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The River, The Town
In the rural town in Pakistan where Baadal grows up, children are named like talismans to sustain life and ward off unhappiness. At seventeen, Baadal has come to understand why his parents named him “Cloud,” with hopes that their Big River will one day flow wide and blue again, and their thirst will be quenched after years of drought. But in the final year of his schooling, abundance seems impossibly far away. As his parents’ marriage–full of rage, despair, and often violence–reaches a breaking point, the only comfort Baadal can afford is a budding kinship with Meena, a divorced older woman he meets on the banks of the drying river.
Meena has only just escaped her abusive husband, but her resistance to remarry soon gives way to the promise of stability and companionship that Baadal offers. Together, they leave the Town in search of greater fortunes in the City. But even strong-willed, independent Meena finds herself bowed by the strain of Badaal’s punishing work schedule, her struggling beauty parlor, and the tension with Baadal’s mother, Raheela, who fights for control of her son as she seeks to leave behind a life of disappointments and discover a freedom she’s never known.
Told in rotating perspectives spanning from 1966 to 1998, THE RIVER, THE TOWN is an intimate portrait of a family unraveling in the throes of indigence, and a tribute to the wounded love that keeps them tethered to each other. With stark and candid prose, Farah Ali traces one family’s fortunes to illuminate the relentless cycle of inequity, juxtaposing the tragic and grueling realities of poverty with the enduring struggle for compassion and humanity.
Meena has only just escaped her abusive husband, but her resistance to remarry soon gives way to the promise of stability and companionship that Baadal offers. Together, they leave the Town in search of greater fortunes in the City. But even strong-willed, independent Meena finds herself bowed by the strain of Badaal’s punishing work schedule, her struggling beauty parlor, and the tension with Baadal’s mother, Raheela, who fights for control of her son as she seeks to leave behind a life of disappointments and discover a freedom she’s never known.
Told in rotating perspectives spanning from 1966 to 1998, THE RIVER, THE TOWN is an intimate portrait of a family unraveling in the throes of indigence, and a tribute to the wounded love that keeps them tethered to each other. With stark and candid prose, Farah Ali traces one family’s fortunes to illuminate the relentless cycle of inequity, juxtaposing the tragic and grueling realities of poverty with the enduring struggle for compassion and humanity.
216 pages, Hardcover
First published October 17, 2023
184 people want to read
About the author
Farah Ali
2 books5 followersFarah Ali grew up in Karachi, Pakistan, and currently lives in London. Her work has been anthologized in the 2020 Pushcart Prize and received special mention in the 2018 Pushcart anthology. Her debut story collection PEOPLE WANT TO LIVE published with McSweeney's Books, and includes new stories and some previously published in VQR, Shenandoah, The Arkansas International, MQR, The Southern Review, Kenyon Review, Copper Nickel, and others.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
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July 25, 2023Farah Ali masterfully captures the harsh realities of poverty and the resilience of individuals in the Pakistani interiors. “The River, The Town” draws comparisons to the classic novel "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya. While Ali, like Markandaya, writes from a position of privilege, she avoids generalizations, instead focusing on the specific lives of her characters.
Meena, Raheela, and Baadal embody a Kashmiri expression "lyambi manz pamposh," a notion of a lotus that flourishes admid adversity, gracefully navigating their challenging circumstances with practicality and aspiration. Their relatable experiences of striving for upward mobility resonate with readers from the South Asian middle class, transcending geographical boundaries.
Ali skillfully emphasizes our shared humanity rather than accentuating differences, delving into themes such as mental health, the climate crisis, abject poverty, and loneliness with remarkable clarity. These themes also find their place in her previous works. Ali's measured and straightforward writing style allows readers to peel back the emotional layers and reflect on their lingering ideas of spaces long after the book is done.
The essence of the novel lies in its restrained portrayal of everyday urban aspirations. This sentiment of being trapped in a concrete jungle, devoid of sustenance yet brimming with emotions is undeniably a powerful depiction. One thought lingers in my mind, and goes beyond the realm of Farah Ali’s beautifully and sensitively written work: as storytellers from positions of privilege, how do we ensure that those who have been underestimated and marginalized are represented authentically? Whose story is this to tell?
Meena, Raheela, and Baadal embody a Kashmiri expression "lyambi manz pamposh," a notion of a lotus that flourishes admid adversity, gracefully navigating their challenging circumstances with practicality and aspiration. Their relatable experiences of striving for upward mobility resonate with readers from the South Asian middle class, transcending geographical boundaries.
Ali skillfully emphasizes our shared humanity rather than accentuating differences, delving into themes such as mental health, the climate crisis, abject poverty, and loneliness with remarkable clarity. These themes also find their place in her previous works. Ali's measured and straightforward writing style allows readers to peel back the emotional layers and reflect on their lingering ideas of spaces long after the book is done.
The essence of the novel lies in its restrained portrayal of everyday urban aspirations. This sentiment of being trapped in a concrete jungle, devoid of sustenance yet brimming with emotions is undeniably a powerful depiction. One thought lingers in my mind, and goes beyond the realm of Farah Ali’s beautifully and sensitively written work: as storytellers from positions of privilege, how do we ensure that those who have been underestimated and marginalized are represented authentically? Whose story is this to tell?
December 27, 2023
This short book shows how poverty can be linked to a location. A town near a city is enduring a drought. Baadal "Cloud," his mother, and his wife each have a voice in various chapters but the main focus is on him and his mother. The story depicts the harsh and at times crushing experiences that they must endure to survive. The moments where they try to lift themselves out of poverty are fleeting. The tone is not happy or hopeful. There are times that life is easier and reflects a level of hope but these are few.
I appreciated this glimpse into these lives.
I'm struck most by the strangely and unexpectedly poetic writing. It's subtle and embedded in the sentences. I found them to be evocative and affecting...lyrical and just haunting at times.
Having read this title, I'm curious to see what else Ali wrote or will write.
Several quotes:
Baba walked past Nabeela the shrieking bird and into the square mouth of the stairwell.
No matter what kind of misery was going on, there was always a wedding to go to in the village. It was as if there was a race between how lives were lost and how many new ones could be brought forth....
....I became a whole new secret body.
....I used a safety pin to attach the earrings to the inside of my shirt. When I sit with my mother, father, and Nebeela, in the evening, I pressed the metal into my body. The cool, sharp sensation took me away from the droop of my parents' backs, the anger on Nabeela's face, and the ghosts of Aneela and Suhail who quietly joined us.
I understand that his comfort is in my leaving, so I do as he says. Outside the factory, I give Kawsaw some money and ask him to buy dinner for Baadal. These are the only things I can offer, my absence and food....
....My shrinking stomach had started causing certain thoughts to balloon in my head...I am eating something carried in the hand of a woman who spit on me.
...Here in the City people with odd names stick out like misfits; they tend to clump up together like wet sand....
"No, that's still a name loaded with origin. Has to be a placeless name. An any-man name."
...In the dream, I always managed to stay around the corner, a few steps away from her. afraid but calm. I was a young man and she was an old mother. She was nimble in her anger and I was old with fear.
I appreciated this glimpse into these lives.
I'm struck most by the strangely and unexpectedly poetic writing. It's subtle and embedded in the sentences. I found them to be evocative and affecting...lyrical and just haunting at times.
Having read this title, I'm curious to see what else Ali wrote or will write.
Several quotes:
Baba walked past Nabeela the shrieking bird and into the square mouth of the stairwell.
No matter what kind of misery was going on, there was always a wedding to go to in the village. It was as if there was a race between how lives were lost and how many new ones could be brought forth....
....I became a whole new secret body.
....I used a safety pin to attach the earrings to the inside of my shirt. When I sit with my mother, father, and Nebeela, in the evening, I pressed the metal into my body. The cool, sharp sensation took me away from the droop of my parents' backs, the anger on Nabeela's face, and the ghosts of Aneela and Suhail who quietly joined us.
I understand that his comfort is in my leaving, so I do as he says. Outside the factory, I give Kawsaw some money and ask him to buy dinner for Baadal. These are the only things I can offer, my absence and food....
....My shrinking stomach had started causing certain thoughts to balloon in my head...I am eating something carried in the hand of a woman who spit on me.
...Here in the City people with odd names stick out like misfits; they tend to clump up together like wet sand....
"No, that's still a name loaded with origin. Has to be a placeless name. An any-man name."
...In the dream, I always managed to stay around the corner, a few steps away from her. afraid but calm. I was a young man and she was an old mother. She was nimble in her anger and I was old with fear.
December 8, 2025
A perfect book. Farah Ali has a poignant and understated style; her voice is powerful and true. The prose was elegantly restrained and the characters endearing, engaging, and human. There are few literary writers today who have captivated my attention the way this novel did. It touched me deeply. Farah Ali is R. K. Narayan, Vikram Seth and Elizabeth Stroud rolled into one.
Read
March 17, 2025A compelling family story, but one that kept confusing me because a person’s emotional reaction to an event would often precede the narrative of the actual event.
October 31, 2023
The River the Town
Imagine going outside and seeing the dirt, the limp trees, the world so filled with unhappiness, one where you cannot get a solid drink of water, no sink in your home just the stream or the river. What would you do if you lived in a place where food was scarce, lives were lost, and people found themselves in want. Parents are abusive, young boys are beaten up, fathers are riddled with guilt, and one young boy named Baadal just wants to live his life and find something good. His parents are cruel, his mother shuns him at times and his father spends his nights in front of the television. Losing two daughter’s and wishing they took her son instead, watching him with his friends, just being boys, having fun and not really doing anything bad, the river overtakes them and hopes to quench their thirsts, the rain when it pours they fill cups up with water to drink or use to wash clothes. A River in a town that most want to leave. A father who is browbeaten by a wife who is cruel. You can see the darkness, the soil filled with dirt, the houses barely standing up and you feel the sadness in each person’s words.
Three friends each with their own goals and yet managing to live a meager life. Growing up the main voice heard, Baadal, wants to live the city where people go when they have succeeded and have more. His mother is abusive both verbally and physically and his father appears at times to be in his own private world tuning her out and watching the news on television. The food that has is not edible and sparce and even, so Baadal wants more. School is over, he and his two friends spend a day in the city and pretend to have it all as one friend buys them things and even new shoes with laces. Each day they journey to various parts of the Town and into the stream and hear stories of people who lost their lives and children dying of diseases that could have been cured if they were any place else. The dark cloud over the town, dryness of thirst and the hope for a drink of water, people and places and in this town poverty, families that have troubles and much more.
It’s as if they hope the Town will wake up and turn itself around and give the people hope. When the principal of his school decides to live without worldly things and by the stream you wonder why. When he explains and tells why people need to not lie, cheat and more others join him. relationships are hard the Town needs to river to success and humans need the river that feeds them. You fall in love with Juman and his description of the stream and their hunger you see and feel as you take your eyes and look into the river. The fact that the River and the Town have no name gives the reader the feeling that it too needs love and nourishment. Can you picture a town without green trees, fresh water, no sidewalks but dirty paths and houses that look like they are falling apart, smells that never seize and cleanliness that is hard to come by. Then Baadal meets Meena, and things change as he begins helping her with carrying water canisters and follows her around. His parents are at war, his father digs holes at night while his mother pretends to be sick, has pain and much more.
Each character has his/her voice heard as each backstory is different yet the same as we get to know Baadal first, then we Meena and most poignant Raheela who ties it all together when she meets Mossad, her first husband and then her life with him takes different turns until her brother goes the well and falls in because he is too small, Raheela her sister who she does not get along with and her parents who want their youngest at 13 to marry and she disappears. The chapter titled A Fugitive reflects the power and importance of water and it is when the youngest daughter leaves. Her family dynamics mirror that of her son after he is born and then we learn more about her studies, how smart she is and then her friendship with Hamid and finally marrying learning how to buy things and finally getting a job from the City Government man and here is where things change in different directions for her. Junaid is the man she works for taking care of his home and some filing. Their interactions are brief and then she is moved closer to him and becomes his equal and marries him but why?
Life changes every minute and yet Raheela fees an allegiance to Masood and brings him food and takes care of him until she hopes her son, will come. Raheela then realizes that she is not happy where she lives and goes back to her old house and revisits it, cleans it up, places more bright objects and hopes that Meena and Baadal will move into the house where she finds solace and is happy.
Then we get to know Meena and her origin for her name and why her grandfather would not use it. We begin to get to know backstory and each one has a feeling about the streams, the water and the balance between it and the town and finally the city. Those who have and those who have not. Baadal and Meena have a great relationship and that made the distance between their lives in the city and the town seem to expand. Meena and Baadal have a life that keeps them moving around, looking for a permanent place, meeting his family and hoping that they finally settle down. Life is not easy in this town and then they find a place in the city, but will they ever mesh with their mother, family and more. His mother marries his friend’s father, and the rift grows wider and then he complains that she buys things below what he considers his level and has someone clean the house and change what she wears. In every family, Baadal and Meena, Raheela and her husbands, there are faults that are brought to light, stereotypes that are expected to be adhered to and the sadness and non-changing worlds in the town, city and the importance of the RIVER. Each character has his/her own beliefs and lies and secrets are told but in the end will any one of these people find happiness? The author tells the story in many voices, and you wonder which voice or voices might be hers.
Meena and Baadal have a strained relationship and then we move to the final chapters Baadal and Raheela. To Baadal appearances are important and having money, status and a wife that looks and acts the right way is vital to the lies, secrets and the man he might have killed years ago. Their home becomes warm and at times just a place to live as both seem to drift apart, Meena opens her own business, and his father is ill, and he feels left out when his mother wants him gone. Rules that he created for everyone and would not bend if not followed but in the end where will everyone wind up? The final last pages that focus on Raheela bring back memories for Baadal as he declines, Meena and her family and values and the town that has changed and hopes that it will not be forgotten. The River the Town takes readers inside worlds of people who often live in parks , crowded houses, apartments, hope for food, families that help others that do not and brings to light how lucky we are and how hard these people living in the town or city had it and yet they managed to survive in their own ways as author Farah Ali brings us up close to a world most after we see the streets, the dirt, the soil and lack of important things will embrace and appreciate ours more.
Fran Lewis just reviews
Imagine going outside and seeing the dirt, the limp trees, the world so filled with unhappiness, one where you cannot get a solid drink of water, no sink in your home just the stream or the river. What would you do if you lived in a place where food was scarce, lives were lost, and people found themselves in want. Parents are abusive, young boys are beaten up, fathers are riddled with guilt, and one young boy named Baadal just wants to live his life and find something good. His parents are cruel, his mother shuns him at times and his father spends his nights in front of the television. Losing two daughter’s and wishing they took her son instead, watching him with his friends, just being boys, having fun and not really doing anything bad, the river overtakes them and hopes to quench their thirsts, the rain when it pours they fill cups up with water to drink or use to wash clothes. A River in a town that most want to leave. A father who is browbeaten by a wife who is cruel. You can see the darkness, the soil filled with dirt, the houses barely standing up and you feel the sadness in each person’s words.
Three friends each with their own goals and yet managing to live a meager life. Growing up the main voice heard, Baadal, wants to live the city where people go when they have succeeded and have more. His mother is abusive both verbally and physically and his father appears at times to be in his own private world tuning her out and watching the news on television. The food that has is not edible and sparce and even, so Baadal wants more. School is over, he and his two friends spend a day in the city and pretend to have it all as one friend buys them things and even new shoes with laces. Each day they journey to various parts of the Town and into the stream and hear stories of people who lost their lives and children dying of diseases that could have been cured if they were any place else. The dark cloud over the town, dryness of thirst and the hope for a drink of water, people and places and in this town poverty, families that have troubles and much more.
It’s as if they hope the Town will wake up and turn itself around and give the people hope. When the principal of his school decides to live without worldly things and by the stream you wonder why. When he explains and tells why people need to not lie, cheat and more others join him. relationships are hard the Town needs to river to success and humans need the river that feeds them. You fall in love with Juman and his description of the stream and their hunger you see and feel as you take your eyes and look into the river. The fact that the River and the Town have no name gives the reader the feeling that it too needs love and nourishment. Can you picture a town without green trees, fresh water, no sidewalks but dirty paths and houses that look like they are falling apart, smells that never seize and cleanliness that is hard to come by. Then Baadal meets Meena, and things change as he begins helping her with carrying water canisters and follows her around. His parents are at war, his father digs holes at night while his mother pretends to be sick, has pain and much more.
Each character has his/her voice heard as each backstory is different yet the same as we get to know Baadal first, then we Meena and most poignant Raheela who ties it all together when she meets Mossad, her first husband and then her life with him takes different turns until her brother goes the well and falls in because he is too small, Raheela her sister who she does not get along with and her parents who want their youngest at 13 to marry and she disappears. The chapter titled A Fugitive reflects the power and importance of water and it is when the youngest daughter leaves. Her family dynamics mirror that of her son after he is born and then we learn more about her studies, how smart she is and then her friendship with Hamid and finally marrying learning how to buy things and finally getting a job from the City Government man and here is where things change in different directions for her. Junaid is the man she works for taking care of his home and some filing. Their interactions are brief and then she is moved closer to him and becomes his equal and marries him but why?
Life changes every minute and yet Raheela fees an allegiance to Masood and brings him food and takes care of him until she hopes her son, will come. Raheela then realizes that she is not happy where she lives and goes back to her old house and revisits it, cleans it up, places more bright objects and hopes that Meena and Baadal will move into the house where she finds solace and is happy.
Then we get to know Meena and her origin for her name and why her grandfather would not use it. We begin to get to know backstory and each one has a feeling about the streams, the water and the balance between it and the town and finally the city. Those who have and those who have not. Baadal and Meena have a great relationship and that made the distance between their lives in the city and the town seem to expand. Meena and Baadal have a life that keeps them moving around, looking for a permanent place, meeting his family and hoping that they finally settle down. Life is not easy in this town and then they find a place in the city, but will they ever mesh with their mother, family and more. His mother marries his friend’s father, and the rift grows wider and then he complains that she buys things below what he considers his level and has someone clean the house and change what she wears. In every family, Baadal and Meena, Raheela and her husbands, there are faults that are brought to light, stereotypes that are expected to be adhered to and the sadness and non-changing worlds in the town, city and the importance of the RIVER. Each character has his/her own beliefs and lies and secrets are told but in the end will any one of these people find happiness? The author tells the story in many voices, and you wonder which voice or voices might be hers.
Meena and Baadal have a strained relationship and then we move to the final chapters Baadal and Raheela. To Baadal appearances are important and having money, status and a wife that looks and acts the right way is vital to the lies, secrets and the man he might have killed years ago. Their home becomes warm and at times just a place to live as both seem to drift apart, Meena opens her own business, and his father is ill, and he feels left out when his mother wants him gone. Rules that he created for everyone and would not bend if not followed but in the end where will everyone wind up? The final last pages that focus on Raheela bring back memories for Baadal as he declines, Meena and her family and values and the town that has changed and hopes that it will not be forgotten. The River the Town takes readers inside worlds of people who often live in parks , crowded houses, apartments, hope for food, families that help others that do not and brings to light how lucky we are and how hard these people living in the town or city had it and yet they managed to survive in their own ways as author Farah Ali brings us up close to a world most after we see the streets, the dirt, the soil and lack of important things will embrace and appreciate ours more.
Fran Lewis just reviews
July 9, 2023
This is a hypnotic, beautiful, devastating novel about family, environment, poverty, desire, interconnection, and the choices people make under ecological and economic duress. It is also an intimate, utterly compassionate but unsentimental character study and family story, full of carefully rendered details of people and places. An unforgettable book.
September 4, 2025
3 stars
While the plot to this book lacked an overarching structure and seemed to meander quite a bit, I think this book is an impactful and thought-provoking story about the indignities of extreme poverty, inequality, and drought. The story follows several characters in the unnamed Town, which is poor and running out of water, and their movement to and from the slightly richer City. It was interesting to see the characters' view toward the City as an escape and opportunity, but ultimately a place they cannot stay or where they suffer equally from their poverty. The author also does a great job of depicting the dehumanization and pity from the City towards the people in the Town. Overall, the setting was definitely the highlight, while the plot and dynamics between the characters were lacking.
While the plot to this book lacked an overarching structure and seemed to meander quite a bit, I think this book is an impactful and thought-provoking story about the indignities of extreme poverty, inequality, and drought. The story follows several characters in the unnamed Town, which is poor and running out of water, and their movement to and from the slightly richer City. It was interesting to see the characters' view toward the City as an escape and opportunity, but ultimately a place they cannot stay or where they suffer equally from their poverty. The author also does a great job of depicting the dehumanization and pity from the City towards the people in the Town. Overall, the setting was definitely the highlight, while the plot and dynamics between the characters were lacking.
March 27, 2024
This book started out interesting, showcasing the life of a poverty stricken village, a kid named Baadal and his toxic family. But the characters and their stories were not developed enough for me to want to keep going. The story hopped around from character to character but I didn’t like the flow of it and they didn’t connect well. I finished it just for the sake of finishing and didn’t enjoy the ending either.
September 14, 2024
I loved this book. Found it deeply humane - especially when it was describing how connecting or empathising across lines of privilege always runs this risk of getting complicated or turning into voyuerism, even within close family. It felt very real to the world I come from (Southeast Asia), and I appreciated how controlled the voice was.
November 8, 2023
A beautifully written book of interwoven stories told from different character's perspectives. I just wish I had figured out sooner that the chapter headings referred to the name of the character telling the story in that chapter.
January 14, 2024
Fantastic
February 9, 2024
3.75⭐️
April 1, 2024
— Farah Ali masterfully captures the harsh realities of poverty, drought and generational trauma and the resilience of her characters.
November 7, 2025
Symbolism abounds… generational trauma of feeling burned and betrayed by mothers, motherlands, and Mother Nature. The prose was very poetic, but the weaving of the narrative just didn’t work for me 2.5/5⭐️
March 23, 2024
Farah Ali’s The River, The Town is a gorgeous first novel about a Pakistani family navigating poverty, drought, and generational trauma. Farah and I spoke on September 27 about climate disaster around the world, how desperate circumstances lead her characters to make unexpected choices, and the idea that it’s not just food and water that’s needed for survival, but hope, care, and community.
Read what we said here: https://bit.ly/HFFarahAli
Read what we said here: https://bit.ly/HFFarahAli
October 31, 2025
Such a powerful narrative that reveals human stories in a place struck by natural disaster. All characters to me were interestingly developed and showcased a variety of reactions to their circumstances. Yet they all communicated an essential truth – life happens and life continues. It was especially heartbreaking to witness characters strive for a change that was only ever illusionary. And the author has depicted those lives with unmatched tenderness and empathy.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews