What do you think?
The Geometry of God
Amal: the practical sister who digs up the “diamond key” that unlocks the mystery of Pakicetus, a whale-dog creature who once swam the ancient seas that are now Pakistan.
Mehwish: the blind younger sister, who moves with the sun and music inside her and thinks in “cup lits not fully legal.”
Zahoor: their heretical grandfather, a scientist who loves variation and “vim zee” and his two granddaughters most of all.
Noman: the young man who steps into a lecture hall, decides “their triangle needs a fourth point,” and changes all their lives.
These are the four shifting chambers who make the heart of The Geometry of God, the new novel from lauded Pakistani writer Uzma Aslam Khan. Through these vivid, contradictory, and original characters, Khan celebrates the complexities of familial and erotic love, the tug of curiosity and duty, the intersections of faith and longing. Her exuberant language draws from Urdu and Punjabi and invents one of its own for Mehwish, whose fractured English divides and slows and reveals.
The Geometry of God is a novel one can read greedily, following these characters as their lives unfold against the backdrop of General Zia’s Pakistan, where religious fundamentalism gains ground and the mujaheddin is funded by gem sales and the Americans. Or one can savor, as the sisters show digging as Amal does toward the novel’s deepest questions about love and knowledge and faith, moving as Mehwish does to the rhythms of an abundant and original language.
Mehwish: the blind younger sister, who moves with the sun and music inside her and thinks in “cup lits not fully legal.”
Zahoor: their heretical grandfather, a scientist who loves variation and “vim zee” and his two granddaughters most of all.
Noman: the young man who steps into a lecture hall, decides “their triangle needs a fourth point,” and changes all their lives.
These are the four shifting chambers who make the heart of The Geometry of God, the new novel from lauded Pakistani writer Uzma Aslam Khan. Through these vivid, contradictory, and original characters, Khan celebrates the complexities of familial and erotic love, the tug of curiosity and duty, the intersections of faith and longing. Her exuberant language draws from Urdu and Punjabi and invents one of its own for Mehwish, whose fractured English divides and slows and reveals.
The Geometry of God is a novel one can read greedily, following these characters as their lives unfold against the backdrop of General Zia’s Pakistan, where religious fundamentalism gains ground and the mujaheddin is funded by gem sales and the Americans. Or one can savor, as the sisters show digging as Amal does toward the novel’s deepest questions about love and knowledge and faith, moving as Mehwish does to the rhythms of an abundant and original language.
384 pages
First published June 30, 2008
About the author
Uzma Aslam Khan
13 books148 followersUzma Aslam Khan is the prize-winning author of five novels published worldwide. These include Trespassing, translated in 18 languages and recipient of a Commonwealth Prize nomination; The Geometry of God, a Kirkus Reviews' Best Book of 2009; Thinner Than Skin, nominated for the Man Asian Literary Prize and DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, and winner of the French Embassy Prize for Best Fiction at the Karachi Literature Festival 2014. Her work has twice won a Zoetrope: All Story Short Fiction Prize, and appeared in Granta, The Massachusetts Review, Australian Book Review, Nimrod, AGNI, Calyx, and Guardian UK, among many other periodicals.
Khan’s fifth novel, The Miraculous True History of Nomi Ali, is set in the British penal settlement of the Andaman Islands during the 1930s, through the Japanese occupation during World War II. The book, 27 years in the making, writes into being the stories of those caught in the vortex of history, yet written out of it. The Miraculous True History of Nomi Ali won the Karachi Literature Festival-Getz Pharma Fiction Prize and the UBL Literary Awards English Language Fiction category in Pakistan. In India, it was shortlisted for the TATA Literature Live! Best Book of the Year, Fiction. Released in the US in 2022, The Miraculous True History of Nomi Ali was a New York Times' "Best Historical Fiction 2022" as well as a New York Times' "Books for Summer 2022." In 2023, it won the Massachusetts Book Award in Fiction.
See:
https://www.massbook.org/mass-book-aw...
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/04/bo...
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/27/bo...
https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/t...
Khan’s fifth novel, The Miraculous True History of Nomi Ali, is set in the British penal settlement of the Andaman Islands during the 1930s, through the Japanese occupation during World War II. The book, 27 years in the making, writes into being the stories of those caught in the vortex of history, yet written out of it. The Miraculous True History of Nomi Ali won the Karachi Literature Festival-Getz Pharma Fiction Prize and the UBL Literary Awards English Language Fiction category in Pakistan. In India, it was shortlisted for the TATA Literature Live! Best Book of the Year, Fiction. Released in the US in 2022, The Miraculous True History of Nomi Ali was a New York Times' "Best Historical Fiction 2022" as well as a New York Times' "Books for Summer 2022." In 2023, it won the Massachusetts Book Award in Fiction.
See:
https://www.massbook.org/mass-book-aw...
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/04/bo...
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/27/bo...
https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/t...
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
July 20, 2010
I read this amazing piece of fiction, set in modern Pakistan, at the end of December last year. One of the benefits of having a professional book reviewing job is that I read books I may otherwise have not heard of and therefore missed. The Geometry of God made it onto my top 25 favorites for the year. My review is now available to non-subscribers at BookBrowse.com It begins like this:
Reading The Geometry of God was an experience of total immersion, not because I read it in two days but due to the power of the writing and the storytelling. I dreamed about the place, the story and the characters both nights after reading, although modern day Pakistan is a country and culture almost completely alien to me. Uzma Aslan Khan has created exactly what I desire from fiction: to be transported to another world where the problems and rewards of living get worked out in a parallel but different matrix to the world I know. (Read the rest on BookBrowse)
Reading The Geometry of God was an experience of total immersion, not because I read it in two days but due to the power of the writing and the storytelling. I dreamed about the place, the story and the characters both nights after reading, although modern day Pakistan is a country and culture almost completely alien to me. Uzma Aslan Khan has created exactly what I desire from fiction: to be transported to another world where the problems and rewards of living get worked out in a parallel but different matrix to the world I know. (Read the rest on BookBrowse)
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June 4, 2011Loved this story set in 1990s Pakistan. It's narrated by several characters, most memorably the girl who, blind from early childhood, commits amusing misspellings as she tells her story in total innocence. She communes with God whom she affectionately calls "Clog." She experiences God through zauq, immediate sensual joy. Her sister and grandfather are memorable for their struggles as scientists in a society where advocates of the scientific method are treated suspiciously as potential enemies of religion and are subject to violence -- to say nothing of the double prejudice heaped upon a woman scientist, where young women are not supposed to socialize with men and are supposed to marry as quickly as possible. The sister and grandfather experience the sacred through khayal, intellect.
April 27, 2010
Where else can you find a paleontologist as one of the protagonists -- a female, Pakistani paleontologist with a blind sister and an interest in the evolution of the whales? A wise, playful, sad, erotic novel that declares that it is not only the herd mentality, greed and thirst for power that pushes us toward evil but also refusal to feel (in every sense of the term) and to imagine. It also beautifully shows how everyone suffers in a militarized, fundamentalist, patriarchal society, women and men, and how there might be ways to alleviate that suffering, on microcosmic level but still.
February 21, 2010
I picked this up by chance at the library, and I'm so glad I did. It's a very big novel that emerges from the tiny intricacies of language. It's also emotionally raw and compelling and filled with lush, sensuous description and a very clear love of ideas and the people for whom they matter.
August 18, 2010
When the Natick book club first selected The Geometry of God by Uzsma Aslam Khan, I had no idea what to expect. As I got deeper into the book, I found myself searching for reasons to read another paragraph or chapter or sentence. The night before I drove to DC to begin my new job, I stayed up TOO LATE finishing the book because I needed to know what happened before I had to return the library book. On my drive, I found myself thinking about the characters and marveling at the story. The book truly draws you into several worlds. In one world is the conflict between the religious and the scientific community. In another world, you are watching Amal and Mehwish grow up and try to figure out ways to transform the way they function in the world.
As cliche as it sounds and because I am still tired, I REALLY LOVED this book! Surprisingly, I related to all four of the main characters even Norman who irritated me. I appreciated Amal's struggle to be seen as a competent professional woman while also being a good sister and partner to her husband. One of my favorite quotes from her is:
"I have only ever wanted to be a humble voice in a mighty chorus. I have only ever wanted to be a small flame in a greater fire. Tonight, I am."
In the book, Amal works to find professional fulfilment, but in order to do that she has to tune out voices of her parents and in-laws. I appreciate that she wanted to make small changes to her marriage in order to have a partnership that reflects who she is trying to become.
I really loved Zahoor's curiosity and desire to share knowledge with his family and the general public. I also appreciated that he was not afraid to speak up against brainwashing and the hypocrisy shown by religious fundamentalists in the book. Not to give too much away, but when he was in prison, it broke my heart when he was upset that he could not read because there was no light in his room. The interaction between him and Amal reminded me a lot of time I spent with my own grandfather.
Even though I did not care for Norman very much, I appreciated that he was trying to keep peace and be a good son even as he destroyed another man's life. Another one of my favorite quotes was when Zahoor questions Norman about his life purpose:
"What would you do with your hands if derived the power to sign your name across my life?"
When I read that quote and the exchange, my jaw dropped. It was such a powerful scene and made me think of how many people derive power and status from putting down others. Even though it would be easy to demonize some characters in the book, the author does a great job of showing the complexity of all characters.
My favorite narrator in the story is Mehwish. She is blind and, as a result, all of her descriptions are very sensory. It amazed me how she could tell what was happening the room even when no words were spoken. As cheesy as it sounds, I loved watching her grown-up. Each time I read a passage, I could see subtle and not so subtle in her way of absorbing information.
Even though I had read books that explored the concept of science versus religion and of women challenging the status quo, I have never read anything quite like this. The beginning was a bit slow, but by the end I was excited to see what happens next and very sad to finish. I miss reading the stories of the characters. I appreciated that the book made me pause, reflect, and reread at several points before I went on. Maybe it is because I have only been reading for work for the last two weeks, but I am really missing reading this book. I wish that I had finished it before the book club meeting because I would have really enjoyed a vigorous discussion about many elements in the book.
As cliche as it sounds and because I am still tired, I REALLY LOVED this book! Surprisingly, I related to all four of the main characters even Norman who irritated me. I appreciated Amal's struggle to be seen as a competent professional woman while also being a good sister and partner to her husband. One of my favorite quotes from her is:
"I have only ever wanted to be a humble voice in a mighty chorus. I have only ever wanted to be a small flame in a greater fire. Tonight, I am."
In the book, Amal works to find professional fulfilment, but in order to do that she has to tune out voices of her parents and in-laws. I appreciate that she wanted to make small changes to her marriage in order to have a partnership that reflects who she is trying to become.
I really loved Zahoor's curiosity and desire to share knowledge with his family and the general public. I also appreciated that he was not afraid to speak up against brainwashing and the hypocrisy shown by religious fundamentalists in the book. Not to give too much away, but when he was in prison, it broke my heart when he was upset that he could not read because there was no light in his room. The interaction between him and Amal reminded me a lot of time I spent with my own grandfather.
Even though I did not care for Norman very much, I appreciated that he was trying to keep peace and be a good son even as he destroyed another man's life. Another one of my favorite quotes was when Zahoor questions Norman about his life purpose:
"What would you do with your hands if derived the power to sign your name across my life?"
When I read that quote and the exchange, my jaw dropped. It was such a powerful scene and made me think of how many people derive power and status from putting down others. Even though it would be easy to demonize some characters in the book, the author does a great job of showing the complexity of all characters.
My favorite narrator in the story is Mehwish. She is blind and, as a result, all of her descriptions are very sensory. It amazed me how she could tell what was happening the room even when no words were spoken. As cheesy as it sounds, I loved watching her grown-up. Each time I read a passage, I could see subtle and not so subtle in her way of absorbing information.
Even though I had read books that explored the concept of science versus religion and of women challenging the status quo, I have never read anything quite like this. The beginning was a bit slow, but by the end I was excited to see what happens next and very sad to finish. I miss reading the stories of the characters. I appreciated that the book made me pause, reflect, and reread at several points before I went on. Maybe it is because I have only been reading for work for the last two weeks, but I am really missing reading this book. I wish that I had finished it before the book club meeting because I would have really enjoyed a vigorous discussion about many elements in the book.
May 18, 2012
On the surface this is a story of a young girl named Amal and her discovery in the mountains of Pakistan of a much-coveted fossil (I won't say what it turns out to be). As she grows older, Amal seeks to develop her love of nature and science in a harsh male-dominated land. But this book isn't about surfaces -- it's about digging deeper.
Amal's sister is a poet and an artist who, blinded at a very young age, invents her own language. There are some lovely drawings and charts and poems, adding to the overall surprising nature of the book. The story is also about logic and faith -- again asking why, like science and art, the two can't co-exist. It's about a different way of seeing and being, or maybe a way that used to exist that could exist again. And yet, it isn't heavy or nostalgic. I found it to be funny, moving, and suspenseful. Overall, a beautiful discovery.
Amal's sister is a poet and an artist who, blinded at a very young age, invents her own language. There are some lovely drawings and charts and poems, adding to the overall surprising nature of the book. The story is also about logic and faith -- again asking why, like science and art, the two can't co-exist. It's about a different way of seeing and being, or maybe a way that used to exist that could exist again. And yet, it isn't heavy or nostalgic. I found it to be funny, moving, and suspenseful. Overall, a beautiful discovery.
August 3, 2019
Read a perfect book after so long. There was a range of character arcs, some predictable but still enjoyable. I loved the science parts in between, the attempt to separate faith and logic and most of all Mehwish. Her character goes from infancy to early adulthood, with parts in between where she turns inwards and shuts herself to the world. Beautifully summarizing viewpoints as the player ages. Noman relationship with his father as it progresses and his inner dilemmas were put together in unforgettable words. Description of Noman's mother is done very delicately with just glimpses of her fear in just one page. Overall the book made me happy, taught me something and will come back over the years in some place which vaguely reminds me of it.
February 15, 2017
Complex yet fun. This story keeps you reading until the last page and ends abruptly, which is one major negative point. Besides that, it's definitely one of the best Pakistani fiction about the conflict of religion and science I have read in a long time.
September 28, 2019
Even when I decay, I'll be waiting for a sequel to it. Uzma Aslam Khan's writings can make bikes skid, she has it in her.
December 6, 2023
3.5 stars
i found this book so different from anything else i’ve read, which is 100% a compliment. some parts i found laborious to wade through, especially in the beginning as i tried to understand what was happening, but the characters, especially mehwish, quickly become very important to you. the style was clear and immersive. i’m glad i read this!
i found this book so different from anything else i’ve read, which is 100% a compliment. some parts i found laborious to wade through, especially in the beginning as i tried to understand what was happening, but the characters, especially mehwish, quickly become very important to you. the style was clear and immersive. i’m glad i read this!
May 17, 2018
A good book. Though the style of story telling a bit unorthodox, but as one reads the scenario grips the reader..Uzma Aslam khan has touched many sensitive issues like blasphemy, heresy and fatalism. the writing shows vast experience of the writer which sounds queer for most Pakistani women
September 13, 2017
Different narrators, varied narrations and perspectives, Gemotry of God is set in Lahore. It revolves around the events that take place in the lives of two sisters Amal and Mehwish. Amal is a palentalogist and the younger Mehwish is blind. The other two main chracters are Zahoor a scientist and Noman who is son of a Islamist father and later develops affinity with Zahoor-Amal-Mehwish trio.
The most interesting bits of novel are where Mehwish is the narrator of the story. She is a curious being and brings in very revealing perspectives of a blind person. She is not able to use language properly and Uzma Aslam Khan has very aptly captured that, by providing phonetic spellings of her utterances e.g. ''Pee pul" for people, "Zoo Whore" for Zahoor, "No man" for Noman etc.
Khan has explicitly and effectively staged a dialogue between Religion and Reason throughout the book. Islamisation of Zia and its effects on Pakistan are knitted in the plot. Further, we find expression of love and its erotic realisation through the love making of Amal and her husband Omar before and after marriage in very sensual tones.
Zahoor, the grandfather of girls is a symbol of reasons and scientific inquiry whereas, parents of both Amal and Noman reflect the underpinngs of a religious mindset. There is a large space given in the novel to blasphemy law and how people become victim to it in Pakistan when religious fanatics abuse it.
Diction of Khan is very intriguing and creative in this work, full of innovations. But at the same time this might limit the readership of this work to Pakistani audiences only consider the instances of language appropriation that take place, throughout. Personally, I felt like reading Buckett's Waiting for Godot as there is no central storyline in the book. Plus, I picked up this book to look for descriptions of homosexuality, somebody misguided me, there no such elements. On the whole it was a lively and informative read.
The most interesting bits of novel are where Mehwish is the narrator of the story. She is a curious being and brings in very revealing perspectives of a blind person. She is not able to use language properly and Uzma Aslam Khan has very aptly captured that, by providing phonetic spellings of her utterances e.g. ''Pee pul" for people, "Zoo Whore" for Zahoor, "No man" for Noman etc.
Khan has explicitly and effectively staged a dialogue between Religion and Reason throughout the book. Islamisation of Zia and its effects on Pakistan are knitted in the plot. Further, we find expression of love and its erotic realisation through the love making of Amal and her husband Omar before and after marriage in very sensual tones.
Zahoor, the grandfather of girls is a symbol of reasons and scientific inquiry whereas, parents of both Amal and Noman reflect the underpinngs of a religious mindset. There is a large space given in the novel to blasphemy law and how people become victim to it in Pakistan when religious fanatics abuse it.
Diction of Khan is very intriguing and creative in this work, full of innovations. But at the same time this might limit the readership of this work to Pakistani audiences only consider the instances of language appropriation that take place, throughout. Personally, I felt like reading Buckett's Waiting for Godot as there is no central storyline in the book. Plus, I picked up this book to look for descriptions of homosexuality, somebody misguided me, there no such elements. On the whole it was a lively and informative read.
July 8, 2014
Had a hard time writing a review for this book. It is just so rich. Maybe I should start with the character Mehwish. She reminds me of Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird, in the way she is feisty and frank, and has a fierce vision of justice. Vision is what the book is all about. Khan digs deep into the ancient soil of young Pakistan from the start, when Mehwish’s sister, Amal, discovers a rock that turns out to be a fossil that turns out to have dangerous consequences. Truths are unearthed, often dark (what happens toward the end is not for the faint-hearted), but in a style that is accessible, even humorous. I read a review that described Mehwish’s voice as “quietly anarchic,” and I think it’s fitting. I also think it might be the best description of the writer herself, based on the two books of hers I’ve read, and from a glimpse of her at the Lahore Festival this year. It was her first appearance at the festival, she is by reputation quite ascetic. Yet when she did start talking, she showed us slides of the Salt Range mountains, where the book is set, with great passion. She has really lived and felt the landscape, despite how hard it is for a woman to access these areas alone, all of which comes out in the book. So much more to say about the story – the playful languages, the awesome grandfather, the scenes with Amal and her lover and how geography and sex entwine. I am glad I got to meet this petite writer with a huge vision, and even more glad I found this book.
September 18, 2013
This one had me a bit annoyed. Why was Mehwish written as if she was 'slow' instead of blind? Blindness doesn't cause mental dysfunction.
I don't mean the spelling, I mean the way she was written was as if she was not able to understand anything. I understand innocence but I felt she was written as dumb when her character was supposed to be smart. It was a hard book to get through even with the good story.
I don't normally write much in a review ( I am lazy) but this annoyed me enough to do so.
I don't mean the spelling, I mean the way she was written was as if she was not able to understand anything. I understand innocence but I felt she was written as dumb when her character was supposed to be smart. It was a hard book to get through even with the good story.
I don't normally write much in a review ( I am lazy) but this annoyed me enough to do so.
February 16, 2010
The use of language and languages is fascinating. Each character's story is believeable and compelling. This is a really good novel about language and its beauty and its corruption.
I'm so glad I happened upon this book at the library.
I'm so glad I happened upon this book at the library.
March 5, 2021
This was actually so ridiculously good and unique and melted my soul a little bit.
November 9, 2020
Rating: 3 Stars
I started reading The Geometry of God by Uzma Aslam Khan, without any idea what it was about. I'm always looking for good Pakistani authors, so when a book club I follow started reading this book, I decided to join in. I wasn't disappointed.
The Geometry of God is the story of two sisters, Amal the practical one, and Mehwish who is blind; and their grandfather, Zahoor, a scientist. Most people consider Zahoor a heretic . When a fourth character, Noman, enters the story, he unleashes a chain of events that goes on to have consequences for all of them.
The thing that I liked the most about this book is how unapologetically Pakistani it is. Khan is not afraid to use Urdu and Punjabi to describe things that can only be described in these languages. The best part is that Khan does not compromise the Urdu words used in the book. The tenses and forms used are mostly correct, as used in real life, not like some weird translation of English words.
There are references that only people from the subcotinent understand; like the Manjha (kite string) sharpened with powdered glass, taking countless lives in Lahore during the festival of Basant; or the double knot in the shalwar. It is refreshing to read about things that are as normal as breathing to us but sound alien to others.
The most interesting voice in the book is that of Mehwish. I cannot applaud Khan enough for writing a character who is blind but who has vision and imagination. The way Mehwish thinks and classifies things is brilliant. The parts where she is the narrator require more concentration but are so funny and poignant that you want to meet Mehwish in real life!
Another thing in favour of the book is that it doesn't pander to the western narrative. It shows Pakistan in a way relatable to the common Pakistani. Most people considered Zia's regime restrictive. The Afghan refugees were considered a menace gifted to us by the U.S in the 80s Pakistan. No one has ever thought of the United States of America or Russia as anything other than the ones responsible for the plight of our country. They arecertainly not the saviors of anyone.
The things that didn't resonate with me in this book have to do with me personally more than the writing. I have been a history buff, mostly good with dates, but only until the Zia regime. Because that is just history that I have not lived in or been too young to understand. After that, it's just Benazir, Nawaz, Benazir, Nawaz, Musharraf, Zardari, Nawaz and Imran for me. I don't remember much about the first 2 terms of either Benazir or Nawaz, and that seriously messed up some timelines of the book in my head. This confusion made it a bit difficult to understand the political environment of the time.
Another problem that I had was with all the philosophy and narrative in this book. Sometimes I feel like my mind has become foggy and unable to grasp difficult ideas, and this book made the feeling stronger. While I understood most of what Nana and his friends went on about, it still felt too verbose. I had to go back and read everything a few more times to get the actual meaning, and that was just more work for me.
Overall, The Geometry of God is a good, solid book written from a very desi perspective. It is likely to resonate with most people who like reading books without passing judgment on religion and morals.
I started reading The Geometry of God by Uzma Aslam Khan, without any idea what it was about. I'm always looking for good Pakistani authors, so when a book club I follow started reading this book, I decided to join in. I wasn't disappointed.
The Geometry of God is the story of two sisters, Amal the practical one, and Mehwish who is blind; and their grandfather, Zahoor, a scientist. Most people consider Zahoor a heretic . When a fourth character, Noman, enters the story, he unleashes a chain of events that goes on to have consequences for all of them.
The thing that I liked the most about this book is how unapologetically Pakistani it is. Khan is not afraid to use Urdu and Punjabi to describe things that can only be described in these languages. The best part is that Khan does not compromise the Urdu words used in the book. The tenses and forms used are mostly correct, as used in real life, not like some weird translation of English words.
There are references that only people from the subcotinent understand; like the Manjha (kite string) sharpened with powdered glass, taking countless lives in Lahore during the festival of Basant; or the double knot in the shalwar. It is refreshing to read about things that are as normal as breathing to us but sound alien to others.
The most interesting voice in the book is that of Mehwish. I cannot applaud Khan enough for writing a character who is blind but who has vision and imagination. The way Mehwish thinks and classifies things is brilliant. The parts where she is the narrator require more concentration but are so funny and poignant that you want to meet Mehwish in real life!
Another thing in favour of the book is that it doesn't pander to the western narrative. It shows Pakistan in a way relatable to the common Pakistani. Most people considered Zia's regime restrictive. The Afghan refugees were considered a menace gifted to us by the U.S in the 80s Pakistan. No one has ever thought of the United States of America or Russia as anything other than the ones responsible for the plight of our country. They arecertainly not the saviors of anyone.
The things that didn't resonate with me in this book have to do with me personally more than the writing. I have been a history buff, mostly good with dates, but only until the Zia regime. Because that is just history that I have not lived in or been too young to understand. After that, it's just Benazir, Nawaz, Benazir, Nawaz, Musharraf, Zardari, Nawaz and Imran for me. I don't remember much about the first 2 terms of either Benazir or Nawaz, and that seriously messed up some timelines of the book in my head. This confusion made it a bit difficult to understand the political environment of the time.
Another problem that I had was with all the philosophy and narrative in this book. Sometimes I feel like my mind has become foggy and unable to grasp difficult ideas, and this book made the feeling stronger. While I understood most of what Nana and his friends went on about, it still felt too verbose. I had to go back and read everything a few more times to get the actual meaning, and that was just more work for me.
Overall, The Geometry of God is a good, solid book written from a very desi perspective. It is likely to resonate with most people who like reading books without passing judgment on religion and morals.
April 13, 2024
4.5
Siento que este libro en contenido es muy amplio, lo leo y lo entiendo. Aprecio que es una perspectiva diferente a la que tenemos desde occidente.
Siento que este libro en contenido es muy amplio, lo leo y lo entiendo. Aprecio que es una perspectiva diferente a la que tenemos desde occidente.
April 25, 2016
Amal
I had become my sister's eyes
Zahoor (Nana)
Aql Nazari. A talent for imagining. Aql Amali. A talent for doing
You are earthy Aristotle. And your sister is dreamy Plato
Junayd
Muslim scientists were driven by an urge to learn about the world, not prove their faith
Observatories were built to aid worship, through a science of fixed moments
Zahoor
I prefer a science of fluid moments. All religious moments are unfixed
Junayd
And therefore man must fix them. The true believer is oriented in space and scheduled in time
Zahoor
I do not need to point in the right direction. The world is my Ka'ba
The ultimate goal of Sufi's devotion: To revert to his original self. It's a belief in preexistence. Or extinction
Sufi is the original evolutionist
This is the nature of all creation, to unite the real with the imagined. Or to make the imagined real
A scientist's creativity must be proven, which means it must exist outside him. Outside me. It lives only when it mutates
If I keep my work to myself, so it yields to my will, it will not only die, it will destroy me
Junayd
These are divine laws. You cannot corrupt them
Zahoor
If they are divine, how can man know them? Worse, enforce them. He will naturally bend them to his will
Noman
A number is made up. It doesn’t exist
Inside me, a devil is unleashed. Like Al Khwarizmi
God needs empty space to create
Allah is the only cause. At every second, He intervenes
Amal
Mehwish (blind sister) was born with a clock inside her
Zahoor
To learn is to search for what isn't written, or rewritten
Lahore has a past but no future. Heritage but no vision
All that old feudal money. The children sit and sit and inherit and inherit
Lahore is property, meat and late nights
They call me western as if scientific discoveries belong to the west
Are we to forget the calendar Omar Khayyam gave us
The war is giving this government a way to divide the east from west, and all in the name of God
The conflict live both inside and outside the mind, because there's no border there
God is never over for a believer
Amal
In Islamabad, roads have no history. Only mountains do
I must search less for the designs of changing nature and more for the designs of unchanging men
We are made of spurting fluid
Noman
Aba says: people talk of brain drain when youth leave this country. What about the brain drain when they stay?
When you are not illuminated by history, you’re encumbered by it
Zahoor
Pascal was given a most precious gift, the gift of infinite curiosity
We can recall the fate of Ibn Sina and Al Kindi. Who cares about them today?
We are suffocating between brass and bread, tank and creed
The young Pakistani is a cultural freak. His religion is whimsy. He is a split
Noman
There's no marriage between faith and reason. Only adultery
Muhammad Wali, Indonesia
There must be synthesis of thought. Without Aristotle, there is no Ibn Sina. Without Ibn Sina., no Galileo
Muhammad Ibrahim, Egypt
Whose tanks and guns rules our neighborhood
It is not Greek logic or Persian Wisdom that will save us. We need security. The only defense is military
Yousuf Saiid, Tunisia
We need to learn from past and promote free inquiry and rationality in present
Sheikh Abu bin Yaqub, Saudi Arabia
We need to build our countries. We need to compete
Noman
The Prophet said: Every many has two Satans that beguile him: freewill and memory
Zahoor
Shariat never applies to those who enforce it
Mehwish
We have all become slaves of dead literalists
Noman
Someone suggests taking Jinnah's speeches to the lab to prove he wanted a secular state or Sharia
Amal
How to trace the anatomy of our growth? Preserve the geometry that binds us? Slow down the sequence of changes in the time we've been given
Noman
These logical yet random forms are gateway to deeper worlds
Causing you to leave your skin in a leap both mystical and sensual
You praise each moment. You search for alternatives
An arch is open melody. The world is your Ka'ba
At one time, faith meant devotion to multiple pleasures - mathematics, poetry, music, anatomy, calligraphy
Knowledge was holistic
The mosque in Cordoba reflects that vision. It could not be build today
Zahoor
My faith is what you bury when you force me to expose it
Noman
Then you're revised. Translated. Sentenced. The Word you become is not you
Amal
Geography first exists in the mind. My names give me shape
I had become my sister's eyes
Zahoor (Nana)
Aql Nazari. A talent for imagining. Aql Amali. A talent for doing
You are earthy Aristotle. And your sister is dreamy Plato
Junayd
Muslim scientists were driven by an urge to learn about the world, not prove their faith
Observatories were built to aid worship, through a science of fixed moments
Zahoor
I prefer a science of fluid moments. All religious moments are unfixed
Junayd
And therefore man must fix them. The true believer is oriented in space and scheduled in time
Zahoor
I do not need to point in the right direction. The world is my Ka'ba
The ultimate goal of Sufi's devotion: To revert to his original self. It's a belief in preexistence. Or extinction
Sufi is the original evolutionist
This is the nature of all creation, to unite the real with the imagined. Or to make the imagined real
A scientist's creativity must be proven, which means it must exist outside him. Outside me. It lives only when it mutates
If I keep my work to myself, so it yields to my will, it will not only die, it will destroy me
Junayd
These are divine laws. You cannot corrupt them
Zahoor
If they are divine, how can man know them? Worse, enforce them. He will naturally bend them to his will
Noman
A number is made up. It doesn’t exist
Inside me, a devil is unleashed. Like Al Khwarizmi
God needs empty space to create
Allah is the only cause. At every second, He intervenes
Amal
Mehwish (blind sister) was born with a clock inside her
Zahoor
To learn is to search for what isn't written, or rewritten
Lahore has a past but no future. Heritage but no vision
All that old feudal money. The children sit and sit and inherit and inherit
Lahore is property, meat and late nights
They call me western as if scientific discoveries belong to the west
Are we to forget the calendar Omar Khayyam gave us
The war is giving this government a way to divide the east from west, and all in the name of God
The conflict live both inside and outside the mind, because there's no border there
God is never over for a believer
Amal
In Islamabad, roads have no history. Only mountains do
I must search less for the designs of changing nature and more for the designs of unchanging men
We are made of spurting fluid
Noman
Aba says: people talk of brain drain when youth leave this country. What about the brain drain when they stay?
When you are not illuminated by history, you’re encumbered by it
Zahoor
Pascal was given a most precious gift, the gift of infinite curiosity
We can recall the fate of Ibn Sina and Al Kindi. Who cares about them today?
We are suffocating between brass and bread, tank and creed
The young Pakistani is a cultural freak. His religion is whimsy. He is a split
Noman
There's no marriage between faith and reason. Only adultery
Muhammad Wali, Indonesia
There must be synthesis of thought. Without Aristotle, there is no Ibn Sina. Without Ibn Sina., no Galileo
Muhammad Ibrahim, Egypt
Whose tanks and guns rules our neighborhood
It is not Greek logic or Persian Wisdom that will save us. We need security. The only defense is military
Yousuf Saiid, Tunisia
We need to learn from past and promote free inquiry and rationality in present
Sheikh Abu bin Yaqub, Saudi Arabia
We need to build our countries. We need to compete
Noman
The Prophet said: Every many has two Satans that beguile him: freewill and memory
Zahoor
Shariat never applies to those who enforce it
Mehwish
We have all become slaves of dead literalists
Noman
Someone suggests taking Jinnah's speeches to the lab to prove he wanted a secular state or Sharia
Amal
How to trace the anatomy of our growth? Preserve the geometry that binds us? Slow down the sequence of changes in the time we've been given
Noman
These logical yet random forms are gateway to deeper worlds
Causing you to leave your skin in a leap both mystical and sensual
You praise each moment. You search for alternatives
An arch is open melody. The world is your Ka'ba
At one time, faith meant devotion to multiple pleasures - mathematics, poetry, music, anatomy, calligraphy
Knowledge was holistic
The mosque in Cordoba reflects that vision. It could not be build today
Zahoor
My faith is what you bury when you force me to expose it
Noman
Then you're revised. Translated. Sentenced. The Word you become is not you
Amal
Geography first exists in the mind. My names give me shape
September 26, 2016
The title is a bit awkward but the story is one of the best written in the situation and circumstances of Pakistan.It clearly described the situation of blind people in Pakistan and the difficulties they face in this country. The writer also explains what Love is to blind people. She also perfectly describes another love story and with what the people had to deal with living in this society. A triangle that turns into a quadrangle leads the story in an orderly yet fascinating manner.
November 9, 2010
I did my utmost but just could NOT finish this book. I couldn't even really get INTO it, feeling no connection with any of the characters or even the subject. It did help me to discuss the book with a Pakistani woman, which added some dimension to what was going on. But I still couldn't get into the book enough to want to finish it. I do get the geometry angle AND the correlation between right-wing religionists and the denial of evolution and science (from TWO religions' standpoints), and I understand how that stops a people from confronting 21st century (and, indeed 20th century) realities and moving out of the stultified past. But I give up.
March 3, 2010
This book takes place in Pakistan and I loved the debate of science and religion. The characters were interesting and I like the style of having different character's perspective for each chapter/section.
January 12, 2011
The issue of evolution vs. creation should be a really hot discussion topic, but I haven't seen it much until this novel. It is really interesting to see the way the two theories collide, and people's perspectives on the whole issue. A great read, and enlightening as well :)
November 17, 2011
the back cover boasts "four unforgettable characters", but i think three of them are extremely forgettable. the only reason mehwish is NOT, is because she's CRAZY, a plotline that is never resolved further than others saying "have you noticed mehwish is acting a little strange?"
BLEH.
BLEH.
May 24, 2016
A very different yet boring book. It fails to capture the interest of the reader. One doesn't anticipate anything while reading. The use of vulgar language looks so forced in and out of place. As a result, it was a struggle finishing it.
March 1, 2010
From Recommended Books and Writers in the Spring 2010 issue of Ploughshares. Recommended by Akshay Ahuja.
July 1, 2015
Delightful, insightful, sensuous.
August 12, 2017
4.55. Amazing read. Poetry, paleontology, philosophy -- profound.
November 16, 2024
whew. where to start!
i picked this up for the promise of Pakistani paleontology and stayed for the prose. i want to say, the first two-thirds of this book are an undeniable five stars. so although i gave it four stars, this definitely is joining my favorites.
the first part of the book revolved around amal, mehwish, and zahoor. zahoor - classic philosophic scientist grandfather (he's the only one of this infamous, often-mentioned "four-pointed triangle" that doesn't get POV chapters). mehwish - his blind granddaughter, who unfortunately has her arc ridiculously cut short. which is a shame. her chapters were the best, even if they were the most painful (see, constant but decreasing phonetic spellings due to her blindness, have to read out loud, have to be mehwish to read her). leave her alone, she's tasting. she is blind but alive, dreamy and half-there, the plato to her sister's aristotle.
amal - undoubtedly my favorite character. i can't put her into words. her arc is fantastic, her desires achingly real. she figures out how to be a sister, a scientist, a woman, a granddaughter, a wife, and she's never resentful when all of that is much harder than it should be. she never has to become a person - she's got the most voice, bitter as it might be, from the beginning of the book.
then there's this noman character, who supposedly was going to change all their lives (and did)(for the worse)(undoubtedly). he is a really interesting character, i can't lie. obnoxiously horny, sort-of miserable, malleable and desperate, yet, his chapters are very interesting to read. you can tell he's a writer. you can tell he's aware of all the flaws i pointed out.
my problems with it lie pretty much entirely with the ending. there's a brief, unfortunately un-fleshed-out but very interesting relationship between zahoor and his lawyer, who dies. there's a brief, unfortunately un-fleshed-out but somewhat interesting fight between zahoor and his son, who dies. then zahoor dies. naturally. and whose fault is it? but noman's, of course! and, near the end, mehwish almost gets raped in her school, but this arc never goes anywhere, it's just, "ah, mehwish is acting weird," and then nobody ever really talks about it again. leading me to the final, and definitely worst part of the book, where noman and mehwish fall in love?? mind you, she's twenty and he's thirty-two, and he's known her since she was like, twelve, or even younger. i did not appreciate that.
otherwise, though, phenomenal book. i appreciated the careful insight on Pakistani politics at the time, and especially the exploration of where, if at all, religion and science overlap and interact, personally and on a national level. the language was amazing; there were intermittent urdu and punjabi words put in, which made it difficult to read sometimes for someone who doesn't speak either language (but sort of, isn't that the point, so how could i complain).
(note: the title might seem kind of obnoxious, but it's actually really fitting for the book).
i picked this up for the promise of Pakistani paleontology and stayed for the prose. i want to say, the first two-thirds of this book are an undeniable five stars. so although i gave it four stars, this definitely is joining my favorites.
the first part of the book revolved around amal, mehwish, and zahoor. zahoor - classic philosophic scientist grandfather (he's the only one of this infamous, often-mentioned "four-pointed triangle" that doesn't get POV chapters). mehwish - his blind granddaughter, who unfortunately has her arc ridiculously cut short. which is a shame. her chapters were the best, even if they were the most painful (see, constant but decreasing phonetic spellings due to her blindness, have to read out loud, have to be mehwish to read her). leave her alone, she's tasting. she is blind but alive, dreamy and half-there, the plato to her sister's aristotle.
amal - undoubtedly my favorite character. i can't put her into words. her arc is fantastic, her desires achingly real. she figures out how to be a sister, a scientist, a woman, a granddaughter, a wife, and she's never resentful when all of that is much harder than it should be. she never has to become a person - she's got the most voice, bitter as it might be, from the beginning of the book.
then there's this noman character, who supposedly was going to change all their lives (and did)(for the worse)(undoubtedly). he is a really interesting character, i can't lie. obnoxiously horny, sort-of miserable, malleable and desperate, yet, his chapters are very interesting to read. you can tell he's a writer. you can tell he's aware of all the flaws i pointed out.
my problems with it lie pretty much entirely with the ending. there's a brief, unfortunately un-fleshed-out but very interesting relationship between zahoor and his lawyer, who dies. there's a brief, unfortunately un-fleshed-out but somewhat interesting fight between zahoor and his son, who dies. then zahoor dies. naturally. and whose fault is it? but noman's, of course! and, near the end, mehwish almost gets raped in her school, but this arc never goes anywhere, it's just, "ah, mehwish is acting weird," and then nobody ever really talks about it again. leading me to the final, and definitely worst part of the book, where noman and mehwish fall in love?? mind you, she's twenty and he's thirty-two, and he's known her since she was like, twelve, or even younger. i did not appreciate that.
otherwise, though, phenomenal book. i appreciated the careful insight on Pakistani politics at the time, and especially the exploration of where, if at all, religion and science overlap and interact, personally and on a national level. the language was amazing; there were intermittent urdu and punjabi words put in, which made it difficult to read sometimes for someone who doesn't speak either language (but sort of, isn't that the point, so how could i complain).
(note: the title might seem kind of obnoxious, but it's actually really fitting for the book).
March 6, 2017
I enjoyed this book, but not totally. My immediate reaction is that it is a young writer's first novel. The book begins with a stunningly written paleontological excursion and conversation wherein an 8-year old girl stumbles upon a groundbreaking fossil and, later, her scientist grandfather and others have a marvelous, and witty, conversation about God and science. It then rather becomes diffuse and repetitive and complex in its language. I think that the device of having the novel narrated by the three main characters -- Amal, her blind sister Mehwish, and Noman -- is not helpful. These three tend to be filled with angst that I would describe as young angst. That is, they dwell on themselves remarkably.
That said, the characters are fascinating and the plot line itself is gripping, involving as it does the arrest of the grandfather for a violation of a number of laws including the Pakistani Blasphemy Law, the education and home life of Amal, and, least satisfactory, the inner life of Mehwish. I think also that the view into the Pakistan of General Zia and Mrs. Bhutto and so forth is accurate, mainly because societal contradictions is well portrayed. For example, in the social class in which the main characters dwell, we see "high life" along with parties and drunkenness and promiscuity, serious study, and close-minded, almost caricatured, conservative thinking. Also, the inside look at family life (mainly Amal's) is quite good.
On the other hand, Omar whom Amal eventually marries is portrayed as essentially an ordinary guy with extensive sex appeal. Why the intelligent and ever-struggling Amal falls for him and loves him is never developed. I think this is important because Amal has intelligence, patience and love and the discipline to negotiate a society that doesn't quite like her. So, the Omar-thing doesn't quite fit or, rather, not enough is laid out.
I also think the author would not venture or did not venture into one of the most interesting relationships in the book -- that between Zahoor, the grandfather of Amal and Mehwish, and his longtime friend Junayd. There is at least some homoeroticism in this relationship if not more. But why does the author only hint at this toward the book's end. She can take up the high life of Amal's friend, Zara, criticize her country, write sex scenes between Amal and Omar, but not face the friendship between the two men? If this relationship is not meant to be meaningful, why does she indulge in hints?
That said, the characters are fascinating and the plot line itself is gripping, involving as it does the arrest of the grandfather for a violation of a number of laws including the Pakistani Blasphemy Law, the education and home life of Amal, and, least satisfactory, the inner life of Mehwish. I think also that the view into the Pakistan of General Zia and Mrs. Bhutto and so forth is accurate, mainly because societal contradictions is well portrayed. For example, in the social class in which the main characters dwell, we see "high life" along with parties and drunkenness and promiscuity, serious study, and close-minded, almost caricatured, conservative thinking. Also, the inside look at family life (mainly Amal's) is quite good.
On the other hand, Omar whom Amal eventually marries is portrayed as essentially an ordinary guy with extensive sex appeal. Why the intelligent and ever-struggling Amal falls for him and loves him is never developed. I think this is important because Amal has intelligence, patience and love and the discipline to negotiate a society that doesn't quite like her. So, the Omar-thing doesn't quite fit or, rather, not enough is laid out.
I also think the author would not venture or did not venture into one of the most interesting relationships in the book -- that between Zahoor, the grandfather of Amal and Mehwish, and his longtime friend Junayd. There is at least some homoeroticism in this relationship if not more. But why does the author only hint at this toward the book's end. She can take up the high life of Amal's friend, Zara, criticize her country, write sex scenes between Amal and Omar, but not face the friendship between the two men? If this relationship is not meant to be meaningful, why does she indulge in hints?
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