We Are Not in Pakistan [Paperback]

Shauna Singh Baldwin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 14, 2007

Ten years after her stunning debut, Shauna Singh Baldwin returns to Goose Lane with an outstanding new collection of ten stories. Migrating from Central America to the American South, from Metro Toronto to the Ukraine, this book features an unforgettable cast of characters. In the title story, 16-year-old Megan hates her Pakistani grandmother — until Grandma disappears. In the enchanting magical realism of “Naina,” an Indo-Canadian woman is pregnant with a baby girl who refuses to be born. “The View from the Mountain” introduces Wilson Gonzales, who makes friends with his new American boss, the aptly named Ted Grand. But following 9ቧ, Ted’s suspicions cloud his judgment and threaten his friendship with Wilson. Each containing an entire world, these stories are marked by indelible images and unforgettable turns of phrase — hallmarks of Baldwin’s fictional world.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The ten stories in We Are Not in Pakistan illuminate a paradox: love and fear draw us together, yet drive us to extremes of separation. Sixteen-year-old Kathleen believes her family would be normal if not for her Pakistani grandmother. Olena, a Ukrainian woman living in Moscow, discovers that her husband’s new posting will draw her dangerously close to her disapproving mother-in-law. Fletcher, a Lhasa Apso, finds himself in the middle of a game between his mistress and her commitment-phobic boyfriend. Tania tries to transform herself from an exotic dancer into the wife her doctor husband wants. Opposites clash and realign until the very last story, when Dr. Karanbir Singh receives an e-mail from a young woman who professes to be the child of his 1980s green-card marriage. Eliciting amusement, curiosity, and wonder mingled with sadness for a post-9/11 world, Shauna Singh Baldwin lures us toward the displaced men, women, and other animals who populate these stories. Along the way, she explores our complex human responses to technology, art, and, most of all, our fellow humans.

About the Author

Shauna Singh Baldwin is the author of four books of fiction. English Lessons and Other Stories won the Friends of American Writers Award. What the Body Remembers won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book (Canada and Caribbean). The Tiger Claw was a finalist for the Giller Prize. We Are Not in Pakistan, published in 2007, transforms the way we see our globalized world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 274 pages
• Publisher: Goose Lane Editions; No edition edition (September 14, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0864924887
• ISBN-13: 978-0864924889
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,256,599 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bright, deep, entertaining, January 7, 2008

By 

Judy W. Bridges (Milwaukee WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: We Are Not in Pakistan (Paperback)

This is a brand new collection of short stories written by a woman who knows what it's like to live in many cultures, all at once. It's easy to get lofty when you speak of Baldwin's writing -- after all, she won a Commonwealth Writer's Prize (Canada and Caribbean) for her novel, What the Body Remembers, and was a finalist for a Giller Prize for Tiger Claw. And there's the political aspect -- the way she illuminates cultures that are becoming more complex, more hybrid, more important. But what I like best is the way she tells stories. She allows us to slide into the daily -- sometimes rowdy; sometimes ridiculous; sometimes poignant -- lives of those who are like us and those who are "other." From Fletcher the dog to "This Raghead," we are, first and foremost, entertained. Then, when we stop and think about it, we realize we also learned a thing or two.