World Unseen [Paperback]

Shamim Sarif (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2002

In the pressure cooker of apartheid South Africa, two women meet and their worlds are turned upside down. Miriam is a traditional Indian mother - hardworking and self-effacing. Amina breaks all the rules by driving a taxi and setting up a cafe with a local black man. In the face of outraged disapproval, their friendship flourishes. But the price, for Miriam, is the discovery of impossible truths about her marriage. In a system that divides white from black, black from Asian and the women from men, what chance is there for an unexpected love to survive?

Editorial Reviews

Review

'An impressive debut. [Sarif's] story brings together the descriptive power of the novelist with the screenwriter's mastery of dialogue: a overarching vision of a community shackled by race and gender, which also registers the small shocks and struggles of two women at its centre' The Times

About the Author

Shamim Sarif is an accomplished script-writer who lives in Chelsea, London. This is her first novel but she is also. To coincide with the publication of The World Unseen, the Mail on Sunday published one of Shamim's short stories. She also has a film currently in production, and the film rights to this novel have also been optioned.

Product Details

• Paperback: 233 pages
• Publisher: Womens Pr Ltd; Revised edition (May 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0704347350
• ISBN-13: 978-0704347359
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,123,102 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Writer/director Shamim Sarif is one of the rare renaissance women of recent years. She is an equally successful author (the Pendleton May First Novel Award, Betty Trask Award), screenwriter and film director (World Cinema Best Director at Phoenix Film Festival, and Best Director at Clip (Tampa) Intl. Film Festival). She is an author of several published short stories and notable music lyrics, has script-edited a children's TV series and directed music videos. Shamim received an Afterellen.com 2008 VISIBLITY AWARD as "International Lesbian/Bi Woman of the Year".

An acclaimed novelist, Shamim has deep roots in South Africa, where her parents and grandparents were born and raised - a heritage that inspired her first, award-winning novel, The World Unseen.

The World Unseen won the Pendleton May First Novel Award, and then the prestigious Betty Trask Award. It was selected for inclusion at all the major UK book festivals, including Hay-on-Wye, Cheltenham and Edinburgh and sold out of its initial print runs.

Johannesburg's leading newspaper, The Star, voted the book one of their books of the year. The Times in London called it "an impressive debut. Sarif's story brings together the descriptive power of the novelist with the screenwriter's mastery of dialogue."

Her second novel, Despite the Falling Snow' was published in London by Hodder Headline in May 2004 and received overwhelmingly excellent reviews. In the autumn of 2005, the novel was released by American publisher St Martin's Press. Shamim has adapted this moving tale set in cold war Russia and present day United States into a screenplay.

Shamim began her studies in directing at Raindance in London. Her recently published novel I Can't Think Straight served as an inspiration for her directorial debut of the same name. An urban romantic comedy based on Shamim's script and starring Lisa Ray and Sheetal Sheth, the movie follows the improbable love affair between two women of very differing cultures. Reviewed by CherryGrrl recently as 'a brilliantly executed, romantic, sexy, and heart-warming page-turner.'

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lyrical Prose, February 1, 2009

By 

ionstyn (Clarksburg, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The World Unseen (Paperback)

Shamim Sarif appears to possess the gift of writing verse as prose and the world unseen is a fine example of this lyricism. This is not great literature but it certainly is an easy read (I read it in a single sitting), drawing you in to empathize with the characters, rooting for them to succeed. It is a captivating book and I would highly recommend reading it.

At its core is the restrained love story between Amina and Miriam, both astonished by the intensity of their feelings and the common need to break out of their oppressive worlds. It is a story of opposites - of repression and expression, questioning tradition and blind acceptance, of courage and fear, of integrity and deceit, of finding a voice and finally of choices. What really evolves from this story are these broader themes, more universal in their appeal, underscored by each of its remarkable characters as small actions either in defiance of apartheid or convention, an arcane custom or simply humor in the face of adversity. This is possibly the book's greatest strength.

Sarif is smart enough to leave an open ending relative to the era. However, there's a strong argument for a more definitive ending - one that gives the reader some greater assurance of the relationship between these women surviving.

Perhaps the movie offers some better form of closure.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing!, December 21, 2008

By 

J. Will - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The World Unseen (Paperback)

I absolutely loved this book. Shamim has such developed characters and I love how she writes one chapter through one persons point of view, then the following in another, it really helps to understand what is going on. Its easy to follow along, and I read it in two long sittings, you won't be disspointed I promise!

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book!, November 28, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: World Unseen (Paperback)

Sucks you right in. Amazing characters that stay with you long after the book is over. Written with style, yet easy to read! i highly recommend this book!