Broken Verses - Hardcover

Kamila Shamsie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0747577242 ISBN 13: 9780747577249

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2005

Synopsis

Fourteen years ago, Samina, blazing beauty and fearless activist, walked out of her house and was never seen again. Aasmaani, frequently abandoned by her mother, still dreams of her glorious return. Fifteen years ago, Samina's closest freind Shehnaz Saeed, darling of the theatre and the small screen, gave up her career for her son Ed. Now he is helping her make a triumphant comeback. Sixteen years ago, the Poet, subversive and brilliant, love of Samina's life, was found mysteriously murdered. In present-day Karachi, Aasmaani receives what could be the longed-for proof that her mother is still alive. As she draws closer to the truth she is irresistibly drawn, too, to Ed, her ally and sparring partner, and the only person who can understand the profound hurt - and the profound love - which drives her.

About this title

About the Author:

Kamila Shamsie was born in 1973 in Pakistan. She is the author of three previous novels: In the City by the Sea, Kartography ( both shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys / Mail on Sunday Prize) and Salt and Saffron. In 1999 she received the Prime Minister's Award for Literature and in 2004 the Patras Bokhari Award - both award by the Pakistan Academy of Letters. Kamila Shamsie lives in London and Karachi.

From Publishers Weekly:

Turbulent Karachi is the backdrop for this intriguing, shimmeringly intelligent fourth novel by Shamsie (Kartography), which tells the story of progressive, overeducated Aasmaani Inqalab, the utterly likable 31-year-old daughter of fiery feminist icon Samina Akram. Since the age of 17, Aasmaani has been haunted by the brutal murder of her mother's lover—known simply as "the Poet"—and by her mother's disappearance two years later. As she eloquently puts it, "every prayer of mine for the last fourteen years had been one single word: Mama." Aasmaani takes a job as a quiz show researcher where she falls for the "dazzling" television producer Mir Adnan Akbar, who goes by "Ed." Ed is himself the child of a larger-than-life mother, the retired Pakistani actress Shehnaz Saeed, who happens to be Samina Akram's former confidante. Shehnaz's eagerly anticipated return to acting brings her into contact with Aasmaani. When she receives a cryptic letter, Shehnaz delivers it to Aasmaani knowing that Aasmaani's mother and the Poet developed a secret code to communicate with each other. As more letters arrive courtesy of Ed, Aasmaani convinces herself that the Poet is alive, held captive by a group he calls "the Minions." Although Aasmaani's interiority occasionally overwhelms the otherwise well-paced narrative, her characterization is Shamsie's crowning triumph. Wry, fetching and too clever for her own good, she is a captivating, unexpected heroine. Agent, Victoria Hobbs at A.M. Heath & Co. Ltd. (U.K.). (June)
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About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0747577242
• ISBN 13: 9780747577249
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352