The Story of a Widow

by Musharraf Ali Farooqi - Knopff Canada
 ~ Review: Halifax Herald, January 2009

Mona Ahmad is recently widowed. After the initial shock, she is surprised to find she has been left in very comfortable circumstances. She settles back into her house in Karachi, her days no longer defined by her husband’s presence.  She is gently intoxicated by her new freedom.

An unexpected marriage proposal, brokered through her neighbour, disrupts Mona’s quiet widowhood.  Her daughters, uncles, aunts and in-laws rush to her side, determined to protect both her and the family’s honour.  Their well oiled, highly effective gossip machine springs into action and in the absence of hard facts, hearsay and innuendo suffice.  Mona’s peaceful life collapses.

Surprising everyone, most of all herself, Mona rebels against tradition and remarries.  The consequences of this decision lead her to a contemplation of her life so far. She questions her first marriage and the roles she willingly shouldered as wife and mother, until finally she asks a profound question of herself.  The answer comes clearly as she begins to understand that her unhappiness is “a condition of her own creation”.  Her path becomes clearer.

The narrator takes a back seat in this book, functioning as a keen observer whose role is to keep us informed.  It is an effective technique, allowing the story to flow through the intricate nuances of family and Pakistani tradition.  Farooqi’s first novel is an entertaining and touching account of a traditional woman moving toward an understanding that life can be hers for the taking.

Musharraf Ali Farooqi is a writer and translator who was born in Hyderabad, Pakistan. His first children’s book, The Cobbler’s Holiday or Why Ants Don’t Where Shoes was released in 2008.  Musharraf Ali Farooqi lives in Toronto.

In Other Rooms, Other Wonders

by Daniyal Mueenuddin

W.W. Norton & CompanyI

  ~ Review in Halifax Herald, February 2009

In this linked collection of stories, Daniyal Mueenuddin gives us a private viewing into parallel worlds of great wealth and great poverty, and the corruption and thievery that is intrinsic to both.

K. K. Harouni is a feudal landowner whose favours to those  dependent on him are dispensed generously and thoughtlessly.  They are withdrawn just as easily, with sometimes calamitous results.  But his wealth is old money, and times are changing in Pakistan.  These stories tell of Harouni’s household, his family and staff, and the villagers who depend on him for their survival.

In A Spoiled Man, Rezak has been cast out by his family. When a servant intercedes on his behalf, he is hired to ensure the American wife’s orchard is kept watered. He cannot believe his fortune. He is happy - until he falls victim to events and is powerless to influence the outcome.  This is a theme that repeats itself throughout these stories.

 Saleem becomes involved with Rafik, Harouni’s personal retainer.  Although much older, he provides her safety and she comes to love him dearly.  When his family arrives from his village, honour and tradition win out and Saleem is put aside.  Without protection, ‘within two year, she is finished.’

Mueenuddin’s writing is measured, gentle.  He takes the time to set the stage, making sure that we, his readers, have the background necessary to see the texture, to understand the intricacies of the tapestry unfolding on the page.  His portrayal of corruption and the manipulation it feeds, and the powerlessness of poverty is woven through these stories as rich and poor alike jockey to better position themselves.

What Mueenuddin does very well is put this in context.  He places his characters at the forefront, where they indulge in acts of thoughtless cruelty intertwined within the beauty of kindness and love.  He castes no judgements. This is a wonderful debut collection and presents to us the rich landscape of an ancient, diverse culture that is uneasily changing.

Daniyal Mueenuddin studied law at Yale and worked as a lawyer in New York City. He now manages a farm in Pakistan.  This is his first book.