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The Inside City
As India hurtles towards Partition, in Lahore's ancient inside city, Amrau Dar is not thinking about politics. She is waiting for a prediction about her son, Awais, to come true. Awais discovers not a secret garden but a secret city and his beloved sister, Maryam, discovers the world of maths. Fearing that the prediction has gone wrong, Amrau takes a series of decisions that will change all their lives.
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'A compelling and hugely entertaining debut' – Aamer Hussein, author of Another Gulmohar Tree
'Brimming with compassion' – Mohammed Hanif, author of A Case of Exploding Mangoes
368 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 21, 2019
1 person is currently reading
44 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 2, 2019
Ambitious and unusual. Although I was on occasion confused -- with a writing style that does not make concessions -- I found this easy to devour.
Political events -- Gandhi, Amritsar, partition -- are the backdrop for a story more about society perhaps, as seen in one family and the swirl of people around it. A mother who eats her young. Awais, who is too black, dreamy mapper of the Inside City of Lahore, avoids getting entirely eaten and helps his sister Maryam, a maths genius (I'd like to think she was named for Maryam Mirzakhani, 1977-2017, first woman to win the Fields Medal in mathematics). The plot does not indulge us with outcomes we'd desire, but at risk of a spoiler, I was highly glad that there IS an escape at the end.
Fascinating historical fiction.
Political events -- Gandhi, Amritsar, partition -- are the backdrop for a story more about society perhaps, as seen in one family and the swirl of people around it. A mother who eats her young. Awais, who is too black, dreamy mapper of the Inside City of Lahore, avoids getting entirely eaten and helps his sister Maryam, a maths genius (I'd like to think she was named for Maryam Mirzakhani, 1977-2017, first woman to win the Fields Medal in mathematics). The plot does not indulge us with outcomes we'd desire, but at risk of a spoiler, I was highly glad that there IS an escape at the end.
Fascinating historical fiction.
April 30, 2019
In The Inside City, the author creates a colourful collage that is part coming of age story, part family saga, part history of events leading up to partition and the creation of Pakistan. However, political events only ever act as a backdrop to the story of Awais and his extended family. Episodic in nature and with a large cast of characters (possibly too large), scenes are skilfully evoked often drawing the reader’s attention away from the political to the personal and acting as intriguing detours from wider events.
I enjoyed the descriptions of the ‘inside city’ of Lahore – its architecture, people and history – although uncovering its secrets didn’t come to the fore quite as much as I expected. I felt I really got to know Awais and his sister, Maryam. Their mother, Kurshid’s actions and motivations I’ll admit I struggled to understand.
The book explores a lot of ideas, including the role of stories in preserving a community’s history and culture and the act of mapping as a form of appropriation. When partition becomes a reality in 1947, the book exposes the realities of displacement and the segregation of communities who once lived side by side.
Covering a time period from 1919 to 1964 but focused especially on the 1930s, The Inside City takes the reader on a vibrant journey encompassing everything from the love of books, the excitement of train journeys and the lure of adventure to celestial numbers. I enjoyed it but found myself a little confused at times.
I enjoyed the descriptions of the ‘inside city’ of Lahore – its architecture, people and history – although uncovering its secrets didn’t come to the fore quite as much as I expected. I felt I really got to know Awais and his sister, Maryam. Their mother, Kurshid’s actions and motivations I’ll admit I struggled to understand.
The book explores a lot of ideas, including the role of stories in preserving a community’s history and culture and the act of mapping as a form of appropriation. When partition becomes a reality in 1947, the book exposes the realities of displacement and the segregation of communities who once lived side by side.
Covering a time period from 1919 to 1964 but focused especially on the 1930s, The Inside City takes the reader on a vibrant journey encompassing everything from the love of books, the excitement of train journeys and the lure of adventure to celestial numbers. I enjoyed it but found myself a little confused at times.
April 24, 2019
Set in 1930’s Lahore, with the odd jump back to 1919, this is the story of Awais. A boy who survived influenza but was left a little sickly. But before his birth a Pir (holy man) told his mother Amrau, that he was destined for greatness and he would save a life…..Amrau was told to change her name to Khurshid…
His father Dar, wasn’t so sure.
But then Awais find the lost 13th gate of Lahore….is the prophecy coming true?
Don’t expect a simple tale, this is about life in turbulent times, about the love of family, political and brutal upheaval and ultimately hope. Beautiful language and imagery by Anita Mir….a treasure of writing and will stay with me for a long while……
Thank you to Anne Cater and Random Things Tours, NetGalley, the author and publishers for a free copy of the ebook in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.
His father Dar, wasn’t so sure.
But then Awais find the lost 13th gate of Lahore….is the prophecy coming true?
Don’t expect a simple tale, this is about life in turbulent times, about the love of family, political and brutal upheaval and ultimately hope. Beautiful language and imagery by Anita Mir….a treasure of writing and will stay with me for a long while……
Thank you to Anne Cater and Random Things Tours, NetGalley, the author and publishers for a free copy of the ebook in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.
October 16, 2019
Originally published in Herald Magazine (print version) in July 2019
In the landscape of Anglophone South Asian literature, Partition is a well-trodden path. From Amitav Ghosh to Kamila Shamsie, from Bapsi Sidwa to Salman Rushdie and beyond, most desi Anglophone writers have attempted to explore the complexity and silence surrounding the events of 1947, the violence and dislocation that Partition engendered. There is, of course, a good reason why South Asian authors of each generation attempt to make sense of Partition through their fiction - the consequences of Partition still reverberate across India, Pakistan and Bangladesh today. Many of the problems facing contemporary South Asia today can be traced back to the ugliness which was uncovered by Partition: the communal violence, the dangerous linking of national identity with religious belonging, the ways in which women’s bodies are frequently used as sites where these violent conflicts are played out. So I understand the impulse behind relative newcomer Anita Mir’s debut novel The Inside City - a fairly decent novel set in 1930s Lahore, at a time of great change in colonial India, leading to the events of 1947 and its aftermath. But the consequence of having so much literature (not to mention films and television dramas) about Partition is that it becomes challenging to write a Partition narrative that avoids, subverts or at least doesn’t actively reproduce tropes and cliches, and that’s something that Mir does not entirely manage to do. This makes The Inside City an interesting addition to the Partition canon, but doesn’t bring anything particularly new to the table.
Centered around the Dar family, specifically Amrau Dar, the matriarch and two of the siblings, Awais and Maryam, as they grow up in Old Lahore, The Inside City explores themes of being caught between familial duty, prophesied destiny and being caught up in social and political forces that are larger than life. Before Awais’s birth, a pir visited Amrau and told her a child of hers would grow up to embody greatness. Believing it was Awais, Amrau spends all of Awais’s childhood and adolescence urging him towards what she believes is his destiny and continually being disappointed at his perceived normalcy, at the expense of ignoring her other children, including her daughter Maryam. Maryam, a bright young girl, it turns out, is extraordinarily gifted in mathematics. While the family grapples with the pir’s prophecy, Awais stumbles upon the mythical thirteenth gate
of the inner city of Lahore, leading him to mapping out the city he loves so much, a city which is on the brink of transformation as the British stumble toward decolonization.
As the aforementioned summary indicates, there is a lot going on in the novel - intricate family dynamics, the high politics of colonial India playing out in the background, a hint of magical realism in the form of Awais’s discovery of the mythical gate. The problem is that the novel falters in setting a compelling narrative pace, leaning into a more episodic style that makes it difficult to invest in any of the plot developments. There is no narrative tension or impetus urging the reader to continue reading, which is a shame because this dilutes the effectiveness of several fascinating aspects of the novel. Awai’s unique relationship to Old Lahore is a compelling aspect of the narrative, as is his struggle to come to terms with the burden of expectations set by his mother. But these aspects are obscured by a few too many characters and storylines, to the point where the climax of the narrative fails to pack the punch it is clearly meant to.
There are certainly strengths of the novel, too. Mir’s prose is luscious, particularly her descriptions of the narrow, twining streets of Old Lahore. In fact, the novel has a great sense of place. The detailed way in which the city is depicted, at a very specific historical moment, makes the buildings and the street corners and the houses come alive. The relationships between the characters are also complex and nuanced. For example, Amrau’s old friendship with another woman, with whom
she is estranged when the novel begins, adds depth to Amrau’s character and prevents her from becoming a one-note obsessive mother (which she veers towards, in some moments).
The more I read Partition fiction, however, the more I wonder whether the traditional novel form has anything new to offer about the disorienting experience of Partition. As I was reading Mir’s novel, I came across another contemporary narrative that talks about Partition, only this one does so obliquely: Palvashay Sethi’s short story titled “Barri Ammi,” published in a special desi literature edition of Barrelhouse magazine, a print and online literary journal that is published in the US. Sethi’s fascinating story experiments with form and style, including with the arrangement of text, splicing together fragments of Partition’s violent trauma on women with the desi trope of the churel, going back and forth in time to create a disorienting effect that is perhaps the more effective way of representing Partition’s senseless traumas. It is, after all, no coincidence that one of the most iconic texts on Parititon is Saadat Hasan Manto’s “Toba Tek Singh,” a text that masterfully mirrors the absurdity and uncanny-ness of Partition. Explaining her choice to arrange her text in a non-traditional way, Sethi says, “I think one of the reasons that the story looks the way it does is because our understanding of Partition (as people who didn't witness it first hand) is both fragmented and informed by silences...So the blank spaces in the story are meant to signify those silences and the very fragmented narratives of Partition that circulate and were passed down to us.”
Perhaps more than the traditional historical novel form, it is texts that experiment with style and genre that are able to more successfully uncover new or untold truths about Partition, or at least bring to the fore the things that are left out of traditional, mainstream narratives about 1947. So while The Inside City is an interesting novel about Lahore, and has fairly nuanced characters, it falls short of revealing anything particularly new about Partition and its stories.
In the landscape of Anglophone South Asian literature, Partition is a well-trodden path. From Amitav Ghosh to Kamila Shamsie, from Bapsi Sidwa to Salman Rushdie and beyond, most desi Anglophone writers have attempted to explore the complexity and silence surrounding the events of 1947, the violence and dislocation that Partition engendered. There is, of course, a good reason why South Asian authors of each generation attempt to make sense of Partition through their fiction - the consequences of Partition still reverberate across India, Pakistan and Bangladesh today. Many of the problems facing contemporary South Asia today can be traced back to the ugliness which was uncovered by Partition: the communal violence, the dangerous linking of national identity with religious belonging, the ways in which women’s bodies are frequently used as sites where these violent conflicts are played out. So I understand the impulse behind relative newcomer Anita Mir’s debut novel The Inside City - a fairly decent novel set in 1930s Lahore, at a time of great change in colonial India, leading to the events of 1947 and its aftermath. But the consequence of having so much literature (not to mention films and television dramas) about Partition is that it becomes challenging to write a Partition narrative that avoids, subverts or at least doesn’t actively reproduce tropes and cliches, and that’s something that Mir does not entirely manage to do. This makes The Inside City an interesting addition to the Partition canon, but doesn’t bring anything particularly new to the table.
Centered around the Dar family, specifically Amrau Dar, the matriarch and two of the siblings, Awais and Maryam, as they grow up in Old Lahore, The Inside City explores themes of being caught between familial duty, prophesied destiny and being caught up in social and political forces that are larger than life. Before Awais’s birth, a pir visited Amrau and told her a child of hers would grow up to embody greatness. Believing it was Awais, Amrau spends all of Awais’s childhood and adolescence urging him towards what she believes is his destiny and continually being disappointed at his perceived normalcy, at the expense of ignoring her other children, including her daughter Maryam. Maryam, a bright young girl, it turns out, is extraordinarily gifted in mathematics. While the family grapples with the pir’s prophecy, Awais stumbles upon the mythical thirteenth gate
of the inner city of Lahore, leading him to mapping out the city he loves so much, a city which is on the brink of transformation as the British stumble toward decolonization.
As the aforementioned summary indicates, there is a lot going on in the novel - intricate family dynamics, the high politics of colonial India playing out in the background, a hint of magical realism in the form of Awais’s discovery of the mythical gate. The problem is that the novel falters in setting a compelling narrative pace, leaning into a more episodic style that makes it difficult to invest in any of the plot developments. There is no narrative tension or impetus urging the reader to continue reading, which is a shame because this dilutes the effectiveness of several fascinating aspects of the novel. Awai’s unique relationship to Old Lahore is a compelling aspect of the narrative, as is his struggle to come to terms with the burden of expectations set by his mother. But these aspects are obscured by a few too many characters and storylines, to the point where the climax of the narrative fails to pack the punch it is clearly meant to.
There are certainly strengths of the novel, too. Mir’s prose is luscious, particularly her descriptions of the narrow, twining streets of Old Lahore. In fact, the novel has a great sense of place. The detailed way in which the city is depicted, at a very specific historical moment, makes the buildings and the street corners and the houses come alive. The relationships between the characters are also complex and nuanced. For example, Amrau’s old friendship with another woman, with whom
she is estranged when the novel begins, adds depth to Amrau’s character and prevents her from becoming a one-note obsessive mother (which she veers towards, in some moments).
The more I read Partition fiction, however, the more I wonder whether the traditional novel form has anything new to offer about the disorienting experience of Partition. As I was reading Mir’s novel, I came across another contemporary narrative that talks about Partition, only this one does so obliquely: Palvashay Sethi’s short story titled “Barri Ammi,” published in a special desi literature edition of Barrelhouse magazine, a print and online literary journal that is published in the US. Sethi’s fascinating story experiments with form and style, including with the arrangement of text, splicing together fragments of Partition’s violent trauma on women with the desi trope of the churel, going back and forth in time to create a disorienting effect that is perhaps the more effective way of representing Partition’s senseless traumas. It is, after all, no coincidence that one of the most iconic texts on Parititon is Saadat Hasan Manto’s “Toba Tek Singh,” a text that masterfully mirrors the absurdity and uncanny-ness of Partition. Explaining her choice to arrange her text in a non-traditional way, Sethi says, “I think one of the reasons that the story looks the way it does is because our understanding of Partition (as people who didn't witness it first hand) is both fragmented and informed by silences...So the blank spaces in the story are meant to signify those silences and the very fragmented narratives of Partition that circulate and were passed down to us.”
Perhaps more than the traditional historical novel form, it is texts that experiment with style and genre that are able to more successfully uncover new or untold truths about Partition, or at least bring to the fore the things that are left out of traditional, mainstream narratives about 1947. So while The Inside City is an interesting novel about Lahore, and has fairly nuanced characters, it falls short of revealing anything particularly new about Partition and its stories.
April 3, 2019
This is one of my favourite books ever! The writing is beautiful, one can taste India. The story of this family takes us through political and cultural changes over more than a generation. Unusual lives, but they do make sense in the historical contexts. For me the story is a literary masterpiece!
May 2, 2019
This is the first time I’m reading the author’s work and I must day, it has been a unique experience. I usually stick to books within my comfort zone, but I decided it was time I moved on. And I’m glad I did that with this book.
The Inside City by Anita Mir is a story of Lahore, pre and post partition, and many political events make appearances within it. Let me begin with a short summary and then move on to the review.
Summary
The book begins in the 1919s with the story of a family in the Inside City in Lahore. Dar and Khurshid are raising a family and Khurshid is told by a pir that her son, Awais, is destined for great things. And thus begins her obsession. When Awais discovers the lost gate, Khurshid is sure the prophecy is coming true. Among expectations and ambitions, relationships and losses, the inside city has a tale to tell that is both emotional and practical at the same time.
What I Liked
Straight off, I am super impressed by the writing style of the author. I found it unusual but gripping. Unusual because at some places it took me some time to piece the goings on together but nevertheless, it was interesting and kept me going.
As the story moves on, the reader is sucked into this exotic city filled with tales and experiences from yesteryear. The story is about Awais and his family along with his close acquaintances. Starting from his childhood, the character of Awais (and many others in the book) share their lives with you.
What I Did Not Like
Now this is my first time reading a book written with such flamboyant style. Hence, I may have felt different than other readers, but nevertheless, this is my honest opinion.
I thought the many deviations from the main story made it difficult for me to follow the story line – I was left confused, at times. Also, there are some conclusions left unsaid (or rather left to the reader’s imagination). I’m not complaining about it, it is just an observation.
I also noticed that some characters were not given enough description, whether deliberately or not, I don’t know. But I couldn’t shake off the feeling that they should have been rounded off better.
Other Details
The Inside City is the debut book by Anita Mir and I must applaud her story telling and writing skills. Splendid!
Would I Recommend It?
Yes, definitely. If you’re in the lookout for something new and unique, then do pick this up. You’ll not be disappointed.
The Inside City by Anita Mir is a story of Lahore, pre and post partition, and many political events make appearances within it. Let me begin with a short summary and then move on to the review.
Summary
The book begins in the 1919s with the story of a family in the Inside City in Lahore. Dar and Khurshid are raising a family and Khurshid is told by a pir that her son, Awais, is destined for great things. And thus begins her obsession. When Awais discovers the lost gate, Khurshid is sure the prophecy is coming true. Among expectations and ambitions, relationships and losses, the inside city has a tale to tell that is both emotional and practical at the same time.
What I Liked
Straight off, I am super impressed by the writing style of the author. I found it unusual but gripping. Unusual because at some places it took me some time to piece the goings on together but nevertheless, it was interesting and kept me going.
As the story moves on, the reader is sucked into this exotic city filled with tales and experiences from yesteryear. The story is about Awais and his family along with his close acquaintances. Starting from his childhood, the character of Awais (and many others in the book) share their lives with you.
What I Did Not Like
Now this is my first time reading a book written with such flamboyant style. Hence, I may have felt different than other readers, but nevertheless, this is my honest opinion.
I thought the many deviations from the main story made it difficult for me to follow the story line – I was left confused, at times. Also, there are some conclusions left unsaid (or rather left to the reader’s imagination). I’m not complaining about it, it is just an observation.
I also noticed that some characters were not given enough description, whether deliberately or not, I don’t know. But I couldn’t shake off the feeling that they should have been rounded off better.
Other Details
The Inside City is the debut book by Anita Mir and I must applaud her story telling and writing skills. Splendid!
Would I Recommend It?
Yes, definitely. If you’re in the lookout for something new and unique, then do pick this up. You’ll not be disappointed.
April 1, 2019
The story was set in India the early 1900's and spanned almost five decades. We followed the lives of the characters and their families who lived in the ancient Inside City within Lahore. It was during the period of political turmoil, and the readers are introduced to the customary practices and religious beliefs of the inhabitants of the inside city. There were arranged marriages, predictions, secret gardens. We looked at the events that may have led to the Amritsar Massacre in 1919 and how the India Partition affected the lives of those who lived through these years. The book was descriptive and engaging and it contained many historical references that are of interest. However, I feel that the story was lost in the parts where the characters were not fully developed. Many diversions and subplots made it a very disjointed reading. Some ideas were touched upon but never revisited or fully developed.
May 3, 2019
A prediction of greatness for a child can be a great joy, or great burden. In Lahore in the early part of the twentieth century Amrau Dar has four children, but she has ambitions for only one, Awais, the beloved son. As Maryam his youngest sister discovers her own special ambitions, India is heading for great changes, and even an ancient city built inside a modern one will not escape from the upheaval that is to come. This touching, beautifully written tale of young men and women growing up in a changing city with the challenges of both an old and new world around them is given an almost mystical quality by a mother still held by an old prediction. As Awais explores and discovers a city waiting to be found around him, his family struggle to understand him and the very city he loves. This engaging and mature historical novel makes confident use of character and setting to tell the story of crushed hopes and family pressures in a unique style. I am very grateful to be given the opportunity to read and review this book as part of a series of posts.
The book opens with a description of the family at home, a three story house where everyone sleeps on the roof. There is a timeless quality to the sun beaten house, which is contrast to the returning father and husband, Dar, who is painfully aware of the superstition which rules his wife and many people in the city. He is full of new ideas, the politicians of independence, such as Gandhi and Jinnah, the future and the nearly magical radio. His great friend, Shams, is a local historian of the city which Awais will become entranced by as both collect the stories and maps of their immediate neighbourhood. Awais makes one great friend, Mitoo, the son of a long ago friend of his mother’s, and the two boys go up in parallel, creating their own activities. Awais is always painfully aware of his mother’s obsession with the prediction that he will achieve greatness, and he realises how difficult it will be if he lets her down with a mundane life. Maryam is a younger child who has been largely ignored, but as she begins to assert her personality and abilities she is recognised by those outside the family as well as Awais as having special gifts which are beyond her traditional gender role.
This is a book which brings to life the very dust of the streets, the unrelenting sunlight, the excitement of living in a rich historical environment. While it acknowledges the background of politics, war and change, these are people who must live their lives where they are, coping with a system which means that Englishmen can come and attempt to map a city that they will never understand. Amrau’s assumed name, Khushid, is initially confusing but it emerges as symbolic of how the holy man’s prediction and advice has dominated both her own life and that of her family. I really enjoyed the style of this novel, full of the small details, looks and dialogue of a family, a society on the brink of change but with a stubborn attachment to a city which is more than buildings which are vulnerable and pathways which can be mapped. I recommend this as a novel to read for the characters, the setting and a world view which is immensely sensitive and attractive.
May 3, 2019
Khurshid is a hard character to feel empathy for, perhaps because she also seems so driven by her own inner convictions and slight madness. She is intent on proving the words of the seer to be true, which in itself sets a self-fulfilling prophecy into movement. Her son Awais is destined for greatness, he will be incredibly clever and as such will prove how great he is.
Of course life is never that simple, and Awais struggles with the obsessions of his mother, as do his siblings. One of more poignant moments in the book is the way Mir describes the gender inequality when it comes to expectations in the society. How both men and women struggle to accept intelligence and academic prowess when the person possessing these skills isn't a man.
Khurshid begins to hate the daughter, who in her eyes is in direct competition for the alleged greatness, so much so that Awais begins to draw away from his beloved sister. It's interesting how the misogyny creeps in when Awais feels insecure about his own inadequacies, when before he embraced the fact that his sister was gifted with such a talent.
You can feel the dirty footprint of colonialism as it stomps its way through the story and the country. A country that has been torn apart and plagued by discourse due to interfering supposedly superior heads, hands and decisions. With what right did and do white men think they could convert, oppress and subjugate entire countries without the native inhabitants trying to rise up and retake what is rightfully theirs? Why after so many centuries are we still guilty of this level of dominance over others, as opposed to aiding and helping fellow humans?
When will the Western world learn that our democratic systems, which are based on the concept of a homogeneous nation, are not applicable to heterogeneous nations. This in essence is at the root of all conflict within India, and that's without delving into the Lahore Resolution and the fractious nature of relationships that has existed since the Partition of India.
I digress
It's hard to say which element of the story appealed to me more - the mystical, the historical or the political part of it. Perhaps that is the crux of the book and the point Mir is making though, that all of those elements are inseparable. To understand, to know or accept one and ignore the others is to lack comprehension of country and people.
It's a beautifully complex combination of historical and political fiction with an important layer of cultural mysticism. Mir takes the reader on a walk through political turmoil, the destructive forces of colonialism, the historical impact of the aforementioned, and simultaneously she has laid bare the intricacies of an often misunderstood culture. It describes a fight for freedom, both on the streets and in the mind of the main character, as he searches for some semblance of inner and outer peace.
*I received a courtesy copy*
Of course life is never that simple, and Awais struggles with the obsessions of his mother, as do his siblings. One of more poignant moments in the book is the way Mir describes the gender inequality when it comes to expectations in the society. How both men and women struggle to accept intelligence and academic prowess when the person possessing these skills isn't a man.
Khurshid begins to hate the daughter, who in her eyes is in direct competition for the alleged greatness, so much so that Awais begins to draw away from his beloved sister. It's interesting how the misogyny creeps in when Awais feels insecure about his own inadequacies, when before he embraced the fact that his sister was gifted with such a talent.
You can feel the dirty footprint of colonialism as it stomps its way through the story and the country. A country that has been torn apart and plagued by discourse due to interfering supposedly superior heads, hands and decisions. With what right did and do white men think they could convert, oppress and subjugate entire countries without the native inhabitants trying to rise up and retake what is rightfully theirs? Why after so many centuries are we still guilty of this level of dominance over others, as opposed to aiding and helping fellow humans?
When will the Western world learn that our democratic systems, which are based on the concept of a homogeneous nation, are not applicable to heterogeneous nations. This in essence is at the root of all conflict within India, and that's without delving into the Lahore Resolution and the fractious nature of relationships that has existed since the Partition of India.
I digress
It's hard to say which element of the story appealed to me more - the mystical, the historical or the political part of it. Perhaps that is the crux of the book and the point Mir is making though, that all of those elements are inseparable. To understand, to know or accept one and ignore the others is to lack comprehension of country and people.
It's a beautifully complex combination of historical and political fiction with an important layer of cultural mysticism. Mir takes the reader on a walk through political turmoil, the destructive forces of colonialism, the historical impact of the aforementioned, and simultaneously she has laid bare the intricacies of an often misunderstood culture. It describes a fight for freedom, both on the streets and in the mind of the main character, as he searches for some semblance of inner and outer peace.
*I received a courtesy copy*
August 25, 2019
Within the twelve storied walls of a City whose origins in a hoary past shape the destinies of a Muslim family lies a mystery. What does the discovery of a thirteenth wall within its precints mean to the town dwellers? And once laid out, why does it need to be buried again?
A dilemna thus forms the setting for Anita Mir's debut novel and is a fresh take on the series of events leading up to a parting of ways for those left behind.
The head of the family is a traveling salesman from Kashmir. 'Umrao' is the name he uses to address the mother of his children. Is this a playful fantasy of his to see in his soulmate the image of a famed courtesan? Or does he remember a time when she who has another name had to be rescued from an environment too risqué to mention?
Pious and unrelenting in her supporting role, the mother is convinced that her first born is destined for 'greatness.' Isn't that what the 'pir' told her? Or is the 'pir' privy to some family secret?
Notwithstanding the 'pir's lofty pronouncement, the father remains unconvinced, and, to his shame, so does the son. In fact, with his destiny tied around his neck, so to speak, he cannot help a sense of resentment that grows and grows inside him. He will need to accept himself in time, like his sister,prone to epilepsy, a kindred spirit.
And so the family saga continues. No spoiler alerts here.
All credit then to the creative energy of the writer, one faithful to a literary tradition, for her determination to tell a good story. Skillfully, she draws upon the inner lives of those who call the City their home, their hopes and their fears. Amid tales of hardship, there are flashes of brilliance. Horseplay lightens the mood. An astonishing array of characters parade across the pages.
Look out for the Keeper of Secrets in the City, theTeller of Tales, Munnibibi, the mad bad boyhood chum, the ministering angel of Hira Mandi, the dashing 'farangi’ in 'mufti', the renegade soldier, the runaway.
I sought meaning in the opening tale of the pigeon and the crow.The allegory escaped me but I felt I understood when I read the following lines:
Jine Lahore Ni Vekhya O Jammya Ni
A dilemna thus forms the setting for Anita Mir's debut novel and is a fresh take on the series of events leading up to a parting of ways for those left behind.
The head of the family is a traveling salesman from Kashmir. 'Umrao' is the name he uses to address the mother of his children. Is this a playful fantasy of his to see in his soulmate the image of a famed courtesan? Or does he remember a time when she who has another name had to be rescued from an environment too risqué to mention?
Pious and unrelenting in her supporting role, the mother is convinced that her first born is destined for 'greatness.' Isn't that what the 'pir' told her? Or is the 'pir' privy to some family secret?
Notwithstanding the 'pir's lofty pronouncement, the father remains unconvinced, and, to his shame, so does the son. In fact, with his destiny tied around his neck, so to speak, he cannot help a sense of resentment that grows and grows inside him. He will need to accept himself in time, like his sister,prone to epilepsy, a kindred spirit.
And so the family saga continues. No spoiler alerts here.
All credit then to the creative energy of the writer, one faithful to a literary tradition, for her determination to tell a good story. Skillfully, she draws upon the inner lives of those who call the City their home, their hopes and their fears. Amid tales of hardship, there are flashes of brilliance. Horseplay lightens the mood. An astonishing array of characters parade across the pages.
Look out for the Keeper of Secrets in the City, theTeller of Tales, Munnibibi, the mad bad boyhood chum, the ministering angel of Hira Mandi, the dashing 'farangi’ in 'mufti', the renegade soldier, the runaway.
I sought meaning in the opening tale of the pigeon and the crow.The allegory escaped me but I felt I understood when I read the following lines:
Jine Lahore Ni Vekhya O Jammya Ni
March 21, 2019
I found this a difficult book to review as part of the story and its intention was unclear. The story is set in Lahore, India from 1928 to 1959, a period of political unrest and turbulence. As India was charged towards being divided, a family’s tale is told. The father Dar is somewhat simplistic and his wife Amrau who insists on being called Khurshid is superstitious after she consults a Pir. She lives her life based on a prediction by said Pir that her son will achieve greatness. When her son Awais fails to live up to her expectations, and his sister Maryam shows an astonishing knack for figures, an ugliness emerges in Khurshid that I found troubling, but still not clear.
Awais, per chance discovers the 13th gate to the city and sets about drawing and storing maps that he later uses to help a family escape.
Some of the scenes in the book were beautifully described but the overall feeling I was left with upon completion of the book, was both confusion and sadness.
Three and a half stars.
Awais, per chance discovers the 13th gate to the city and sets about drawing and storing maps that he later uses to help a family escape.
Some of the scenes in the book were beautifully described but the overall feeling I was left with upon completion of the book, was both confusion and sadness.
Three and a half stars.
May 1, 2019
I'm having a hard time deciding how many stars to give this book. On one hand, it was a fascinating story that made me want to keep reading to see what would happen. On the other hand, it seemed to be somewhat disjointed so that it wasn't easy for me to follow. Some of that may be because I read it using The Pigeonhole app, so I was reading it in chunks and on my phone. Having the actual book in hand may have been different. It also annoyed the heck out of me that most of the comments in Pigeonhole had to do with punctuation & word spacing mistakes.
It was interesting enough that I decided I had to read up on Lahore and the inside city and I did finish it. All in all, an okay read, but not one of my favorites.
It was interesting enough that I decided I had to read up on Lahore and the inside city and I did finish it. All in all, an okay read, but not one of my favorites.
August 15, 2019
Anita Mir's debut novel is a deftly written, textured tale of Awais who we meet as a young boy in Lahore. We follow his life and the stories of his family through the milestones, ups and downs. The friendships, the successes along with the broken relationships and hardships and the details of family life are played out as India heads towards Partition - an event that has a huge impact on Awais and his family that is movingly written.
All of this is acted out with the great city of Lahore, part back-drop part character - The Inside City of the title.
A fine addition to the excellent English-language fiction from Pakistan that has emerged in recent years.
All of this is acted out with the great city of Lahore, part back-drop part character - The Inside City of the title.
A fine addition to the excellent English-language fiction from Pakistan that has emerged in recent years.
September 4, 2019
I honestly found this really hard to finish. Even though the prose was easy to read and the descriptions of the city it's set in are beautiful, it was just very confusing. There are lots of cultural references that outsiders would not get, and there are abrupt changes in POV at times.
Once I got to the middle, it got easier as we stuck with Awais Dar, but I still feel like there was more that the book wanted to tell me that I didn't get. Reading the other reviews on Netgalley tell me others feel the same way. The author would often allude to something happening without actually telling us it happened, and often I would not catch the implications, so that I was completely taken by surprise when it was casually referred to later in the book.
I'm sure others who are more familiar with the time and place this book is set in would enjoy it more, but as someone who had no clue whatsoever about the setting, it felt like I was piecing together a puzzle without knowing what picture it was of.
Once I got to the middle, it got easier as we stuck with Awais Dar, but I still feel like there was more that the book wanted to tell me that I didn't get. Reading the other reviews on Netgalley tell me others feel the same way. The author would often allude to something happening without actually telling us it happened, and often I would not catch the implications, so that I was completely taken by surprise when it was casually referred to later in the book.
I'm sure others who are more familiar with the time and place this book is set in would enjoy it more, but as someone who had no clue whatsoever about the setting, it felt like I was piecing together a puzzle without knowing what picture it was of.
April 16, 2019
For me, the writing style of this book made it easy to read. However, I found it confusing at times. It certainly evokes Indian society and that part is delightful but it meanders through the life of the family in a way that left me baffled at times. There are many events that seemed to drift away without a clear understanding of the part they played. That said it’s worth reading I think.
March 22, 2019
Although this book is beautifully written I found it hard to follow. It is written about a time in history that I knew very little about, I now have a little more understanding of this time.
Thank you pigeonhole and Anita for the chance to read this book.
Thank you pigeonhole and Anita for the chance to read this book.
May 24, 2019
I've just read this book. It gets five stars from me! Interesting characters and a good story. A real page turner.
June 21, 2023
It is hard getting into the story and keeping up with the characters. A story of the people of Lahore pre independence. The plot is quite laboured and I didn’t find it very compelling.
June 22, 2020
The inside city is a journey of a man, Awais, who was born in Lahore walled city, through a tumultuous period in subcontinent, when the British was loosing hold and movement for independence was gaining momentum. Anita has integrated various characters splendidly and in parallel has highlighted the role of a son, brother, friend, husband and the patriarch through various stages of Awais life. All the characters add a lot of flavor to the entire story. The research done by highlighting the culture of walled city, from Das Kulcha to jalebi, from kite flying to pigeon breeding, from shopkeepers to rehri walla's speaks volume of the interest which the author has taken to describe the city she was born in. However a historical glitch (Prince Salim was not son of Aurangzeb but was son of Akbar) in describing story of Anarkali could have been avoided.
An excellent read overall which will keep you glued if you are vaguely familiar with the charm and mysteries of Lahore walled city.
An excellent read overall which will keep you glued if you are vaguely familiar with the charm and mysteries of Lahore walled city.
January 1, 2020
Mystical predictions following traditions of the past play a great part in the life of Amrau Dar and her children. This debut novel is set at a time of great economic change for India and its people. The past and present meet each other in the community and latterly during partition.
Thanks to Netgalley the author and publishers for an ARC of this book
Thanks to Netgalley the author and publishers for an ARC of this book
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