River of Fire [Paperback]

Qurratulain Hyder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2003

The most important novel of twentieth-century Urdu fiction.

Qurratulain Hyder's River of Fire makes a bid to be recognized in the West as what it has long been acknowledged in the East: the most important novel of twentieth-century Urdu fiction. First published as Aag ka Darya in 1959, River of Fire encompasses the fates of four recurring characters over two and a half millennia: Gautam, Champa, Kamal, and Cyril—Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, and Christian. In different eras different relations form and reform among the four: romance and war, possession and dispossession. Interweaving parables, legends, dreams, diaries, and letters, Hyder's prose is lyrical and witty. And she argues for a culture that is inclusive: River of Fire is a book that insists on the irrelevance of religion in defining Indian identity.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A glorious tapestry of India's history....Brilliant and thought-provoking...this book is fascinating! -- India Edghill, Historical Novels Review, February 2004

A rich and ancient tapestry, interweaving the tiny threads of individual human experience into a panoramic spread of cultural diversity. -- Linda B. Osborne, WorldView, November/December 2004

An Urdu classic with a breathtakingly vast canvas. -- Outlook

Hyder is a wonderful writer. Hers is one of the most important Indian voices of the twentieth century. -- Amitov Ghosh

To Urdu fiction what A Hundred Years of Solitude is to Hispanic Literature. --Times Literary Supplement

Language Notes

Text: English (translation) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 428 pages
• Publisher: New Directions Publishing (June 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811215334
• ISBN-13: 978-0811215336
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #778,326 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great novel, March 11, 2000

By 

Abida Ripley (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: River of Fire: Aag Ka Darya (Hardcover)

This is one of the finest pieces of literature I have read. There is history, philosophy, psychology and above all human relationship. I like the engaging style, the weaving of the events and the passion that can be seen through the pages.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, enchanting and a victim of regional bias, December 10, 2001

By 

Adnan (Bhopal,India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: River of Fire: Aag Ka Darya (Hardcover)

The story begins with Nilambar Gautam, a forest university student who travels the country at the time when Buddhist ideas were sweeping through India, he mets Hari Shanker a Buddhist and falls in love with Champa, the time passes and the next Gautam, Hari Shanker and Champa surface in new era- this time it is Moghul era and the arrival of Islam in India. Abul Mansoor Kamaluddin arrives from Baghdad and meets Champa, Hari and Gautam. The characters depict the civilisational conflicts, the mingling of the two great religions and the shaping of the new nation. The third era begins with the Europian advent in Asia and with Cyril Ashley, an English, the fourth character arrives in the book. The four characters return in successive periods in different roles until the bloody partition changes the geographical boundaries of the country. The magnificent description, the vast continuum of time and the canvas of the novel places it at par with Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, if not above. Had the book translated when it had been written, the author would have been ranked above Kundera and Marquez today.