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First Published:
Apr 2022, 352 pages
Paperback:
Apr 2023, 352 pages
Book Reviewed by:
Kim Kovacs
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Sent back to his birthplace - Lahore's notorious red-light district - to hush up the murder of a girl, a man finds himself in an unexpected reckoning with his past.
Not since childhood has Faraz returned to the Mohalla, in Lahore's walled inner city, where women continue to pass down the art of courtesan from mother to daughter. But he still remembers the day he was abducted from the home he shared with his mother and sister there, at the direction of his powerful father, who wanted to give him a chance at a respectable life. Now Wajid, once more dictating his fate from afar, has sent Faraz back to Lahore, installing him as head of the Mohalla police station and charging him with a mission: to cover up the violent death of a young girl.
It should be a simple assignment to carry out in a marginalized community, but for the first time in his career, Faraz finds himself unable to follow orders. As the city assails him with a jumble of memories, he cannot stop asking questions or winding through the walled city's labyrinthine alleyways chasing the secrets—his family's and his own—that risk shattering his precariously constructed existence.
Profoundly intimate and propulsive, The Return of Faraz Ali is a spellbindingly assured first novel that poses a timeless question: Whom do we choose to protect, and at what price?
One
Lahore, 8th November 1968
Faraz stared into the fog, sensing the movement of men, their animals. As the mist shifted and stretched, he glimpsed only fragments: the horns of a bull, the eyes of shawled men on a street corner, the blue flicker of gas cookers. But he heard everything. The whine of the wooden carts, the strike of a match, the snuffling of beasts.
He wasn't sure where he and his men were. They had been led by the officers from Anarkali Police Station through winding streets and now they were somewhere near Mochi Gate, one of the twelve doorways to the walled city, but that was all he knew. The sound of the riot was distant, like the static of radio. The street vendors who'd lingered longer than they should have were nervous now; they dropped their wares as they packed up their things, clipped their animals and their apprentices about the ears, berating them for being too slow. He sensed the nerves of his officers, too, as they lined up next to him. He was jittery ...
Each character's journey is heartbreaking and unforgettable. I was particularly intrigued by the women portrayed throughout the novel, most of whom are viewed with disdain by Pakistani society — throwaway people who nevertheless find a way to survive. This remarkable debut has a lot of depth, but the downside is that it's not a quick read. I didn't feel like it dragged or was a slog in any way, but it also didn't have much forward momentum, its overwhelming emphasis being on character development...continued
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(Reviewed by Kim Kovacs).
Adam Johnson, author of The Orphan Master's Son and Fortune Smiles
Aamina Ahmad has done the impossible: made her literary debut with an enduring classic. Essential and compelling. Maaza Mengiste, author of "The Shadow King
The Return of Faraz Ali heralds the arrival of a strikingly accomplished and mature talent. Ahmad has managed to meld fast-paced, intelligent noir with a devastating portrait of the true costs of ambition and desire. Does not let you go, even after the end. Yaa Gyasi, author of Homegoing
A rich and deeply moving novel about confronting histories both personal and political. Marvelous.
Aamina Ahmad's debut novel, The Return of Faraz Ali, takes place in 1968 in Lahore's red-light district, and several of the characters are tawaifs — sex workers.
"Tawaif" comes from the Urdu word "tauf," which means to go round and round. While the term is considered derogatory now, originally it was one of respect for a highly-skilled courtesan in what was then North India. These women were well-regarded and generally moved in the highest circles, including the royal court. They were entertainers proficient in music and dancing, valued for their ability to socialize with the elite men of the time. They had wealth, power and prestige, and were considered the last word in etiquette; having a tawaif attend one's celebration was a ...
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