Customer Reviews

Broken Verses

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Aasmaani can`t let go of her history: fourteen years ago her mother, Samina Akram, a political activist, disappeared, assumed dead. Samina was the ardent follower of the Poet, Nazim, whose work reflected the injustices and excesses of the Pakistani government through various stages of social and political upheaval, civil war, repression and religious fanaticism. Aasmaani cannot, or will not, release her mother, a woman who moved in and out of the young girl's life, following the Poet into exile, living nearby when he was imprisoned.

Now in her 30's, Aasmaani has begun work at a cable television network, where she is introduced to the handsome son of a famous retired actress, Shenaz Saeed. The actress is about to return to the screen in a cable soap opera. Another face from Aasmaani's past, Saeed was formerly a close friend of Samina`s, especially in the difficult years after the Poet's death. When the actress passes along a letter received from an anonymous fan, Aasmaani is shocked to find it written in the secret code used by her mother and the Poet. She is soon obsessed with the letters, translating and authenticating details, searching for remnants of truth: "He was still alive. Oh, dear God, he was still alive."

The novel works on two levels, the Poet's role reflecting the ills of a society in transition and a young woman's urgent need to unburden herself of lifetime of grief for a lost mother and father-figure. The novel speaks to the power of words in an age of repression, the character's actions cast against the turbulent history of Pakistan since its inception. The Poet is beloved because he dares tell the truth, a metaphor for democracy, holding society responsible for its actions. Samina is just as powerful in her role as an advocate for women's rights, her passion and integrity a valuable weapon against injustice.

Aasmaani is in an untenable position as the daughter of such a woman, torn between the need for her mother and belief in the cause, always sharing her Samina, either with the people or the Poet. Aasmaani is fragile for most of her life, but this rite of passage calls her to recognize her true heritage, her own identity: "Sometimes I feel like I've spent my whole life missing Mama." How does a daughter not resent living in the shadow of her mother's greatness and find peace with the memories she has left? Now Aasmaani is desperate to prove one of them alive, clinging to possibility.

In the end, I am conflicted about this novel. I persevered through the author's lengthy political discourses and the esoteric dialog of the Poet and his lover, trusting the integrity of the characters, even the stubborn, if formidable Aasmaani, who exhausts everyone who loves her. Her psychological distance remains palpable, inaccessible. Aasmaani walks with the gods, refusing to acknowledge their humanity or her own. She has infinite passion for the Poet and the Activist, but no compassion, protected in the ivory tower of her intellect. Shamsie's protagonist has no tolerance for the flawed or the ordinary, yet the story's facile resolution is duplicitous, an author's conceit. Luan Gaines/2005.

It took me over a week to read this book, twice of what I'd normally have taken. This is because I'd linger over a phrase, a paragraph and often go back and read the whole page all over again. I stretched out the reading to savour the experience. I don't remember the last time I wanted to do that with a book.

The story of Aasmaani Inquilab is interesting enough. If the story moves at a slightly slower pace than one is used to in the current fare, it is more than made up for by how beautifully language is used. Kamila Shamsie makes an art out of writing as well as story-telling with 'Broken Verses' and excels in both.

Based in Pakistan, this is a touching tale about a mother-daughter relationship. Thirty-one year old Aasmani is still dealing with the disappearance of her mother seventeen years ago, and sorting through her feelings of rejection, resentment and jealousy. Shamsie's style is gripping from cover to cover. Her first thriller is impossible to put down - I read it, beginning to end, from 11pm to 6am! The characters have a way of getting under your skin. The only flaw I found with the book is that the end doesn't quite hold together. But I guess that could be excused since it provides the surprise element. The novel gives an insight into the political life in Pakistan and portrays the plight of women under the Hudood ordinance. Paradoxically, it offers a glimpse into the lives of an unexpectedly liberal and unorthodox section of Pakistani society. The novel is perfect for a rainy day (preferably a Sunday) when you can curl up in your blanket, sip on a cup of warm chai, nibble on hot pakodas and relish Shamsie's creation at leisure.

"Broken Verses" has been a very ambivalent read for me. Hoping for a serious glimpse into contemporary life in Pakistan, I soon realized I was thrown into the arms of a selfish narrator whom I never came to trust and like throughout the whole novel. The plot touches on serious themes as loss of a beloved person, family relations, womens' rights, religion, politics, the contemporary history of Pakistan, but continues to turn them into a soap opera on its own, soon enough, while the protagonist of the novel, Aasmaani, keeps pointing out and ridiculing the wooden thought and behaviour patterns of everyone she is encountering throughout the novel, including herself, ironically. She seems too smart and detached for her own good, as some other reader has pointed out earlier. If that is what the author intended the readers to understand, that people in the rich, privileged and melodramatic world of her protagonist seem not able to behave freely and independently as characters, for whatever reason, she does succeeded and I should be giving her three or four stars instead of two, for her eloquent choice of language, sometimes original handling of poetry and the occasional interesting observations she provides on different themes. As a plot, though, the story doesn't have much to offer, for a lack of development, and is poorly holding together. I felt most characters, if not all to be very plastic, designed as if to fit the cast of a TV series and hardly likeable, with the exception of Aasmaani's father and his wife, perhaps, who show traces of real people, if just by not being overtly present in the story. I was hoping for the novel to end with a surprise that made one rethink its entire plot, characters and construction, but instead my fears came true and it just got a lot worse. The soap opera theme within the story had indistinguishably incorporated what was left of reality.
(By the way, wasn't the *surprise moment* of the story way too predictable? Agatha wouldn't have liked it. The craving for love may make the protagonist blind, but not the reader.)

This book sounded so intriguing from the back cover & the first 3 pages, & the author's writing style is great, but for the life of me I could not finish this book. The characters were likable enough, but as another reviewer said, I kept waiting for something to happen. It never did. It's too bad, because there are some nice observations & phrasings in the book, but the plot is seriously lacking.

The book has substance, a good story,and very good language.But

this book has a very big defect. The Author does not develop

the surroundings of the main character. The story is told in very

confined areas. It is either the office, or the small apartment

or the actress's house. The author even has her main character

discuss her problems at sahoor time. It seems that not for a

moment could the reader take a breather. Not for a moment could

the reader get away from the psychological problems of the main

character. I felt quite exhausted from reading this book and

was glad when I finished and could finally go for a walk and breath fresh air.

I've loved Kamila Shamsie's work since the first time I read "Salt and Saffron" in a single night, because I couldn't put it down. She has always written beautifully, with humor and a love of language, but here has matured to add grace and power to her repetoire. Bravo! I loved this book and the author, and can't wait to see how much further she takes her enormous talent. Its quite humbling to realize that this intellectual force comes from someone so young!

Pakistani author Kamila Shamsie's latest novel may be her best novel yet. I loved this book. Although there were moments of awkward writing and dialogue in the opening chapters of the book, these were few, and the story and its narrator sweep you toward a powerful conclusion. 30-year-old Aasmaani's mother, a charismatic political activist, disappeared nearly 15 years ago, two years after her lover, Pakistan's greatest poet, was brutally killed by the government. Now, Aasmaani is receiving letters written in a secret language known only by her mother and the poet. Could either or both still be alive? Aasmaani search for the truth and her mother's and the poet's whereabouts becomes an investigate into her own mind and heart. Filled with Shamsie's hallmark humor and lyricism and commentary on Pakistan's history and politics, BROKEN VERSES is a book that lingers in the mind long after the last page.

I absolutely loved this book. It was happy, sad, inspiring, intriguing, touching and so intelligent that I could not put it down. Shamsie is one of the most talented storytellers I have encountered in my time. I had a wonderful experience reading this book and I would recommend it to everyone.

This book haunted me while I was reading and afterwards, too.

Exquisitely written, intensely felt.