Phoenix Fled

by Attia Hosain

"Listen to me, child. You will be a woman soon and must behave well and with modesty. The Kazi will ask you three times whether you will marry Kalloo Mian. Now don't you be shameless, like these modern educated girls, and shout gleefully 'Yes.' Be modest and cry softly and say 'Hoon'"

A marriage is arranged between a little servant girl and a middle-aged cook with an opium habit; an idealistic political worker faces disillusionment; a servant returns to a wife he scarcely knows; a conventional bride has her first encounter with her husband's "emancipated" friends: telling of the lives of servants and children, of conflict between the old traditions and the new, modern civilisation, and exploring the human repercussions of the Muslim/Hindu divide, these twelve short stories present a moving and vivid picture of life in India. To each episode Attia Hosain brings a superb imaginative understanding and sense of poignancy of the smallest of human dramas.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, India, Classics

203 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1953

About the author

Attia Hosain (1913–1998) was a writer, feminist and broadcaster. She was born in 1913 in Lucknow in a taluqdar background. She moved to Britain in 1947.

Attia was born in Lucknow and went to the local La Martiniere Girls' College. She was the daughter of Sheikh Shahid Husain Kidwai and Nisar Fatima, the daughter of Syed Maqbool Hussain Alvi of Kakori.

She studied at Isabella Thoburn College from the age of fifteen and Lucknow University.

She moved to Britain in 1947 and became a broadcaster for the BBC, hosting a popular women's radio programme.

Attia's niece is the Pakistani author Muneeza Shamsie and her great-niece is author Kamila Shamsie. British television director Waris Hussein is her son and film producer Shama Habibullah is her daughter.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
This is a good set of short stories which often focus on the mundane and the day to day. They also examine the tensions brought to bear by Partition. There are other recurring themes; the struggle between tradition and modernity, the role of women in the household.
Attia Hosain was born in Lucknow and was well educated; she moved to Britain in 1947 and worked as a writer and broadcaster. She is better known for her novel, Sunlight on a Broken Column. The title story relates to an old Muslim woman who will not leave her village when her family flees during Partition. Her confused mind makes her think back to the Mutiny of 1857. Two other stories (Time is Unredeemable and The First Party) examine how modernity affects Muslim women when their menfolk become more westernised. Many of the stories combine tragedy with stoicism. The problem of westernisation is addressed in Anita Desai’s perceptive introduction;
“”Westernisation” is seen as destructive of the old, traditional culture. The latter may be full of cruelties and injustices, but it is a pattern of life known and understood, therefor more acceptable and more fitting than an alien culture that has been neither fully understood, nor assimilated. Attia Hosain’s work is by no means an unreserved paean of praise for the old culture but is certainly full of an inherited, instinctive love for it.”
The stories are well written and structured, unsentimental with a few sharp twists and it’s well worth looking out for the virago edition.

[Pauline McGonagle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only have an extract of this (1953 published) but found it moving, tragic and very evocative of such a tragic time.Great characterisation of the generation gap but also of how this event affected everybody involved.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review in process.

[Noor · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for a holiday reading, I recommend this book. The book is an excellent collection of short stories filled with intriguing tales. Set in the 1950s, the poignant representation of small climaxes makes reading easy and entertaining. The characters chosen by #Attia Hosain are well-crafted personalities. For a budding writer, these kinds of stories are inspirational. I thoroughly loved all the 12 stories from this book, but The First Party is very close to my heart.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this years ago and recall this collection as being well worth reading, though I liked her novel better... I bought a remaindered copy once, and in a fit of stupidity, let it go along with a few other books.

[Vaishali · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed some of the short stories in this collection, many of them were hard to read. I found myself confused at some of the stories and what they were trying to signify.

Some of my favourite include:

✨The First Party
✨After the Storm
✨A Woman and a Child

I really did enjoy these stories and how they represented the clash between East and West. Often these clashes could be seen in the way the characters interacted with another. I also enjoyed the conflict between traditional and modern and how this became apparent between a man and his new wife, for instance.

[Colin Hogan · Rating 1 out of 5]

A book of short stories which is not my favourite genre. As with most short stories a couple were mildly interesting but ultimately on completion, I missed the satisfaction of a novel & also frustrated that I failed to grasp the significance of many of the tales. Whilst this may be my fault, I can't help but remember the art critic who said if you do not understand the meaning of a painting it is the artist who has failed to deliver their message.

[Cara (Wilde Book Garden) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nearly all of these stories are quite melancholy, but Attia Hosain's wonderful writing and her deep compassion for her characters somehow keep this from feeling heavy.

CW: Grief, child marriage, violence, animal death (off-page)

[luca · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Mali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful stories which uncover some of the layers of India’s rich cultural tapestry; as a westerner, this has been a fascinating insight.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

odd stories, and I didn't like very many of the people in them.

[Sanaa Vhora · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked some of the stories. At times I struggled to really understand and follow some story lines and what they were trying to convey

[Yasmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some stories better than others, I liked The First Party and After The Storm.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far, not it's not too good. But I feel compelled to read every Virago Modern Classic that comes my way.