Season of the Rainbirds (Vintage International)

Winner of a Betty Trask Award for best first novel a decade ago, this remains Aslam's only book. Set in a small town in contemporary Pakistan, the novel contains a number of dramatic hooks-most notably the murder of the town judge, and the reappearance of a bag of mail missing for almost twenty years. Despite expectations, these actually don't really pay off in any huge revelations, but rather serve as catalysts for Aslam's examination of a town filled with undercurrents of political, religious, and ethnic tension. The novel flows into and out of various homes, from the town's feudalistic ruling family, that of a the town's main Muslim clergyman, to a widowed woman's, that of a Christian family, and of the district commissioner, as well as the barbershop and post office. What slowly emerges is the portrait of a community largely isolated from the outside world, under the heel of the military dictatorship and the local ruling elite, and culturally caught between tradition and modernity. It doesn't whack the reader over the head with any particular message, but rather offers a glimpse into rural Pakistani life.

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Very unusual read but I really enjoyed it.