Thrilled to receive this full-page review of The Miraculous True History of Nomi Ali in the Swedish paper Svenska Dagbladet. Aptly, it appeared on India and Pakistan's Independence Day this past weekend. Plus, it's a "pearl of the month" in Adlibris bookshop.
 |
| "Aslam Khan's story of the prison colony is magnificent" |
Translated excerpts of the review:
"Pakistani Uzma Aslam Khan's breakthrough came with the novel Trespassing in 2003 (Tradarna I Vaven in Swedish). Her new novel The Miraculous True History of Nomi Ali (Den Fantastiska Sanna Historien Om Nomi Ali in Swedish) is a magnificent, rebellious, and moving story.
"It takes place in the Andamans at the eastern end of the Bay of Bengal, an archipelago few have heard of, whose dark and bloody history is even less well known. Time oscillates between 1942 and 1947, with some flashbacks to the 1930s. The islands function during this time as a prisoner colony, first under British sovereignty, then Japanese, then British again, before Independence is proclaimed in 1947.
"The author carried around this story for 26 years, ever since reading about a British politician describing an island to which Indian prisoners were deported as a 'paradise' ... The novel is thus based on historical events, but the characters are fictional.
"We get to meet a diverse gallery of characters. At the center is 15-year-old Nomi Ali and her brother Zee. Their father was deported to the island, and, after serving his sentence, is a 'free' man, a so-called 'trusted.' He gets to build a meager house, grow some crops, and above all cultivate land for the British. He gets to have a hen, loved by the family as a pet. Something that will have fatal consequences ...
"Some (characters) stand out in particular. Aye, a close friend of Nomi and Zee, is a boy with a big heart who risks his life for them. Shakuntala came to the islands as the wife of a British officer, and now lives an uncertain life. And then Prisoner F ('D' in the original, for 'dangerous'; 'farlig' in Swedish, hence 'F'), mythical on the island for being the only one who managed to escape from the terrible prison up the hill ...
"Khan's story is striking on several levels: as a historical novel, as testimony ... as a story of hope, friendship and love that can survive even in the most terrible circumstances."
 |
| Pearls of August, Adlibris Bookseller |
No comments:
Post a Comment