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Their Language of Love
A wife worries for her familys survival during the 1965 IndoPak war. A mother is horrified when she learns that her daughter wants to marry her American boyfriend. An American housewife living in Lahore has a tempestuous affair with a Pakistani minister. An aged matriarch travels to the USA to discover she must confront a traumatic memory from her past.
Finely nuanced, and laced with Sidhwas sharply comic observations, this is a stellar collection of tales from one of the subcontinents most important and beloved writers.
Finely nuanced, and laced with Sidhwas sharply comic observations, this is a stellar collection of tales from one of the subcontinents most important and beloved writers.
249 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
12 people are currently reading
325 people want to read
About the author
Bapsi Sidhwa
21 books374 followersBapsi Sidhwa was a Pakistani novelist who wrote in English and was resident in the United States.
She was best known for her collaborative work with Indo-Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta: Sidhwa wrote both the 1991 novel Ice Candy Man which served as the basis for Mehta's 1998 film Earth as well as the 2006 novel Water: A Novel, on which Mehta's 2005 film Water is based. A documentary about Sidhwa's life called "Bapsi: Silences of My Life" was released on the official YouTube channel of " The Citizens Archive of Pakistan" on 28 October 2022 with the title " First Generation -Stories of partition: Bapsi Sidhwa".
She was best known for her collaborative work with Indo-Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta: Sidhwa wrote both the 1991 novel Ice Candy Man which served as the basis for Mehta's 1998 film Earth as well as the 2006 novel Water: A Novel, on which Mehta's 2005 film Water is based. A documentary about Sidhwa's life called "Bapsi: Silences of My Life" was released on the official YouTube channel of " The Citizens Archive of Pakistan" on 28 October 2022 with the title " First Generation -Stories of partition: Bapsi Sidhwa".
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 24, 2020
This is a collection of eight short stories by Bapsi Sidhwa.One is lifted straight from her novel,An American Brat.In this,ayoung Parsi girl wants to marry an American Jew,to the consternation of her mother.
Another one is about the 1965 Indo-Pak war,which Sidhwa curiously describes as a "gentlemanly war".
Still another deals with an American woman coming to Pakistan,and having an affair,which nearly ends in disaster.
Yet another one deals with the rioting that took place during partition,and the scars it left on the survivors.Most of the stories are pretty interesting,with only a couple of ordinary ones.The trademark Sidhwa humour is an added bonus.
3.5 stars,rounded up.
Another one is about the 1965 Indo-Pak war,which Sidhwa curiously describes as a "gentlemanly war".
Still another deals with an American woman coming to Pakistan,and having an affair,which nearly ends in disaster.
Yet another one deals with the rioting that took place during partition,and the scars it left on the survivors.Most of the stories are pretty interesting,with only a couple of ordinary ones.The trademark Sidhwa humour is an added bonus.
3.5 stars,rounded up.
July 8, 2015
The stories in Their Language of Love are rich and languid, told in a fashion that is engulfed in an affluent and graceful historic aura. Bapsi Sidhwa’s work is not new to me but I fall in love with her writing even more every time I read her. Her short stories are as much witty and sarcastic, vivid yet baffling as her novels. She portrays her characters as people you would meet in your everyday life, and yet they are powerful and inspiring, offering an unpretentious exuberance.
The most attractive part of her work which keeps bringing me back to her is the realistic portrayal of the sub-continental history, before partition and the 60s, 70s, 80s and early 90s, and the depiction of ease with which the local diverse communities would mix. Similarly, Sidhwa’s reminiscence of the roads and streets of Lahore, its nooks and corners, old gates and shrines, with a colorful paint of historical pallor makes one want to go back to the old city and see it with the author’s keen eyes time and again—it never tires you out.
Bapsi Sidhwa’s short stories are based on the theme of reconnection to roots—of culture, background, language and the commonality that brings the sub-continent together—whether it’s Feroza the spoilt American-turned kid, Roshni, the dark Parsi bride on the American soil or Sikander and his family who are trying to adopt the American ways.
The most attractive part of her work which keeps bringing me back to her is the realistic portrayal of the sub-continental history, before partition and the 60s, 70s, 80s and early 90s, and the depiction of ease with which the local diverse communities would mix. Similarly, Sidhwa’s reminiscence of the roads and streets of Lahore, its nooks and corners, old gates and shrines, with a colorful paint of historical pallor makes one want to go back to the old city and see it with the author’s keen eyes time and again—it never tires you out.
Bapsi Sidhwa’s short stories are based on the theme of reconnection to roots—of culture, background, language and the commonality that brings the sub-continent together—whether it’s Feroza the spoilt American-turned kid, Roshni, the dark Parsi bride on the American soil or Sikander and his family who are trying to adopt the American ways.
July 1, 2020
This was a strange reading experience for me. The first half of the book didn’t really grab my attention, I was thinking that “eh, these stories are ok, not her best work” and so on. In the first half, I enjoyed the backdrop and political set-up of the stories more than the actual plot but the last two stories - Sehra Bai and Defend Yourself Against Me - invoked a lot of emotion in me. Those are ones that I will remember because Sidhwa is undoubtedly at her best. I think I’ll carry her writing with me for the rest of my life, because never in my life have I felt represented and I genuinely feel like she can tell our stories like no one else.
April 5, 2014
My first of Sidhwa and not bad at all. The stories fit perfectly together like puzzle pieces (as shown in the cover), even though I felt that The Trouble-Easers hardly belonged in a collection like this. It has to be my favorite of all stories in this collection: beautiful, poignant, meaningful. Where others were slightly bold and daring, this one story exemplifies simplicity of both language and thought.
Anyway, this book must not be mistaken for a cultural depiction of Pakistan for Sidhwa deals mostly with non-Muslim or Parsee characters, people who are only a small fragment compared to the Muslim community here. But in one way this is good for there is an element of unfamiliarity even for the Pakistani reader who gets the opportunity to see life lived by people, though in the same country, but with different values and beliefs. We have stories about the proverbial “generation gap”, stories concerning the dynamics involved in a mother-daughter relationship, stories reminiscing the ravages of the 1947 Partition, and even post-Partition stories. A good read, though slightly bold and explicit at times, and it is more so felt because one expects that being a Pakistani writer, albeit a non-Muslim, the conservatism of our culture would seep through in her writing and which invariably doesn’t. Anyway, I liked this book and am looking forward to reading more of her.
Anyway, this book must not be mistaken for a cultural depiction of Pakistan for Sidhwa deals mostly with non-Muslim or Parsee characters, people who are only a small fragment compared to the Muslim community here. But in one way this is good for there is an element of unfamiliarity even for the Pakistani reader who gets the opportunity to see life lived by people, though in the same country, but with different values and beliefs. We have stories about the proverbial “generation gap”, stories concerning the dynamics involved in a mother-daughter relationship, stories reminiscing the ravages of the 1947 Partition, and even post-Partition stories. A good read, though slightly bold and explicit at times, and it is more so felt because one expects that being a Pakistani writer, albeit a non-Muslim, the conservatism of our culture would seep through in her writing and which invariably doesn’t. Anyway, I liked this book and am looking forward to reading more of her.
June 8, 2017
I did not know it was a collection of short stories.
I am prejudiced in that a very few great authors make really great short stories.
And Bapsi Sidhwa...
I had heard about her controversial, Ice-Candy-Man, that went on to become a movie by Deepa Mehta, controversial too... (or too controversial??? :D)
The first story "The Gentlemanly war" was a bit dragging too, and I was almost going to shelf it under my incomplete reads. But then, towards the trail end, it turned out to be nice, "Breaking it up...", made it a lot more interesting, and I just couldn't put the book down.
Simple plots, simple style, simply loved reading it. I especially loved Sehra-bai, about the mother-daughter bind.
I am prejudiced in that a very few great authors make really great short stories.
And Bapsi Sidhwa...
I had heard about her controversial, Ice-Candy-Man, that went on to become a movie by Deepa Mehta, controversial too... (or too controversial??? :D)
The first story "The Gentlemanly war" was a bit dragging too, and I was almost going to shelf it under my incomplete reads. But then, towards the trail end, it turned out to be nice, "Breaking it up...", made it a lot more interesting, and I just couldn't put the book down.
Simple plots, simple style, simply loved reading it. I especially loved Sehra-bai, about the mother-daughter bind.
August 23, 2018
I read this in just a couple of days while commuting...I am used to the way Bapsi writes but these short stories definitely kept me entertained. Fiction work but based on a real timeline it takes you through the historic journey of pre-partition and after-partition of India and Pakistan. Pick it up, its an easy read and you will enjoy it more if you are interested in history.
September 24, 2013
I wish I could say something about this. Its a collection of short stories which unfortunately couldn't get me in, for those who are avid fiction and story readers might love this, but i am a bit disappointed except for few stories. Still i will give it a 3
November 10, 2018
For starters.... i have no idea what the hell the whole book was about
It had eight short stories
The first two centred around Zareen and her family.
The first one being set in an Indo-Pak war, with the dilemmas of the family that was always in the brink of a bomb threat. Zareen’s husband called this a gentlemanly war a couple of times and viola its the title... i mean what???
. The second one struck a cord in me because I could literally visualise it and the title bore it well. But even so, the story being from the perspective of a woman soo narrow minded and “ethically moral” was a tad too much to digest. It wasn’t exactly an impartial third person narrative.
The third and four involve Ruth.
Ruth and the hijackers.... she had nothing to do with them. And for what reason that story was named so, i am at a loss of words. The story starts with the hijacking if an Indian aircraft and then it is nowhere mentioned until maybe the last couple of pages.
Ruth and the Afghan was better written with the story actually sticking to the title and the diversity if the Pakistan and Afghanistan brought about in light of their culture than their guns.
Their language of love... A newly wed couple. A control freak husband who resorts to unnecessary bravado which irks the wife but she still coddles him..... if it was satire that was intended ... it was lost on me.
Sehra bhai... the life of a grandmother played in parts, from when she was Sehra to when she became Sehra bhai... it was not that bad .. too much description on women’s appearance though..
The trouble easers... a fable of a saint told by a mother which in the end the child questions in absurd religious colours...
Defend yourself against me... childhood friends meet in foreign soil. Old wounds opened in religious conflicts by two cousins.. description of the horrors during partition of India and Pakistan, inflicted on women.
As such, the book has short stories wich look like chapters from a book haphazardly thrown into a book for the sake of it.
The explicit portrayal of women, as either a loot or as a showcase item, both depicting them as display items... felt really bad. Either the rich society ladies were seducing each others husbands or they were being carried away as loots and plunder of war to be sold off or raped , or they were mute spectators to a debacle. I get that all books needn’t be about women empowerment, but this was degrading, not stating a fact.
The only thing i liked about in this book is the way Pakistan and Afghanistan is pictured .. not as the gruesome war torn , bullet wielding country, but for its beautiful countryside and customs and the simplicity of some of its people and the staunch loyalties some display.
It had eight short stories
The first two centred around Zareen and her family.
The first one being set in an Indo-Pak war, with the dilemmas of the family that was always in the brink of a bomb threat. Zareen’s husband called this a gentlemanly war a couple of times and viola its the title... i mean what???
. The second one struck a cord in me because I could literally visualise it and the title bore it well. But even so, the story being from the perspective of a woman soo narrow minded and “ethically moral” was a tad too much to digest. It wasn’t exactly an impartial third person narrative.
The third and four involve Ruth.
Ruth and the hijackers.... she had nothing to do with them. And for what reason that story was named so, i am at a loss of words. The story starts with the hijacking if an Indian aircraft and then it is nowhere mentioned until maybe the last couple of pages.
Ruth and the Afghan was better written with the story actually sticking to the title and the diversity if the Pakistan and Afghanistan brought about in light of their culture than their guns.
Their language of love... A newly wed couple. A control freak husband who resorts to unnecessary bravado which irks the wife but she still coddles him..... if it was satire that was intended ... it was lost on me.
Sehra bhai... the life of a grandmother played in parts, from when she was Sehra to when she became Sehra bhai... it was not that bad .. too much description on women’s appearance though..
The trouble easers... a fable of a saint told by a mother which in the end the child questions in absurd religious colours...
Defend yourself against me... childhood friends meet in foreign soil. Old wounds opened in religious conflicts by two cousins.. description of the horrors during partition of India and Pakistan, inflicted on women.
As such, the book has short stories wich look like chapters from a book haphazardly thrown into a book for the sake of it.
The explicit portrayal of women, as either a loot or as a showcase item, both depicting them as display items... felt really bad. Either the rich society ladies were seducing each others husbands or they were being carried away as loots and plunder of war to be sold off or raped , or they were mute spectators to a debacle. I get that all books needn’t be about women empowerment, but this was degrading, not stating a fact.
The only thing i liked about in this book is the way Pakistan and Afghanistan is pictured .. not as the gruesome war torn , bullet wielding country, but for its beautiful countryside and customs and the simplicity of some of its people and the staunch loyalties some display.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 29, 2019
I usually do not read short stories but I am such a fan of Bapsi Sidhwa that I did read her short story collection. Very well done and centering on her usual Punjabi characters.
February 21, 2023
Actually 4.5. Her stories have a lot of heart. And her story telling skills are amazing.
It was interesting to read of a perspective from the other side of the border on the border. I am from India.
It was interesting to read of a perspective from the other side of the border on the border. I am from India.
April 22, 2023
I found the initial stories a bit boring and hard to get through, but after a while the stories got really interesting.
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January 9, 2022Their language of love by Bapsi Sidhwa is the collection of short stories. The subject of the stories span a wide gamut and provides quite a treat to the readers.
The book takes a reader on a historic journey of pre-partition and after-partition. It includes different religions and cultures of the sub continent and people who have different views towards life and love.
The only thing i liked about in this book is the way Pakistan is pictured .. not as the gruesome war torn , bullet wielding country, but for its beautiful countryside and customs and the simplicity of some of its people and the staunch loyalties some display.
Sidhwa's reminiscence of Lahore's roads, old gates, shrines and the way she has written about all these places was really amazing and exciting.
The book takes a reader on a historic journey of pre-partition and after-partition. It includes different religions and cultures of the sub continent and people who have different views towards life and love.
The only thing i liked about in this book is the way Pakistan is pictured .. not as the gruesome war torn , bullet wielding country, but for its beautiful countryside and customs and the simplicity of some of its people and the staunch loyalties some display.
Sidhwa's reminiscence of Lahore's roads, old gates, shrines and the way she has written about all these places was really amazing and exciting.
May 12, 2016
Recently I read the book THEIR LANGUAGE OF LOVE (Penguin Viking) by Bapsi Sidhwa (BS). BS is one of the finest Pakisthani writer settled in the US. Stories by BS usually details THE TRAUMA AND EXPERIENCES of people (particularly Parsees) affected by the Partition in the sub-continent. One of her novels have been made into a film EARTH directed by Deepa Mehta and features Nandita Das and Amir Khan.
A melange of short stories comprises ‘Their Love of Love.’. While reading the book, I was being reminded of Jhumpa Lahiri’s Pulitzer prize winning anthology of short stories INTERPRETER OF MALADIES. This one by BS matches Jhumpa’s ‘Interpreter …’ in terms of tenor and depth and that of the immigrant’s experiences. BS has a way with words. A sample: “The vulnerability of mothers, daughters, grand daughters, and their metamorphosis into possessions; living objects on whose soft bodies victors and losers alike vent their wrath, enact fantastic vendettas, celebrate victory. All history, all these fears, all probabilities and injustices coalesce in Amma-ji’s terrible face and impart a dimension of tragedy that alchemizes the melodrama.”
There are eight stories in this collection. The experiences of a family against the backdrop of an ensuing Indo-Pak war; a Pakisthani Parsee mother’s encounter with culture shock when she visits US to meet her daughter’s prospective American bridegroom; the intermingling of Parsee and Islamic belief in the invocation of certain divinely icons; the commonalities in the extremism of the Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus; a newly married Gujrati bride has a taste of Americana when she visits the ‘promised land’ to live with her techie husband; a daughter comes to terms with her once beautiful mother (Sehra Bai) who became cantankerous in her illness ridden old age and discovers secrets about her father and the relationship between her parents. The subject of the stories span a wide gamut and provides quite a treat to the readers. A nice read.
A melange of short stories comprises ‘Their Love of Love.’. While reading the book, I was being reminded of Jhumpa Lahiri’s Pulitzer prize winning anthology of short stories INTERPRETER OF MALADIES. This one by BS matches Jhumpa’s ‘Interpreter …’ in terms of tenor and depth and that of the immigrant’s experiences. BS has a way with words. A sample: “The vulnerability of mothers, daughters, grand daughters, and their metamorphosis into possessions; living objects on whose soft bodies victors and losers alike vent their wrath, enact fantastic vendettas, celebrate victory. All history, all these fears, all probabilities and injustices coalesce in Amma-ji’s terrible face and impart a dimension of tragedy that alchemizes the melodrama.”
There are eight stories in this collection. The experiences of a family against the backdrop of an ensuing Indo-Pak war; a Pakisthani Parsee mother’s encounter with culture shock when she visits US to meet her daughter’s prospective American bridegroom; the intermingling of Parsee and Islamic belief in the invocation of certain divinely icons; the commonalities in the extremism of the Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus; a newly married Gujrati bride has a taste of Americana when she visits the ‘promised land’ to live with her techie husband; a daughter comes to terms with her once beautiful mother (Sehra Bai) who became cantankerous in her illness ridden old age and discovers secrets about her father and the relationship between her parents. The subject of the stories span a wide gamut and provides quite a treat to the readers. A nice read.
April 27, 2013
I am not normally a fan of short stories. I like thick, fat novels. But, after attending the Lahore Literary Festival earlier this year and attending Bapsi Sidhwa's talk, I was motivated to pick up her latest book. And it turned to be such a pleasant surprise. It's an insight into a magical era of Pakistan which we didn't see but her rich characters and description allow you a sneak peak into an another time. Funny and touching,and sometimes sad, the stories were a pleasure to read.
April 10, 2013
An amazing collection of short stories of Pakistan and India before and after the partition. It includes different cultures and religions and the silent harmony and loud conflicts among them.
August 19, 2013
Excellent!
July 29, 2015
Some storis I really enjoyed. Some wer meh.
But enjoyable nonetheless.
But enjoyable nonetheless.
December 16, 2015
group of short stories around the themes that are close to Sidhwa's heart . one time reading material not too great either
August 21, 2013
Beautifully written. Especially the last short-story. Loved the book.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews