A Kirkus Reviews’ Best Book of 2009
Finalist in Foreword magazine’s Best Books of 2009
Winner, Bronze Award, Independent Publishers Book Awards 2010
One of "Ten Incredible Books by Muslim Women Writers" -- Nylon
‘Uzma Aslam Khan, a fearless young Pakistani novelist, writes about what lies beneath the surface—ancient fossils embedded in desert hillsides, truths hidden inside the language of everyday life. Khan’s urgent defense of free thought and action—often galvanized by strong-minded, sensuous women—courses through every page of this gorgeously complex book; but what really draws the reader in is the way Mehwish taste-tests the words she hears, as if they were pieces of fruit, and probes the meaning of human connection in a culture of intolerance, but also of stubborn hope.’-- Cathleen Medwick, Oprah
'The characters, the poetry and the philosophical questions she raises are rendered with power and beauty that make this novel linger in the mind and heart.' -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
‘Uzma Aslam Khan comes from a generation of Pakistani authors born and raised in the disrupted decades of the 1980s and 90s... As in her previous work, Aslam Khan deploys several narrators, both male and female… Yet, it is above all, the two female perspectives which make the novel worth reading. Amal offers insights into modern Pakistan, but it is the abstract perspectives offered by her sister, Mehwish, a character who sees the world with her inner eye, tastes its truths and tells them "slant", that are the most original and captivating. We become attuned to her quietly anarchic voice.’-- Times Literary Supplement
‘The Geometry of God becomes that rare creature, a novel where the urgency of the message is matched by the verve of the narrative…the author's intelligence, imprinted on every page like a watermark, blooms into full colour when delving into Mehwish's strange and lovely inner world…The book may be (and probably will be) read by many as a primer to the growth of fundamentalism in the region; to my mind, however, that is the least of what this gorgeous, complex stunner of a novel offers.’ -- Niranjana Iyer, Eclectica
'Throughout this complex narrative, Ms. Khan writes with unfailing intelligence and linguistic magic.' -- Claire Hopley, Washington Times
'Khan's creative and exuberant use of language delights and puzzles us, and makes us think from start to finish ... Reading The Geometry of God is akin to being immersed in the sea of Khan's language. She demands total immersion and what we get from her depends on our own ability to appreciate the experience.' -- Tara Menon, Calyx
'Beautifully written, funny and full of tension, The Geometry of God ... with its playful language and vivid characters, will give you what you expect from a novel: a great read.' -- Metro Éireann
'Uzma Aslam Khan has boldly tapped uncharted themes in her latest book, The Geometry of God. It seemed for some time that Pakistani English literature had blurred into a chorus of post-9/11 repression … but Khan undoubtedly breaks the mould. She carves a sublime story of new and old with contemporary panache, in which people are real and their fears are prevalent and believable. Khan weaves a complex story whose narrative has a casual energy to it: each voice telling his or her story. Khan is not afraid to say anything.' -- Dawn
‘Khan writes simply and with feeling, the language perfectly matching the personality of each character. It was a pleasure to read this profound, yet straightforward book.’ -- Jang Weekly
'An unconventionally structured novel ... also fascinating in its use of language and drawings sketched as if by a child, in the midst of a mosaic of narrative from different points of view. Hilarious and moving.' -- The Hindu
'(A) novel about transformations ... in a prose at times eccentric and whimsical but always precise and poetic ... The geometry of God is an apt metaphor, not merely for the blending of science and faith that animates the central conflict but also for the loving spatiotemporal handling of the Pakistani landscape--from the inner courtyards and crowded cities to the Salt Range of the Punjab, as well as the reduction of all this expanse into the eccentric and mystical "boxes" that the blind Mehwish makes for each person she encounters.' -- World Literature Today
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