Jamil Ahmad (1932–2014)

"World fiction" has an inherent advantage over fiction from right here in my own culture: in addition to the entertainment and literary qualities of the story there is the appeal of learning about entirely different ways of life someplace else in the world. Okay, maybe that doesn't do much for some people, but I'm not a Republican so it works for me.

The collection of stories that makes up The Wandering Falcon is brilliant for immersing the reader in a part of the world where the ways of life and social codes are alien to the Western mind. Mostly this is among the Pashtun tribes of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in Pakistan, but it also includes the peoples of Baluchistan and the old Northwest Frontier Province in western Pakistan. They are written with a sympathetic but not at all romanticizing point of view by an author who is an outsider himself but who spent decades in these areas as a Pakistani civil servant. Despite only being published in 2011, they were written and take place decades before the current day; this leaves them unsullied by any possible agenda concerning the controversial modern politics of this area.

The stories are well written but the "fantastic read" factor here is not characters or magnificent prose, it is the amazing window these stories give us into this land and culture. I was thrilled by this book from the first pages and enjoyed every minute of reading it.… (more)

I avoided this for a long time, thinking it was too lightweight. I’m not sure why. The only book written by a retired Pakistani administrator of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, it is a series of loosely connected stories about life in Afghanistan, among the different tribes. It was a fascinating look into a world I knew/know nothing about except, remotely, through, say, Kipling’s eyes. I enjoyed it a great deal; it may not be high literature but it’s definitely not lightweight either. A quick read and well worth the time.… (more)

Adult fiction. Internationally acclaimed debut novel from 80-year-old Pakistani man, about nomadic tribes struggling to keep their way of life near the borders of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran while the governing bodies at war will not permit them to cross boundaries. Around the 20th page or so an adulterous woman is shot by her lover before he is recaptured and then stoned to death; the strange bleakness of these desert stories goes on from there. I got to p. 110 (almost halfway through the book) but got tired of "listening" during a particularly long-seeming story/explanation given by one of the characters.… (more)

Loved this book. A brilliant collection of interconnected short stories, sad & beautiful, written in simple prose. The stories are of everyday struggles, of survival, of injustice and resilience. Life in distant areas like the pakistan/afghanistan border looks like a tale of distant eras, as the ones we listened when a child. And gave me one the best things when we read a book : follow the story as if we are part of it. Higly recomendable.
( It was an offer from a Bookcrosser when she visited Portugal. Thanks Apolonia )… (more)