trespassing peste tot soiul de garduri și bariere, fie ele naturale sau sociale, ale Pakistanului anilor ’80 și ’90, cu ocazionale drumuri peste ocean, in Amrika cea cu ouăle de aur, sau în Londra anilor ’60 și atinge mai multe subiecte decât pot încăpea confortabil în 330 de pagini.Primele scene ne primesc vijelios cu un tânăr pakistanez la studii in America, unde cunoaște atât minunile tehnicii și societății moderne, cât și pe cele ale femeii, teren interzis la el acasă. De asemenea, cunoaște, ca majoritatea emigranților “nu-chiar-din-lumea-întâi”, abia aterizați în El Dorado, străfundurile oalelor murdare din bucătăria unui restaurant fast food, slugărind pe câțiva bănuți sub talpa grea a industriei serviciilor ho-re-ca. Tânărul student studiază jurnalism, și este interesat intens de Războiul din Golf și de felul circumspect în care oamenii încep să îi privească pe cei din rasa brună, înghesuiți toți sub eticheta arabi.Câteva tirade politice mai târziu, despre nepăsarea americanului de rând față de ce se întâmplă în Golf, se dă foaia spre Pakistan, unde aterizăm la un priveghi unde se discută tensiunile sociale dintre populația punjabi, separatiștii sindhi, armată, mujahirii emigranți și politicienii corupți. Câteva pagini mai încolo începe și povestea de dragoste din titlu. Ea va ține legata toata cronologia disipată a romanului, care alternează de la capitol la capitol atâtea planuri încât spre final arată precum un bici prost împletit. (cronică: http://bookaholic.ro/gata-uzma-aslam-...)
—Bookaholic

this is a well written and cleverly crafted story. there are multiple layers and intriguing twists that have the disparate strands within the book intertwine in seamless way.I've also concluded that Khan's writing has, what I consider--to my ears/eyes, an American style or voice. By this, I mean it's up front and especially in this book, doesn't possess much frills and embellishments. (And while there is a prospective bride/groom viewing scene, I was quite pleased that the author did not produce a chick-lit type of book.)The author often uses some scientific item or device as part of the story and does so in an engaging way. Here it is silk and silk-making as well as sea shells. In Thinner than Skin, it was glaciers and their development. And in the Geometry of god, which I started ages ago but will pick up again very soon, she uses fossils.Excellent storytelling all around
—Ming

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