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A Splintering
An unforgettable story of motherhood, obsession and ambition
In a village in rural Pakistan, Tara is waiting and watching. The smell of dung and dust hangs over her world. She is desperate to leave the petty life of the village and escape the iron grip of her violent, unpredictable brother. Marrying a middle-class accountant allows her to escape to the capital, but she soon finds that life as a respectable housewife is not sufficient either. She wants what the rich mothers at her children’s school have. She wants what their husbands have. Her desire for wealth and freedom becomes an obsession. But can she truly shake her past? And what of the menacing spectre of her brother, a reminder of the threads that tie her to the life she left behind?
Set against a hypnotic, oppressive backdrop of political violence and natural disaster, A Splintering traces the class struggle of a woman stuck between province and metropolis, between motherhood and ambition. Disquieting and utterly gripping, it is an extraordinary achievement by Dur e Aziz Amna, an exploration of a complex and unforgettable character who will risk everything to carve out a life of her own.
In a village in rural Pakistan, Tara is waiting and watching. The smell of dung and dust hangs over her world. She is desperate to leave the petty life of the village and escape the iron grip of her violent, unpredictable brother. Marrying a middle-class accountant allows her to escape to the capital, but she soon finds that life as a respectable housewife is not sufficient either. She wants what the rich mothers at her children’s school have. She wants what their husbands have. Her desire for wealth and freedom becomes an obsession. But can she truly shake her past? And what of the menacing spectre of her brother, a reminder of the threads that tie her to the life she left behind?
Set against a hypnotic, oppressive backdrop of political violence and natural disaster, A Splintering traces the class struggle of a woman stuck between province and metropolis, between motherhood and ambition. Disquieting and utterly gripping, it is an extraordinary achievement by Dur e Aziz Amna, an exploration of a complex and unforgettable character who will risk everything to carve out a life of her own.
238 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 4, 2025
19 people are currently reading
1306 people want to read
About the author
Dur e Aziz Amna
3 books97 followersDur e Aziz Amna is the author of American Fever, winner of the South Asian Book Award and the APALA Award for Literature. Her second novel, A Splintering, is a BBC Book Club pick, a winner of the Stanfords Award for Fiction, and a finalist for the Nota Bene Prize. Her work appears in the Financial Times, Al Jazeera, and The Drift, among others. She was selected as Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2022 and has won the Salam Prize and the Financial Times / Bodley Head Essay Prize. She has degrees from Yale College and the University of Michigan's Helen Zell Writers' Program. Born and raised in Pakistan, she currently lives in the US.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 117 reviews
November 14, 2025
They HATE to see a girlboss win
September 4, 2025
"As I tell you my story, will you find it hard to empathise?"
A Splintering by Dur e Aziz Amna is a ruthless tale of a working-class woman from rural Pakistan tearing through the unforgiving patriarchal system in pursuit of a wealthier lifestyle in this empowering sophomore novel.
Dur e Aziz has a unique and powerful writing style, gripping me from the very first sentence. The novel opens with Tara asking the reader for some grace as she tells her life’s story and the motives that led her to commit questionable acts. From her childhood in Mazinagar 35 years ago, we are introduced to her family (mother, father, sisters) and her antagonistic brother, Lateef. Life in rural Pakistan is not easy. Society is extremely misogynistic and religious, where poverty and domestic violence lurk persistently. There are no opportunities to grow, especially for women, who serve as dowries for suitors, frequently three times their age or even their relatives. Education was a luxury many couldn’t afford, so Tara’s mother made sure at least one daughter received a formal education against her brother Lateef’s wishes, which sold her younger sister's dowry for a TV. Education was Tara’s only way out of Mazinagar to the city. This forms the core of the novel, and it would be a disservice to explain the whole scope of A Splintering spoiler-free.
In the backdrop of Tara’s story, Pakistani politics play an important role. Dur e Aziz weaves politics and history into compelling prose. The social critique is outstanding, and I was engrossed in every sentence. The pace is strikingly fast, and the novel packs much into just over 240 pages, a literary feat. Tara is a strong-willed woman with the sole objective of becoming wealthy and having the life she deserves. Why should she live in poverty when so many men have it easier? When Tara leaves for Islamabad, her life changes completely after she meets the Chaudhary. Through him, she learns how to use her female body to achieve her goals. Empowered, she becomes fearless, except of her brother Lateef, whom she suspects could be the death of her. One must understand that Pakistani society is utterly conservative, and a man has the right to act upon a woman he deems a “whore”; even so-called “corrective” gang rape is socially acceptable. A woman must be subdued and subservient.
Sexuality and femininity are strong themes in this novel and are masterfully explored through Tara’s character development. Tara is every woman in pursuit of the freedom to choose, to express herself, to simply be. A Splintering is a necessary novel with a strong feminist message in a society where religion crushes women into a domestic and subservient life. This is a powerful tale, and I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in understanding more about Pakistani society, the suffocating power and violence of patriarchy, and female empowerment.
Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of this book from the publisher Duckworth Books via NetGalley and BookSirens in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
A Splintering by Dur e Aziz Amna is a ruthless tale of a working-class woman from rural Pakistan tearing through the unforgiving patriarchal system in pursuit of a wealthier lifestyle in this empowering sophomore novel.
Dur e Aziz has a unique and powerful writing style, gripping me from the very first sentence. The novel opens with Tara asking the reader for some grace as she tells her life’s story and the motives that led her to commit questionable acts. From her childhood in Mazinagar 35 years ago, we are introduced to her family (mother, father, sisters) and her antagonistic brother, Lateef. Life in rural Pakistan is not easy. Society is extremely misogynistic and religious, where poverty and domestic violence lurk persistently. There are no opportunities to grow, especially for women, who serve as dowries for suitors, frequently three times their age or even their relatives. Education was a luxury many couldn’t afford, so Tara’s mother made sure at least one daughter received a formal education against her brother Lateef’s wishes, which sold her younger sister's dowry for a TV. Education was Tara’s only way out of Mazinagar to the city. This forms the core of the novel, and it would be a disservice to explain the whole scope of A Splintering spoiler-free.
In the backdrop of Tara’s story, Pakistani politics play an important role. Dur e Aziz weaves politics and history into compelling prose. The social critique is outstanding, and I was engrossed in every sentence. The pace is strikingly fast, and the novel packs much into just over 240 pages, a literary feat. Tara is a strong-willed woman with the sole objective of becoming wealthy and having the life she deserves. Why should she live in poverty when so many men have it easier? When Tara leaves for Islamabad, her life changes completely after she meets the Chaudhary. Through him, she learns how to use her female body to achieve her goals. Empowered, she becomes fearless, except of her brother Lateef, whom she suspects could be the death of her. One must understand that Pakistani society is utterly conservative, and a man has the right to act upon a woman he deems a “whore”; even so-called “corrective” gang rape is socially acceptable. A woman must be subdued and subservient.
Sexuality and femininity are strong themes in this novel and are masterfully explored through Tara’s character development. Tara is every woman in pursuit of the freedom to choose, to express herself, to simply be. A Splintering is a necessary novel with a strong feminist message in a society where religion crushes women into a domestic and subservient life. This is a powerful tale, and I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in understanding more about Pakistani society, the suffocating power and violence of patriarchy, and female empowerment.
Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of this book from the publisher Duckworth Books via NetGalley and BookSirens in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
July 23, 2025
I hope this becomes an instant bestseller when it is published in September 2025, I loved this novel so much.
We follow Tara, a young woman in Mazinagar, a rural village in Pakistan in the 1990s, as she is the only girl in her family to go to school, her mother determined to let her get an education despite her older brother Lateef's opposition. She dreams of escaping the poverty of her upbringing, the shared bedroom with her sisters, the tedious daily chores of washing and feeding a family, the dust, and what she sees as backwards attitudes. On a day trip to Islamabad, she decides that moving to the big city will be her goal and she eventually does it, marrying a wealthy enough accountant and moving into his family home with her condescending step-mother. But Tara is never satisfied, and is soon hungry for more, observing with envy the mothers at the school gate, their perfect hair, their designer coat, their neat cashmere jumpers...
I loved Tara as a character - she is unlikeable, petty, convinced of her own superiority, resentful of everyone's good fortune, contemptuous towards her family and anyone she considers beneath her, greedy and ready to do anything... The first paragraph of the novel warns us that we may judge her for the awful things she has done, so part of the thrill of this book is reading to find out how awful exactly she gets. (Spoiler: Pretty awful!)
It's well written, kind of funny at times, a really fascinating novel about money and greed, which I highly recommend.
Free ARC sent by Netgalley.
We follow Tara, a young woman in Mazinagar, a rural village in Pakistan in the 1990s, as she is the only girl in her family to go to school, her mother determined to let her get an education despite her older brother Lateef's opposition. She dreams of escaping the poverty of her upbringing, the shared bedroom with her sisters, the tedious daily chores of washing and feeding a family, the dust, and what she sees as backwards attitudes. On a day trip to Islamabad, she decides that moving to the big city will be her goal and she eventually does it, marrying a wealthy enough accountant and moving into his family home with her condescending step-mother. But Tara is never satisfied, and is soon hungry for more, observing with envy the mothers at the school gate, their perfect hair, their designer coat, their neat cashmere jumpers...
I loved Tara as a character - she is unlikeable, petty, convinced of her own superiority, resentful of everyone's good fortune, contemptuous towards her family and anyone she considers beneath her, greedy and ready to do anything... The first paragraph of the novel warns us that we may judge her for the awful things she has done, so part of the thrill of this book is reading to find out how awful exactly she gets. (Spoiler: Pretty awful!)
It's well written, kind of funny at times, a really fascinating novel about money and greed, which I highly recommend.
Free ARC sent by Netgalley.
October 7, 2025
"I am what some call an unrelatable character, and I have done something unthinkable. But I implore you to listen."
Tara tells us what she has done and it makes for a thought-provoking story about the role of women, race and especially class in Pakistan in the '90s and '00s.
I was gripped from the start to the end.
Tara is from a small village in Pakistan, she is ambitious, good at school and dreams of moving to the big city, Islamabad. When she finally succeeds and starts a family, she learns that the struggle for upward mobility only continues.
A little point of critique is that the many men in the novel are all stereotypes and caricatures - but the book is not about them, it's about Tara and she is a fascinating main character that carries the novel.
With books such as these I always wonder whether they are written for a foreign audience and how they are perceived in their home country.
Highly recommended.
Tara tells us what she has done and it makes for a thought-provoking story about the role of women, race and especially class in Pakistan in the '90s and '00s.
I was gripped from the start to the end.
Tara is from a small village in Pakistan, she is ambitious, good at school and dreams of moving to the big city, Islamabad. When she finally succeeds and starts a family, she learns that the struggle for upward mobility only continues.
A little point of critique is that the many men in the novel are all stereotypes and caricatures - but the book is not about them, it's about Tara and she is a fascinating main character that carries the novel.
With books such as these I always wonder whether they are written for a foreign audience and how they are perceived in their home country.
Highly recommended.
May 22, 2025
i believe a book well written is one that makes you feel exactly what it aims for. tara may be the character whose eyes we see the world through, but she is far from being the only main character of the story. the women present are all main characters in their respective ways, different in many facets of life, but one thing joins them, and it is anger.
female rage is splashed across the story like fuel. It's a kindling behind every word, behind every emotion, and behind every action that the women do. be it fighting tooth and nail for her daughter to finish her education, trying to shed and distance oneself from a past that kills unabashedly, or letting the pain gnaw slowly and fester for years, the main drive of the book is pure unfiltered anger that you feel throughout every line.
Hunger and rage are what drive the story forward, are what make it almost impossible to hate tara. as an audience to her bathe to strive for more, we watch her from wanting the simplest things in life to growing incessantly unsatisfied and knowing that her hunger will never subside. Tara strives for one thing, and that is to feel complete, to be able to look at all the times she had been humiliated, and think them to have been worth surviving. however, there is no more dangerous thing than the appetite of the poor, and some watch as tara does her impossible to become the thing she claims to hate but envies.
throughout the book tara kept say my how much she hated those rich housewifes who do nothing all day, while actually meaning that she hates having to go and slave away at a job or for a man, to afford half the lifestyle these other women have. for a projects her feelings of inadequacy on to every other woman she meets, to try to feel superior. she mocks other women for putting on a show to showcase their wealth when she herself does the same thing. she hates any mention or association to her village on it brings her back to being the girl that used to be beaten by her brother, she is put back in a place where she has no power, at the mercy of other men, determined to get away, which makes it all the more morbidly funny when she finds herself later in the book, still at the mercy of the men in her life simply in a different font, but with the illusion of power; be it for her main drive for success is to one up her brother, her deadbeat husband with no backbone mascarading as a modernist, or the countless men who she relies on for income.
even when her big bad villain goes away at the end, there is no sign she feels a sense of relief because her greatest enemy has always been herself.
there is so much i could talk about with the different ways how motherhood is portrayed through the generations, the illusion of women's choices under a patriarchal society, how tara spent so long distancing herself from her village just to end up under the sheets of one, how this man got to feel good about his village as it serves as an inspirational coming of age stories, while women have to feel ashamed and disgusted from where they came from, that tara has this delusion that money will provide her safety and having that proven false with the earthquake... there is so much from this book to dissect it's truly a masterpiece.
final thing i will say is that this book proves that life is a circle, that no matter how fast you try to outrun your family, there will come a day where you will look at a mirror and see them staring back at you, but worse.
female rage is splashed across the story like fuel. It's a kindling behind every word, behind every emotion, and behind every action that the women do. be it fighting tooth and nail for her daughter to finish her education, trying to shed and distance oneself from a past that kills unabashedly, or letting the pain gnaw slowly and fester for years, the main drive of the book is pure unfiltered anger that you feel throughout every line.
Hunger and rage are what drive the story forward, are what make it almost impossible to hate tara. as an audience to her bathe to strive for more, we watch her from wanting the simplest things in life to growing incessantly unsatisfied and knowing that her hunger will never subside. Tara strives for one thing, and that is to feel complete, to be able to look at all the times she had been humiliated, and think them to have been worth surviving. however, there is no more dangerous thing than the appetite of the poor, and some watch as tara does her impossible to become the thing she claims to hate but envies.
throughout the book tara kept say my how much she hated those rich housewifes who do nothing all day, while actually meaning that she hates having to go and slave away at a job or for a man, to afford half the lifestyle these other women have. for a projects her feelings of inadequacy on to every other woman she meets, to try to feel superior. she mocks other women for putting on a show to showcase their wealth when she herself does the same thing. she hates any mention or association to her village on it brings her back to being the girl that used to be beaten by her brother, she is put back in a place where she has no power, at the mercy of other men, determined to get away, which makes it all the more morbidly funny when she finds herself later in the book, still at the mercy of the men in her life simply in a different font, but with the illusion of power; be it for her main drive for success is to one up her brother, her deadbeat husband with no backbone mascarading as a modernist, or the countless men who she relies on for income.
even when her big bad villain goes away at the end, there is no sign she feels a sense of relief because her greatest enemy has always been herself.
there is so much i could talk about with the different ways how motherhood is portrayed through the generations, the illusion of women's choices under a patriarchal society, how tara spent so long distancing herself from her village just to end up under the sheets of one, how this man got to feel good about his village as it serves as an inspirational coming of age stories, while women have to feel ashamed and disgusted from where they came from, that tara has this delusion that money will provide her safety and having that proven false with the earthquake... there is so much from this book to dissect it's truly a masterpiece.
final thing i will say is that this book proves that life is a circle, that no matter how fast you try to outrun your family, there will come a day where you will look at a mirror and see them staring back at you, but worse.
January 6, 2026
Read this in one sitting. Always a treat to read Pakistani authors that are not only good but also don’t conform to the cliches.
I really liked Tara. And understood her hunger for more. The want to shed her previous life and be this new version of yourself.
It’s in the last few years that there is a discourse on holding onto your heritage and where you come from. Ten fifteen years ago, we would all be shedding our persona. Think Pakistani’s immigrating to UK/US/Canada. A lot of the diaspora from our generation (mid to late twenties) doesn’t speak Urdu compared to our children who do.
What stood out to me was the parallels between her and her mother’s lives. We often think we are the only ones going through something but our parents have often gone through the same thing. They just dealt with it in a different way.
I liked the ending too. Kept saying, pls don’t be a cliche.
I really liked Tara. And understood her hunger for more. The want to shed her previous life and be this new version of yourself.
It’s in the last few years that there is a discourse on holding onto your heritage and where you come from. Ten fifteen years ago, we would all be shedding our persona. Think Pakistani’s immigrating to UK/US/Canada. A lot of the diaspora from our generation (mid to late twenties) doesn’t speak Urdu compared to our children who do.
What stood out to me was the parallels between her and her mother’s lives. We often think we are the only ones going through something but our parents have often gone through the same thing. They just dealt with it in a different way.
I liked the ending too. Kept saying, pls don’t be a cliche.
May 8, 2025
A Splintering is captivating and insightful in to the Pakistani society I found myself engrossed from the start and finished this in a few hours.
The protagonist doesn’t want to live a mediocre life and dreams of marrying a man from the city and getting a job and living freely away from her family. Her obsessive nature and her persistence in becoming more than a farmers daughter and living just above the breadline makes Tara want to live outside of the traditions and expectations of hers and her husbands family.
Once free from these chains and living and supporting her own family she realises that it isn’t enough for her and her children and wants endlessly for more. Tara is callous, ruthless and willing to do what ever it takes to make sure she can give her family everything and that’s what makes the book compelling and fascinating at the same time.
Amna’s way in which she writes is elegantly composed and expertly constructed throughout.
The protagonist doesn’t want to live a mediocre life and dreams of marrying a man from the city and getting a job and living freely away from her family. Her obsessive nature and her persistence in becoming more than a farmers daughter and living just above the breadline makes Tara want to live outside of the traditions and expectations of hers and her husbands family.
Once free from these chains and living and supporting her own family she realises that it isn’t enough for her and her children and wants endlessly for more. Tara is callous, ruthless and willing to do what ever it takes to make sure she can give her family everything and that’s what makes the book compelling and fascinating at the same time.
Amna’s way in which she writes is elegantly composed and expertly constructed throughout.
May 4, 2026
4.3! Damn! This is true to the adage of supporting women’s wrongs and women’s rights! The way the protagonist’s actions - both amoral and immoral - are so entangled with the rights of women in Pakistani society created such an intriguing atmosphere for the novel’s plot. I mean, what and how to question? There’s just so much packaged in here to unravel that I don’t even know where to start.
Tara is a judgey bish and she knows it. She tells us in the beginning that she’s done some bad things but just how bad, we don’t know. Tbh, half of the twists and turns were unexpected for me yet they also felt sensible and obvious once it happened due to the intense but hidden foreshadowing. It’s like when you read something but didn’t know it was important, only for it to become the key when the foretold scene arrives.
What was especially brilliant was the tying of the political public sphere with the very narrow domestic sphere that Tara occupied. It was ironic to hear Tara comment on being apolitical while making the most political choices. It was interesting to see how the political changes in the country affected the lives of our characters and shaped their decisions even when they actively did not seek it out. What was most fascinating was not only that the political scenes served to date the characters and their decisions but also actually reflected and influenced Tara’s decisions. The parallel with Benazir Bhutto - as Pakistan’s first female PM - just added so much more sauce to it that I kinda want to now reread this again.
Thematically, this is rich and really puts to question how we approach women’s rights discussions. It’s not just about gender and gendered rights; it’s the intersectionality of these rights with class, geography, ethnicity, and nationalism just to make a few. Every character is complexly tied to a million permutations that a simple what if wouldn’t solve it. Reading this pushed us out of the realm of good and bad and into the realm of “hear me out” every single time. I’d say, this felt like good seminar reading because the lessons are all there for you to draw and discuss, without one right answer.
All in all, Tara may really have convinced me because I’m not judging her as hard as I should be doing. This should be entered into the top of pure girlboss canon, and not the YA kind where they are whitewashed. Given the level of girlbossing going around, the ending we got was a good exit for us. However, I really would have loved to get more if the life after and especially when it came to Ashraf and Hamad in the new dispensation.
Tara is a judgey bish and she knows it. She tells us in the beginning that she’s done some bad things but just how bad, we don’t know. Tbh, half of the twists and turns were unexpected for me yet they also felt sensible and obvious once it happened due to the intense but hidden foreshadowing. It’s like when you read something but didn’t know it was important, only for it to become the key when the foretold scene arrives.
What was especially brilliant was the tying of the political public sphere with the very narrow domestic sphere that Tara occupied. It was ironic to hear Tara comment on being apolitical while making the most political choices. It was interesting to see how the political changes in the country affected the lives of our characters and shaped their decisions even when they actively did not seek it out. What was most fascinating was not only that the political scenes served to date the characters and their decisions but also actually reflected and influenced Tara’s decisions. The parallel with Benazir Bhutto - as Pakistan’s first female PM - just added so much more sauce to it that I kinda want to now reread this again.
Thematically, this is rich and really puts to question how we approach women’s rights discussions. It’s not just about gender and gendered rights; it’s the intersectionality of these rights with class, geography, ethnicity, and nationalism just to make a few. Every character is complexly tied to a million permutations that a simple what if wouldn’t solve it. Reading this pushed us out of the realm of good and bad and into the realm of “hear me out” every single time. I’d say, this felt like good seminar reading because the lessons are all there for you to draw and discuss, without one right answer.
All in all, Tara may really have convinced me because I’m not judging her as hard as I should be doing. This should be entered into the top of pure girlboss canon, and not the YA kind where they are whitewashed. Given the level of girlbossing going around, the ending we got was a good exit for us. However, I really would have loved to get more if the life after and especially when it came to Ashraf and Hamad in the new dispensation.
May 17, 2025
Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Tara is born in rural/pre-industrial Mazinagar, and yearns for more from a young age. But as we follow her life story, something in her shifts from aspirational to avaricious; from hungry to heartless. But is this shift inevitable, and will she really stop at nothing to protect what she has claimed for herself?
This is an utterly stunning (in many ways) read, with a deliciously unreliable narrator. Tara has an excellent narrative voice but constantly assesses and judges others in a way that the author masterfully encourages the reader to examine for themselves. None of the characters are particularly lovable but they are all clearly complex individuals, each affected by their lot in life with their actions clearly motivated by their own insecurities and beliefs. Tara doesn't do much genuine self-reflection but being inside her head is fascinating.
The book deftly explores topics including misogyny, classism, sex work, corruption, toxic family relationships, domestic violence, etc with nuance and grace; set against a backdrop of various "levels" of Pakistani society. As the physical settings morph and shift over time, so do the characters and their relationships with each other. I felt challenged at several points, wanting to believe (for example) in the assertion that Tara's sex work felt empowering, but seeing the reality of what it was doing to her and her family (especially her daughter - which she avoids facing) and how she repeatedly chooses to put financial gain above all else.
The writing really provokes the senses, it is often deeply lyrical and there are several passages that really spoke to me. (I would love to come back to a paper copy at some point and annotate it.) There are many interesting repeated motifs, such as Tara's reflections on the nuclear family in Islamabad, which really drive home how she is changing over the years.
I love the ending, which is fitting and moving, but also love that not everything is left completely resolved. What will happen to Tara next? She is actually still in quite a volatile situation and it is left up to the reader to contemplate on where her life might lead in the near and distant future.
This is a clever and original book which will stay with me for some time.
5 stars
17.05.25
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10.05.25
hoooooooo boy i can't wait to dissect this one in a book club once it's been released.
full review to follow soon.
Tara is born in rural/pre-industrial Mazinagar, and yearns for more from a young age. But as we follow her life story, something in her shifts from aspirational to avaricious; from hungry to heartless. But is this shift inevitable, and will she really stop at nothing to protect what she has claimed for herself?
This is an utterly stunning (in many ways) read, with a deliciously unreliable narrator. Tara has an excellent narrative voice but constantly assesses and judges others in a way that the author masterfully encourages the reader to examine for themselves. None of the characters are particularly lovable but they are all clearly complex individuals, each affected by their lot in life with their actions clearly motivated by their own insecurities and beliefs. Tara doesn't do much genuine self-reflection but being inside her head is fascinating.
The book deftly explores topics including misogyny, classism, sex work, corruption, toxic family relationships, domestic violence, etc with nuance and grace; set against a backdrop of various "levels" of Pakistani society. As the physical settings morph and shift over time, so do the characters and their relationships with each other. I felt challenged at several points, wanting to believe (for example) in the assertion that Tara's sex work felt empowering, but seeing the reality of what it was doing to her and her family (especially her daughter - which she avoids facing) and how she repeatedly chooses to put financial gain above all else.
The writing really provokes the senses, it is often deeply lyrical and there are several passages that really spoke to me. (I would love to come back to a paper copy at some point and annotate it.) There are many interesting repeated motifs, such as Tara's reflections on the nuclear family in Islamabad, which really drive home how she is changing over the years.
I love the ending, which is fitting and moving, but also love that not everything is left completely resolved. What will happen to Tara next? She is actually still in quite a volatile situation and it is left up to the reader to contemplate on where her life might lead in the near and distant future.
This is a clever and original book which will stay with me for some time.
5 stars
17.05.25
---
10.05.25
hoooooooo boy i can't wait to dissect this one in a book club once it's been released.
full review to follow soon.
September 24, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and Duckworth Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
A Splintering gripped me from the very first page, and my fascination with Tara’s hunger for more than the world offered her carried me straight through to the end. I was especially absorbed by her frank, sharp voice and the steady development of her character arc. Her flaws, and the way she wrestles with ambition, motherhood, and class expectations, made her a complex and relatable protagonist I was deeply invested in.
The novel explores feminist themes in an organic, unforced way. It doesn’t shy away from asking hard questions about what women owe their families, their children, themselves, and whether it is ever truly possible to “have it all.”
I highly recommend A Splintering to readers who enjoy literary fiction that delves into the messy complexities of ambition, motherhood, and identity.
4.25/5
A Splintering gripped me from the very first page, and my fascination with Tara’s hunger for more than the world offered her carried me straight through to the end. I was especially absorbed by her frank, sharp voice and the steady development of her character arc. Her flaws, and the way she wrestles with ambition, motherhood, and class expectations, made her a complex and relatable protagonist I was deeply invested in.
The novel explores feminist themes in an organic, unforced way. It doesn’t shy away from asking hard questions about what women owe their families, their children, themselves, and whether it is ever truly possible to “have it all.”
I highly recommend A Splintering to readers who enjoy literary fiction that delves into the messy complexities of ambition, motherhood, and identity.
4.25/5
April 27, 2025
Inhaled it. Deserves a longer, sharper review, which I will take a proper stab at in the coming months.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
April 28, 2026
A raw exploration of patriarchy, class, ambition and morality. The focus on a womans pursuit of upward mobility & how that becomes an obsession that erodes her identity is very interesting and complex. I liked the writing and could vividly imagine the different places in this main characters life.
April 18, 2025
Wonderful ARC from Duckworth Books! A hesitant 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars. This is a compelling narrative about our main character, Tara, a Pakistani woman that finds a way to move from the provincial areas of Pakistan into the city. Tara is filled with a desire to continually move “upward.” Societally, capitalistically, and every other way. If one is not careful reading this book, it may seem like all of Tara’s decisions are for gaining her individuality. In reality, it is a cautionary tale of the dangers of being unsatisfied.
June 12, 2025
As soon as I looked authors name I requested ARC right away. I'm so glad I did as I haven't been able to stop reading it this week! Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This story is about Tara, who had an exceptional desire to keep moving upward in the society and how her never ending desire affected everyone around her. There are so many lines that were relatable. As In our life at sometime there is something that we desperately want to escape from, to get something. The way writer has described that rage and all other emotions of Tara is exceptional.
This story is about Tara, who had an exceptional desire to keep moving upward in the society and how her never ending desire affected everyone around her. There are so many lines that were relatable. As In our life at sometime there is something that we desperately want to escape from, to get something. The way writer has described that rage and all other emotions of Tara is exceptional.
June 2, 2025
Vividly told through descriptive scenes, this was a brilliant read. From the beginning it’s made clear that Tara is different to her sisters, her mother and her aunties. She will not live the same life as them, she dreams of escaping to the city and carving something better for herself. In doing so, she makes decisions that had me in shock as a reader. I loved reading about her, she was fiercely ambitious, to a point that was damaging.
Her relationship with her husband was a little lacklustre but I can see why, given the type of character he was. I loved her inner monologues as she questioned her motherhood, life as a woman, and decisions she had made that led her to the life she once so desperately craved. This was a book full of big emotions, regret and sacrifices and highlighted a woman’s need to control her own life.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #ASplintering #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Her relationship with her husband was a little lacklustre but I can see why, given the type of character he was. I loved her inner monologues as she questioned her motherhood, life as a woman, and decisions she had made that led her to the life she once so desperately craved. This was a book full of big emotions, regret and sacrifices and highlighted a woman’s need to control her own life.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #ASplintering #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
March 30, 2025
I absolutely devoured this book.
After American Fever I knew I’d love whatever Dur e Aziz Amna blessed us with next and damn, what a brilliant read!
Tara’s story completely took over me, and I found myself obsessing over her every move.
The timeline the story is based in brought back so many memories of seeing those same events unfold on TV as a child.
Wow.
This one is going to stay with me for a whileeeee.
Idk how I’ll move on to my next read.
After American Fever I knew I’d love whatever Dur e Aziz Amna blessed us with next and damn, what a brilliant read!
Tara’s story completely took over me, and I found myself obsessing over her every move.
The timeline the story is based in brought back so many memories of seeing those same events unfold on TV as a child.
Wow.
This one is going to stay with me for a whileeeee.
Idk how I’ll move on to my next read.
September 5, 2025
The best part of this book was the Pakistani setting from the turn of the century. I did felt like the writing was sort of uninteresting and the characters quite two-dimensional. The plot was interesting though and I kept wanting to read to find out what was going to happen. The themes of patriarchy and money were on every page but not in a way that I felt hadn't been done to death before.
October 16, 2025
100% not what I was expecting but non the less blown away by the experience of this one. This book follows the FMC through her Pakistani heritage. She has a rather challenging start to life and lives in a rather unpredictable environment with her family and rather aggressive brother who is ‘the man’ of the house. Her life changes the day she lays eyes on a young family with impeccable wealth compared to Tara’s rags she’s wearing. She was totally enamoured with the perfect hair, the clean clothes and the perfectly manicured nails and the brand new outfits the children wore. This flipped a switch in her brain and from that moment on everything she had and would gain from this moment on would never be enough, fulfilling or satisfying. She wanted the perfect hair, the perfect life, the fancy car, the big house and the grass to be sooo much greener than her dusty courtyard back home. How far do you think she was willing to go and when would enough be enough? What would be the cost of it all? Does it stop? You’ll have to read to find out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 26, 2026
if you're looking for a book about an unhinged pakistani woman, this is it. i loved the beginning of the book and even enjoyed tara's spiraling but part two was poorly done. the plot progressed way too quickly and everything was sort of tied up in a 'neat' and 'resolved' ending. initially, i went into the book expecting the majority of it to be about motherhood and was surprised at how layered it really was. i was really expecting it to end strong, maybe on a cliffhanger or the consequences of salma's actions and was kind of disappointed tbh.
however, i really appreciated the way the author described an authentic village experience, and she fleshed out some of the side characters really well too. i don't think i've ever read a book where authentic pakistani village life and experiences have been captured and that in and of itself is a commendable achievement. i also admire the fact that she is paving the way for unhinged pakistani women in lit fic, some of the descriptions of her encounters with men were a little gaudy, explicit, and uncomfortable for me personally though.
however, i really appreciated the way the author described an authentic village experience, and she fleshed out some of the side characters really well too. i don't think i've ever read a book where authentic pakistani village life and experiences have been captured and that in and of itself is a commendable achievement. i also admire the fact that she is paving the way for unhinged pakistani women in lit fic, some of the descriptions of her encounters with men were a little gaudy, explicit, and uncomfortable for me personally though.
April 24, 2026
The social commentary in this book was so poignant and spot-on - I read this book within a day, it killed me whenever I had to put it down. The story flowed so well, you were hooked from the beginning. The plot followed a girl striving to improve her life through all the means she possibly could, given the rampant misogyny and classism in Pakistan, all while the country becomes more and more religiously conservative and politically unstable. Her character was incredibly difficult to hate, even when she made more and more questionable choices. Explored themes of women's independence, motherhood, social & economic mobility, Pakistani family systems, classism and prosperity, all in a unforgettable plot.
I adored Dur E Aziz's debut, and her second novel just proves she's a tour de force to be reckoned with.
I adored Dur E Aziz's debut, and her second novel just proves she's a tour de force to be reckoned with.
October 27, 2025
Really cool plot, but let down by very weak writing. The main character is a full-on antihero: desperate to escape her stifling Pakistani village, Tara endlessly strives and fights for a better life and more money, societal norms be damned, and is completely unlikeable while doing so. She was such a horrible bitch the entire time but I was in proper yaas queen mode. Why shouldn’t (fictional) women be allowed be money hungry psychopaths?
Unfortunately the writing just didn’t keep up with what could’ve been a fascinating character study. Characters’ personalities, actions and motivations mostly made no sense from one scene to the next. Part of it is down to the POV character herself (even her daughter thinks Tara is a cold hearted psycho lol), who has no true affection or love for basically anyone. But I don’t think this was actually on purpose most of the time, the writing was just that rough. It’s hard to describe, it was almost kinda like a screenplay? Which was extra weird because we’re in first person and should be right there with the main character’s thoughts and feelings.
Not that I regret reading this or anything (and it’s short and succinct, so that’s good), but it probably needed more time in the oven.
Unfortunately the writing just didn’t keep up with what could’ve been a fascinating character study. Characters’ personalities, actions and motivations mostly made no sense from one scene to the next. Part of it is down to the POV character herself (even her daughter thinks Tara is a cold hearted psycho lol), who has no true affection or love for basically anyone. But I don’t think this was actually on purpose most of the time, the writing was just that rough. It’s hard to describe, it was almost kinda like a screenplay? Which was extra weird because we’re in first person and should be right there with the main character’s thoughts and feelings.
Not that I regret reading this or anything (and it’s short and succinct, so that’s good), but it probably needed more time in the oven.
May 3, 2026
I finished this book two days ago but I keep thinking about it. That is one of the hallmarks of a great book. The protagonist, Tara, is such an interesting and unusual character. She admits up front that the reader probably won’t like her and will find parts of her story uncomfortable. This is true. And yet, Tara fascinated me with her single-mindedness and determination to achieve what she desired. There’s a lot to ponder in this novel featuring a morally gray woman.
October 7, 2025
I read this book in one day. A brilliant read about women’s right, class, money and poverty in Pakistan. I couldn’t put this book down! The protagonist was such an interesting character with good development.
December 25, 2025
An insightful look at how Pakistani society has changed and the lengths one woman goes to to change her own life. Beautiful writing, a compelling and uncomfortable read - I couldn't put it down, although sometimes I wanted to.
January 2, 2026
unlikeable woman who does awful things and is filled with hunger and rage hmmm interesting interesting
May 8, 2026
Contender for fave book of 2026 even though it’s only May
November 4, 2025
I have mixed feelings about this book, but may we have more ambitious and angry brown women out in the world this way please!
September 4, 2025
If you felt haunted and breathless while reading Kamila Shamsie’s “Home Fire,” meet its literary cousin: “A Splintering.”
It follows Tara’s journey from the crushing poverty of her village to the glittering promise of the city. The farther she moves, the smaller and more shameful her past feels. Her education becomes both a source of pride and a tool for distance, feeding a quiet sense of superiority and judgment toward her family.
But ambition demands sacrifice. In chasing a vision of success shaped by the city’s standards, Tara begins to give up pieces of herself—first subtly, then irreversibly. What she once considered unthinkable becomes necessary. By the time she looks back, what she’s lost is no longer recoverable.
What makes Tara’s story so arresting is how vividly it renders a reality that may not resemble my own, but exists right alongside it. Tara’s pursuit of financial freedom, and her struggle against the volatile, often violent, men around her, mirrors the harsh realities faced by many women across both rural and urban parts of the subcontinent. The tension between what she wants and what she's been told to accept runs through the entire novel.
As a reader, you're not just watching her story unfold. You feel complicit. You root for her, but you also judge her. You celebrate her choices, but question them too. That conflict mirrors the very pressures she's fighting against. The discomfort is intentional, and it’s powerful.
The novel also captures the toxicity that lives inside families. The unspoken competition, the betrayals, and the uncomfortable silences all deepen the sense of suffocation. Every interaction feels charged, every silence heavy, building a kind of narrative breathlessness that doesn’t release until the final moment.
It follows Tara’s journey from the crushing poverty of her village to the glittering promise of the city. The farther she moves, the smaller and more shameful her past feels. Her education becomes both a source of pride and a tool for distance, feeding a quiet sense of superiority and judgment toward her family.
But ambition demands sacrifice. In chasing a vision of success shaped by the city’s standards, Tara begins to give up pieces of herself—first subtly, then irreversibly. What she once considered unthinkable becomes necessary. By the time she looks back, what she’s lost is no longer recoverable.
What makes Tara’s story so arresting is how vividly it renders a reality that may not resemble my own, but exists right alongside it. Tara’s pursuit of financial freedom, and her struggle against the volatile, often violent, men around her, mirrors the harsh realities faced by many women across both rural and urban parts of the subcontinent. The tension between what she wants and what she's been told to accept runs through the entire novel.
As a reader, you're not just watching her story unfold. You feel complicit. You root for her, but you also judge her. You celebrate her choices, but question them too. That conflict mirrors the very pressures she's fighting against. The discomfort is intentional, and it’s powerful.
The novel also captures the toxicity that lives inside families. The unspoken competition, the betrayals, and the uncomfortable silences all deepen the sense of suffocation. Every interaction feels charged, every silence heavy, building a kind of narrative breathlessness that doesn’t release until the final moment.
July 17, 2025
Thank you, NetGalley for letting me borrow an online ARC. I have been an Amna fan ever since I read her The American Fever, and couldn't wait to lay my hands on her latest book!
This book was, wow, it was something else! It is going to make me think for a long long time! Amna's analysis and portrayal of the longing and ambition in a woman is so raw and fresh and neutral - at no point does she villainize her clearly not-a-good-person heroine, but also she doesn't give in to glorifying her by using her circumstances as an excuse, either.
I loved the interactions between all the women in the book and the easy language that the author has used - not too exotic, not too western, just right!
I did feel like the ending was a bit abrupt - and a little too expected at the same time. What happens to Tara after the book ends is also what I will wonder about for a long time! May be that's the success of the book? I don't know- but I enjoyed reading this one!
This book was, wow, it was something else! It is going to make me think for a long long time! Amna's analysis and portrayal of the longing and ambition in a woman is so raw and fresh and neutral - at no point does she villainize her clearly not-a-good-person heroine, but also she doesn't give in to glorifying her by using her circumstances as an excuse, either.
I loved the interactions between all the women in the book and the easy language that the author has used - not too exotic, not too western, just right!
I did feel like the ending was a bit abrupt - and a little too expected at the same time. What happens to Tara after the book ends is also what I will wonder about for a long time! May be that's the success of the book? I don't know- but I enjoyed reading this one!
April 21, 2026
Listen to Dur e Aziz Amna on the Book Gang Podcast NOW! If You Loved Ferrante, Read This Next is now streaming. Click here to tune in or stream wherever you get podcasts! If you love the show, please consider joining my Patreon.
***Can I introduce you to one of my favorite books of the year? Amna pulls the reader in close from the first lines with Tara’s disarming confession: “I wonder where to start. As I tell you my story, will you find it hard to empathise? I am what some call an unrelatable character, and I have done something unthinkable. But I implore you to listen. As the storyteller, I need you on my side. And we know that a story is only as good as its beginning. So let my story begin with rage.”
Tara, her three sisters, and her brother grew up so poor that their mother shaped dung into cakes that were later used for kindling to keep them warm in their home, the home filled with scents that Tara can’t wait to escape in rural Pakistan.
With teeth so crooked she is ashamed to smile, she resents her brother’s long-lashed beauty and favor with their mother, complete with a prized family heirloom adorning his hand that Tara knows all too well. This hand, and its ring, frequently hit them as he taught his sisters what it meant to be a proper woman. Growing into a man of esteem by becoming a shopkeeper, Lateef manages his store while holding on to information about the people in town like a trusted bank, observing.
When her polished future husband’s parents arrive from the city with sweets and Urdu on their tongues, Tara understands what’s being offered and seizes the opportunity. Meeting Hamad on their wedding night, she finds this accountant to be a kind but unambitious man content to live with his parents, eat their food, and drift through life without striving. Tara’s new role is to help with laundry, make babies, and pour tea for guests, so they see her as proof of the family’s generosity in taking in someone so poor.
Tara, though, has much bigger plans for her life, and if he isn’t going to help her, she will have to support herself. She trades dowry items for braces, gets her tubes tied after having two children despite a scheming mother-in-law, and gradually refines her appearance to align more with the kinds of people she wants to surround herself with, later finding a way to cobble together a life less burdened by their income shortfalls. The ways she goes about it are surprising, unsettling, and at times shocking, as she navigates the elite social world with ruthless focus and an eye always trained on what comes next.
While I loved Amna’s debut American Fever, this novel moves into darker territory, unapologetically examining classism — from the intimate confines of the home to the broader political and social upheavals unfolding in Pakistan in the 1990s and early 2000s.
As Tara’s world expands, we watch a girl who once learned Urdu from television in a dung-filled home transform into an ambitious woman capable of rubbing shoulders with the wealthiest people in town. The question that lingers is not whether she succeeds, but what it costs her, and how much of herself she must splinter to survive.
Amna has cited Elena Ferrante as an influence, and readers drawn to Ferrante’s unsparing exploration of ambition, class, and female interiority will find much to admire here.
I started and finished this provocative page-turner in a single day because it’s so engrossing, thrilling, and impeccably paced. Amna’s crisp prose keeps melodrama at bay while still delivering delicious twists and an ending so satisfying you may want to turn back to page one and reread it with new eyes. A Splintering is a sharp, compulsive literary thriller. It’s precisely the kind of novel that will pull you out of any reading slump. It was a joy to share Dure's story and champion this Pakistani storyteller who brings modern sensibility to every story. Please read this book!
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