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Dancing Girls of Lahore by Brown, Louise T. (2006) Paperback
Dancing Girls of Lahore (05) by Brown, Louise [Paperback (2006)]
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Louise Brown
68 books12 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 24, 2024
..I am speechless. I am utterly shocked that this book is not widely known.
A gross summary of this book is that it is a non-fictional account of Heera Mandi (red light district of Pakistan).
What that fails to tell you is that the author visited and lived in the Heera Mandi (a few months every season) for four years and continues to do so even after the research has finished.
We get this story from inside out rather than outside in, which is incredible considering a white woman wrote this.
As someone who is raised in Pakistan in the time period this book was researched and written in, I can tell you that the author has a remarkable way of picking up cultural nuances and keeping her opinion out of it.
So the people who this book is written about don't look and feel observed but rather lived with.
That is a tough challenge when you are not only bridging barriers of race and culture but also the acute awareness of the author that the researched country was colonized by your own country merely 50 years before.
I am immensely grateful to the author for giving justice to these people's lives, and showing them as complex active humans rather than passive subjects. The author has also done extensive research into the history of Heera Mandi, giving context to current viewpoints, traditions and ways of life.
The mix of emotions I went through and am going through because of this book is complex and inexplicable.
If you're interested in red light districts, sex work, complex culture of Pakistan around it's women or just a different perspective, this book is for you.
It is an easy read and not a long book. It will give you much to think about.
A gross summary of this book is that it is a non-fictional account of Heera Mandi (red light district of Pakistan).
What that fails to tell you is that the author visited and lived in the Heera Mandi (a few months every season) for four years and continues to do so even after the research has finished.
We get this story from inside out rather than outside in, which is incredible considering a white woman wrote this.
As someone who is raised in Pakistan in the time period this book was researched and written in, I can tell you that the author has a remarkable way of picking up cultural nuances and keeping her opinion out of it.
So the people who this book is written about don't look and feel observed but rather lived with.
That is a tough challenge when you are not only bridging barriers of race and culture but also the acute awareness of the author that the researched country was colonized by your own country merely 50 years before.
I am immensely grateful to the author for giving justice to these people's lives, and showing them as complex active humans rather than passive subjects. The author has also done extensive research into the history of Heera Mandi, giving context to current viewpoints, traditions and ways of life.
The mix of emotions I went through and am going through because of this book is complex and inexplicable.
If you're interested in red light districts, sex work, complex culture of Pakistan around it's women or just a different perspective, this book is for you.
It is an easy read and not a long book. It will give you much to think about.
Displaying 1 of 1 review