The World with Its Mouth Open

Rafiq, Zahid

ISBN 10: 195903085X / ISBN 13: 9781959030850

Published by Tin House, 2024

Former library book; May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G195903085XI4N10

Synopsis:

A New Yorker Best Book of the Year

As heard on NPR’s Weekend Edition

Finalist for the 2025 CLMP Firecracker Award
“An utterly exquisite debut.”—Emily Fridlund, author of History of Wolves

In eleven stories, The World With Its Mouth Open follows the inner lives of people in Kashmir as they walk the uncertain terrain of their days, fractured from years of war. From a shopkeeper’s encounter with a mannequin, to an expectant mother walking on a precarious road, to a young boy wavering between dreams and reality, to two dogs wandering the city, these stories weave in larger, devastating themes of loss, grief, violence, longing, and injustice with the threads of smaller, everyday realities that confront the characters’ lives in profound ways. Although the stories circle the darker aspects of life, they are—at the same time—an attempt to run into life, into humor, into beauty, into another person who can offer refuge, if momentarily.

Zahid Rafiq’s The World With Its Mouth Open is an original and powerful debut collection announcing the arrival of a new voice that bears witness to the human condition with nuance, heart, humor, and incredible insight.

About the Author: Zahid Rafiq is a writer living in Srinagar, Kashmir. He was a journalist for several years before turning to writing fiction. The World With Its Mouth Open is his first book.

Bibliographic Details

Title: The World with Its Mouth Open
Publisher: Tin House
Publication Date: 2024
Binding: Paperback
Condition: Very Good
Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket