More love for Thinner than Skin

Another lovely review. Thank you, Matthew Todd, for reading the book, for taking the time to think and feel on it so thoroughly.
http://matttodd.wordpress.com/2013/01/06/thinner-than-skin-2012-uzma-aslam-khan/

Jordan Times reviews Thinner than Skin

Was thrilled to see this review of Thinner than Skin in The Jordan Times, my first appearance in the journal: 

http://jordantimes.com/vulnerable-on-all-sides

Am I really being mentioned in the same breath as Gabriel Garcia Marquez?!?! Wooheee.

Happy and safe holidays to all. 

George Monbiot for The Guardian: Best article of the year?

One of the most moving articles I read this year was by George Monbiot (whom I've been in love with for at least ten years). See this excerpt:

"If the victims of Mr Obama's drone strikes are mentioned by the state at all, they are discussed in terms which suggest that they are less than human. The people who operate the drones, Rolling Stone magazine reports, describe their casualties as "bug splats", "since viewing the body through a grainy-green video image gives the sense of an insect being crushed". Or they are reduced to vegetation: justifying the drone war, Obama's counterterrorism adviser Bruce Riedel explained that "you've got to mow the lawn all the time. The minute you stop mowing, the grass is going to grow back." 

Better yet, read the full article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/17/us-killings-tragedies-pakistan-bug-splats

I'll never understand, but will continue to ask the question: how can the American public re-elect a president who says he'll continue a drone war that kills non-American kids, knowing that if he EVER referred to their own kids this way, he would not exactly be excused, let alone congratulated. Chew on that for Christmas, please. Non-American kids being killed right now by American bombs had stories, faces, names. They have families mourning for them still. They could also have had a new year. 

Two (mostly loving) reviews for Thinner than Skin

From India Today and Eleutherophobia (which means "fear of freedom"):

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/bunny-suraiya-reviews-thinner-than-skin-by-uzma-aslam-khan/1/237786.html

And:

http://eleutherophobia.wordpress.com/2012/12/10/smalp-review-thinner-than-skin/

Yay!

The book is still en route to Pakistan, taking so long, this part makes me frown.

Thinner Than Skin is Longlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize!

Happy news this morning. My book, along with fourteen others, has been longlisted for the 2012 Man Asian Literary Prize:

http://www.manasianliteraryprize.org/news/2012/12/3/2012-man-asian-literary-prize-longlist-displays-the-literary.html

I'm enjoying the moment and not thinking about Jan 9.

The Short Form: a fun website

An interview of me over at the lively, thought-provoking site, The Short Form, is up today:

http://theshortform.com/interview/uzma-aslam-khan

An excerpt:

      What is your relationship with short stories?

      Novels, not short stories, are my first love. I came to short stories late.   
      Possibly the first ones I read in English that made me go, wow, these are 
      amazing, but, oh, these are difficult, was in grad school. The stories were
      "The Egg" by Sherwood Anderson and "Slave on the Block" by Langston       
      Hughes. What did -- and continues to -- draw me to this form, when I'm 
      drawn to it, is control and precision, two things I arrive at more easily when 
      writing a chapter, rather than a complete story. A short story must end,
      while a chapter must urge you to turn the page. It's a physical and 
      psychological difference: I don't like socks and I don't like to tuck the sheets 
      under my bed ...

It was fun thinking more about my sometimes difficult connection to the short form while tackling the questions. And if you visit the site, read the other author responses too. A great way to spend a weekday evening. 

Friday Times Interview (a little belatedly), Indian and Canadian Cover, and More

This interview appeared a couple weeks back in the Friday Times, but the link mysteriously disappeared from my blog. In it I discuss the new book, attacks against religious minorities in Pakistan, including on blasphemy charges, and Nana's blasphemy case in my previous book, The Geometry of God. Here's the link again:
http://www.thefridaytimes.com/beta3/tft/article.php?issue=20121026&page=20

The interviewer is Awais Aftab and you can check out his excellent blog here:
http://awaisaftab.blogspot.com/2012/10/uzma-aslam-khans-interview.html

I also want to extend a special thanks to those who came out to hear me read from Thinner than Skin on November 8th. It was a cold weekday evening, but folks -- including many students -- still showed up. You give me hope.

And, and: Thinner than Skin is soon to be released in India, Pakistan, and Canada. Check out the cover below. The Indian edition is a very handsome hardcover, while in Canada it's a trade paperback, one of those soft, wrap-around things -- and with deckle-edged pages! I've always wanted a book with deckle-edged pages. The quality, color, texture, and cut of paper can make me supremely happy, and now, finally, with the fourth child, voila. Please go out and touch it.