Book picks similar to
Pakistan: Beyond the Crisis State by Maleeha Lodhi


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Thinner Than Skin


Uzma Aslam Khan - 2012
    It's also a love story: between a young Pakistani man trying to make his way as photographer in America, and the daughter of a Pakistani father and German mother brought up in the US, who wants to return to a country she's never seen. Together they make the trip to Pakistan, where a chance meeting with a young nomad changes their lives, and the lives of those around them, forever. The novel is also a love letter to the wilds of Northern Pakistan, to glaciers, to the old Silk Road, and to the nomadic life of the indigenous people in the Northern territories, where China encroaches and Pakistanis, Uzbeks, Russians, Chinese, and Afghans all come together to trade.

Greetings from Bury Park


Sarfraz Manzoor - 2007
    Sarfraz spent his teenage years in a constant battle, trying to reconcile being both British and Muslim, trying to fit in at school and at home. But it was when his best friend introduced him to the music of Bruce Springsteen that his life changed completely. From the age of sixteen on, after the moment he heard the harmonica and opening lines to “The River,” Springsteen became his personal muse, a lens through which he was able to view the rest of his life. Both a tribute to Springsteen and a story of personal discovery, Greetings from Bury Park is a warm, irreverent, and exceptionally perceptive memoir about how music transcends religion and race.

Streams of Babel


Carol Plum-Ucci - 2000
    With each glass of water they drink, the people of Trinity Falls are poisoning themselves. A world away in Pakistan, a sixteen-year-old computer genius working as a virtual spy for the United States sees an influx of chatter from extremists about a substance they call Red Vinegar that will lead to many deaths in Colony One. Can he warn the victims before it's too late? A Printz Honor Award winner and two-time Edgar Allan Poe Award finalist, Carol Plum-Ucci explores disturbing new terrain in this riveting novel that examines the heroes and victims involved in a terrifying act of bioterrorism.

This House of Clay and Water


Faiqa Mansab - 2017
    Nida, intelligent and lonely, has married into an affluent political family and is desperately searching for some meaning in her existence; and impulsive, lovely Sasha, from the ordinary middle-class, whose longing for designer labels and upmarket places is so frantic that she willingly consorts with rich men who can provide them. Nida and Sasha meet at the famous Daata Sahib dargah and connect-their need to understand why their worlds feel so alien and empty, bringing them together. On her frequent visits to the dargah, Nida meets the gentle, flute-playing hijra Bhanggi, who sits under a bargadh tree and yearns for acceptance and affection, but is invariably shunned. A friendship-fragile, tentative and tender-develops between the two, both exiles within their own lives; but it flies in the face of all convention and cannot be allowed. Faiqa Mansab's accomplished and dazzling debut novel explores the themes of love, betrayal and loss in the complex, changing world of today's Pakistan.

Meatless Days


Sara Suleri - 1989
    Suleri; of her tenacious grandmother Dadi and five siblings; and of her own passage to the West."Nine autobiographical tales that move easily back and forth among Pakistan, Britain, and the United States. . . . She forays lightly into Pakistani history, and deeply into the history of her family and friends. . . . The Suleri women at home in Pakistan make this book sing."—Daniel Wolfe, New York Times Book Review"A jewel of insight and beauty. . . . Suleri's voice has the same authority when she speaks about Pakistani politics as it does in her literary interludes."—Rone Tempest, Los Angeles Times Book Review"The author has a gift for rendering her family with a few, deft strokes, turning them out as whole and complete as eggs."—Anita Desai, Washington Post Book World"Meatless Days takes the reader through a Third World that will surprise and confound him even as it records the author's similar perplexities while coming to terms with the West. Those voyages Suleri narrates in great strings of words and images so rich that they left this reader . . . hungering for more."—Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune"Dazzling. . . . Suleri is a postcolonial Proust to Rushdie's phantasmagorical Pynchon."—Henry Louise Gates, Jr., Voice Literary Supplement

Quita's DayScare Center 2


Gina West - 2012
    When we last left Quita, the last person on earth Flex would suspect, Kim Carmichael, had kidnapped Cordon.Kimi, Cordon's biological mother, had her unreliable cousin Pooh hold Cordon, and his friend Miranda in a motel room until further instructions. But the kids have another agenda, and decide to slip away to face the dangerous streets, and save themselves.To top it all off, Quita must still run her illegal daycare center although most of her friends are being held captive by Flex, and his goons until Cordon is found. Time is of the essence and if Flex does not get Cordon back soon, bodies will continue to drop.Quita's Dayscare Center 2 is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. Will this be the end of Quita's Dayscare Center or just the beginning?

Six Mornings on Sanibel


Charles Sobczak - 1999
    Two unlikely men meet one morning at the fishing pier on Sanibel Island in Florida. Over the course of the next six mornings, they share more than just snook runs and cold Cokes. Richard Evans is an overweight, stressed out divorce attorney who measures his success by how much money he can manipulate from his clients. Under duress from his wife, Helen, he has taken his estranged family on vacation to Sanibel Island. Helen, whose life has grown to revolve around her soap operas, bridge games, and excessive spending, has anything but time for her family. Subsequently, both their teenage boys are spoiled beyond measure with every toy and game manufactured. Spoiled with everything except love and time from their parents. Sadly, their big, beautiful Midwestern house resembles anything but a home. Carl Johnson and his wife, Marie, had moved to Sanibel decades ago to raise their family in the peaceful serene environment that island life has to offer; Carl as a fishing guide and Marie tending their family, garden and volunteer work. He has lived a long full life and is now old and retired. With his children having moved out of state and Marie having passed away to cancer last year, Carl is living the last years of his life with his fishing tackle and memories. Over the next six mornings, while catching and releasing fish, Carl and Richard share tales of love, losses, heroism, vanity, suicide and life. They share bait, fishing gear and poignant conversations. With each passing morning, something happens to Richard. He begins to realize how superficial and shallow his life has become and contemplates changing, no matter how difficult that change may be.

Keisha & Trigga : A Gangster Love Story


Leo Sullivan - 2015
    So when she meets Lloyd AKA Black, a rich street king who ruthlessly runs Atlanta and everything in it, she has no problem shedding her good girl image to be his coke-addicted ride or die. But there is one problem---his wife Dior who Lloyd is NOT divorcing although he tells Keisha a different story. After a turn of events that almost ends in bloodshed for Lloyd and Dior at her hands, Keisha swears to never do coke again, goes back to the stripclub, and takes back her job as a bartender. And it is there that she meets Trigga...Trigga is a boss nigga with an attitude. He's all business and making money but he has a mean, sexy swag that makes him effortlessly attract women. One night, he's in Pink Lips when he sees Keisha, but he's not there for pleasure...he's there for business. And his business involves putting a bullet straight through Lloyd's skull. What he soon finds is that Lloyd won't be an easy mark and one mistake ends up placing him and Keisha in the hospital fighting for their lives. When Trigga wakes up, the first person on his mind is Keisha--the woman he met who he now feels obligated to protect. And Kiesha is all too ready to allow him to do so as long as she can keep her best kept secrets regarding Lloyd underwraps.Dior Mitchell-Evans has been cheated on one to many times by her husband, Lloyd, and she decides once and for all that she won't continue to take it lying down. So she enlists the only man she knows just might love her more than Lloyd to help her with her plans...Lloyd's cousin, Kenyon. Although Kenyon and Lloyd were raised like brothers, Kenyon can't hide the fact that he's loved Dior throughout the years and he won't stand by idly any longer as Lloyd continues to use and abuse her.Love and betrayal sometimes fall hand in hand. But when you fall in love in the streets, you can guarantee that betrayal will soon come. This isn't the typical 'good girl meets thug' tale. This is classic romance meets thug love and it will leave you wanting more.

Between Clay and Dust


Musharraf Ali Farooqi - 2012
    In an old ruined city, emptied of most of its inhabitants, Ustad Ramzi, a famous wrestler past his prime, and Gohar Jan, a well-known courtesan whose kotha once attracted the wealthy and the eminent, contemplate the former splendour of their lives and the ruthless currents of time and history that have swept them into oblivion.

Kingdom's End: Selected Stories


Saadat Hasan Manto - 1988
    Saadat Hasan Manto (1912-1955) is also the most controversial: he was tried for obscenity no less than six times, both before and after the departure of the British from India in 1947. In a writing career spanning over two decades, Manto, one of Urdu's great stylists, produced a powerful and original body of work including short stories, a novel, radio plays, essays and film scripts.This collection brings together some of Manto's finest stories, ranging from his chilling recounting of the horrors of Partition to his portrayal of the underworld. Writing with great feeling and empathy about the fallen and the rejects of society, Manto the supreme humanist shows how the essential goodness of people does not die even in the face of unimaginable suffering. Powerful and deeply moving, these stories remain as relevant today as they were first published more than half a century ago.

Karachi Halwa


Prabhu Dayal - 2015
    Ambassador Prabhu Dayal shares his recollections of that period and keeps you laughing throughout his account of the bumpy ride of Pakistan’s domestic politics and its relationship with India. He tells you how a Sahiwal cow was brought into the equation, and where an elephant comes in.He says, ‘The past, the present and the future are in one continuous motion. Whatever I witnessed in Pakistan during Zia’s rule extends its long shadow not only over the present times but will do so well into the future also’. He poses the ultimate question whether the two South Asian giants can live as friends, offering his own suggestions.

One Mountain Thousand Summits: The Untold Story of Tragedy and True Heroism on K2


Freddie Wilkinson - 2010
     When eleven men perished on the slopes of K2 in August 2008, it was one of the deadliest single events in Himalayan climbing and made headlines around the world. Yet non of the surviving western climbers could explain precisely what happened. Their memories were self-admittedly fogged by exhaustion, hypoxia, and hallucinations. The truth of what happened lies with four Sherpa guides who were largely ignored by the mainstream media in the aftermath of the tragedy, who lost two of their own during the incident, and whose heroic efforts saved the lives of at least four climbers. Based on his numerous trips to Nepal and in-depth interviews he conducted with these unacknowledged heroes, the other survivors, and the families of the lost climbers, alpinist and veteran climbing writer Freddie Wilkinson presents the true story of what actually occurred on the "savage" mountain. This work combines a criticism of the mainstream press's less-than-complete coverage of the tragedy and an insightful portrait of the lives of 21st-century Sherpas into an intelligent, white-knuckled adventure narrative.

Losing Graceland


Micah Nathan - 2010
    He has just graduated from college with a useless degree, has gotten dumped by his longtime girlfriend, and is still mourning his father, who died in a freak accident. Yet Ben finds himself in for more than he expected, as the old man who placed the ad seems to be a still-living Elvis who leads Ben on a 900-mile journey to Memphis in search of his granddaughter. Along the way they brawl with biker gangs, consult a backwoods oracle, rescue a hooker named Ginger from her one-eyed pimp, and ultimately find some answers about themselves and their place in the world.

A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband, Danny Pearl


Mariane Pearl - 2003
    Why he was in Karachi; how he saw his role as an international journalist: why he was singled out for kidnapping; and where the incredible search effort led - are the subject of Mariane Pearl's book. A journalist in her own right, Mariane is, as was her husband, profoundly committed to the idea that a more informed public makes for a better world, and to the idea that risks are taken to uncover a story. A superb writer, she presents a truly illuminating tale - including her own crucial role in the investigative team, where she was responsible for negotiating unprecedented cooperation between the FBI and Pakistani intelligence and able to forge alliances with an array of people, from the Karachi chief of police to George Bush. A Mighty Heart is an extraordinary book - a fitting tribute to a dedicated reporter and a profound and heartbreaking love story.

The Struggle for Pakistan: A Muslim Homeland and Global Politics


Ayesha Jalal - 2014
    Beset by assassinations, coups, ethnic strife, and the breakaway of Bangladesh in 1971, the country has found itself too often contending with religious extremism and military authoritarianism. Now, in a probing biography of her native land amid the throes of global change, Ayesha Jalal provides an insider's assessment of how this nuclear-armed Muslim nation evolved as it did and explains why its dilemmas weigh so heavily on prospects for peace in the region.Attentive to Pakistan's external relations as well as its internal dynamics, Jalal shows how the vexed relationship with the United States, border disputes with Afghanistan in the west, and the conflict with India over Kashmir in the east have played into the hands of the generals who purchased security at the cost of strong democratic institutions. Combined with domestic ethnic and regional rivalries, such pressures have created a siege mentality that encourages military domination and militant extremism.Since 9/11, the country has been widely portrayed as a breeding ground for Islamic terrorism. Assessing the threats posed by Al-Qaeda and the Taliban as American troops withdraw from Afghanistan, Jalal contends that the battle for Pakistan's soul is far from over. Her definitive biography reveals how pluralism and democracy continue to struggle for a place in this Muslim homeland, where they are so essential to its future.