The Runaway

by Umair Naeem

#theRunaway tells the story of four people from different walks of life, brought together in their search for hope and redemption in the midst of a whirlpool of hate.

Sarmad loves the simplicity of village life, but circumstances leave him consumed by a thirst for revenge. Nilofer strives for inner strength and independence, but struggles to let go of her past while Kashan, a self-proclaimed intellectual, turns to faith in the face of adversity. Falak Sher hungers for power and influence, and looks to plot his way to the top of the criminal world.

Highlighting the dichotomy in Pakistan, #theRunaway shows us the overlapping hopes and dreams of the urban elite and the rural middle class. It is a story of how tragedies can define our future, and how the faithful and the faithless can find or lose their way because of their past.

453 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2015

About the author

Umair Naeem is a marketer by profession and the author of “Drowning Shadows – A Novel”, a thriller set in the Karachi fashion world. "The Runaway," is his second novel. ‪

Reviews

[Yamna Bari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the way several stories come together into one; great perspective by the writer on getting into shoes of the different characters and being able to give an independent way of looking at things and situations

[Saad Khatri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely integration of four different perspectives, stories into one. The book gives a good insight on few of many social and cultural issues in the Eastern Pakistani society.
Great book, worth reading. (Though I'd rate it 18+, not for kids)

[S · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointed. Very disappointed. It felt like reading poorly written ‘dear diary’ entries by the same person but claiming to be four different characters. This is the fourth book in a row that I have rated very low. Just read a Murakami, Sehar!

[Areej Abbasi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the way how Umair writes. It symbolises character. It symbolises story. It symbolises emotions. Mostly, it symbolises relevance. After his first book, Drowning Shadows, his second one has also felt captured audiences. You definitely don't want to keep the book down and keep reading in order to find out what happens next. The Runaway, showing facets of 4 different lives is intriguing especially, since most of them differ in nature than one another. Umair beautifully links the 4 characters into one at the end and it kind of interests the reader of how everyone comes together. From Sarmad/Suleiman, who's so innocent that you also want to take part in his revenge or, Kashan who's life seems so empty that you want to shake Nilofer's shoulders and push her towards him, or Nilofer where you understand where she's coming from yet feel she can keep going, to Falak Sher who's just simply hungry for power in this vicious world. My personal favourite character was Sarmad/ Suleiman which means I was sad at how his character evolved at the end, even though as a reader I could expect it.
In short, everyone should read this one. A non-fiction where every character pulls you towards them.