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This House of Clay and Water
Set in Lahore, This House of Clay and Water explores the lives of two women. Nida, intelligent and lonely, has married into an affluent political family and is desperately searching for some meaning in her existence; and impulsive, lovely Sasha, from the ordinary middle-class, whose longing for designer labels and upmarket places is so frantic that she willingly consorts with rich men who can provide them. Nida and Sasha meet at the famous Daata Sahib dargah and connect-their need to understand why their worlds feel so alien and empty, bringing them together.
On her frequent visits to the dargah, Nida meets the gentle, flute-playing hijra Bhanggi, who sits under a bargadh tree and yearns for acceptance and affection, but is invariably shunned. A friendship-fragile, tentative and tender-develops between the two, both exiles within their own lives; but it flies in the face of all convention and cannot be allowed.
Faiqa Mansab's accomplished and dazzling debut novel explores the themes of love, betrayal and loss in the complex, changing world of today's Pakistan.
On her frequent visits to the dargah, Nida meets the gentle, flute-playing hijra Bhanggi, who sits under a bargadh tree and yearns for acceptance and affection, but is invariably shunned. A friendship-fragile, tentative and tender-develops between the two, both exiles within their own lives; but it flies in the face of all convention and cannot be allowed.
Faiqa Mansab's accomplished and dazzling debut novel explores the themes of love, betrayal and loss in the complex, changing world of today's Pakistan.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published May 24, 2017
50 people are currently reading
1849 people want to read
About the author
Faiqa Mansab
4 books157 followersFaiqa Mansab is a Pakistani author. Her first novel This House of Clay and Water was published by Penguin India in 2017. It was longlisted for the Getz Pharma Literary Award and the German Consulate Peace Prize in 2018. The novel was Amazon Editor’s Pick Januwary 2018, Amazon International Women’s Fiction Pick 2018, and appeared in many must read lists in India and Pakistan. The novel has been translated into Turkish, is available as audiobook by Blackstone Publishing USA and has been optioned for screen adaptation.
Faiqa has an MFA in creative writing with a distinction and Best MFA Thesis Award from Kingston University London. She has an MA in Gender Studies from Birkbeck University London. She also holds an MA in English Literature and an MPhil in English and World Literature.
Faiqa was awarded the Amjad Chaudhry Award in Literature in 1995 Kinnaird College for Women Lahore. She was awarded the British Chevening Award in 2019 and is the recipient of the Saari Fellowship for 2024.Faiqa’s new novel The Storyteller will be out with Neem Tree Press UK and Penguin India in 2024.
Faiqa has an MFA in creative writing with a distinction and Best MFA Thesis Award from Kingston University London. She has an MA in Gender Studies from Birkbeck University London. She also holds an MA in English Literature and an MPhil in English and World Literature.
Faiqa was awarded the Amjad Chaudhry Award in Literature in 1995 Kinnaird College for Women Lahore. She was awarded the British Chevening Award in 2019 and is the recipient of the Saari Fellowship for 2024.Faiqa’s new novel The Storyteller will be out with Neem Tree Press UK and Penguin India in 2024.
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June 23, 2017
Forbidden Love – A diktat in itself, unleashed on unsuspecting hearts like an ouroboros where forbidden swallows love and yet appears whole, showing no signs of damage. No one knows the pain except the latter that is now usurped by the former. But it is when the opposite happens, that the tale transcends its meagre form and turns one for the generations.
Nida comes from a sophisticated family of high-ranking politicians and is married too, to one from this fraternity, but none of that sophistication and power has healed her wounds inflicted by her little daughter’s death.
This is a tale of merging and separating, stereotyping and rebelling, patriarchy and equality, suppression and freedom, violation and redemption, cowardice and courage. But above all, this is a tale of love - A love that blooms at an unconventional junction and between two people who are far, far removed from each other when it comes to their past experiences.
Does a love without proximity carry the curse of disintegration? Or the curse of disintegration is a must as eternity is simply a mirage? Who decides the forbidden line when every heart is tainted? Can’t love simply be, without the prying eyes of society labelling it legitimate or not? Does such a label add gravitas to the love or crush it under its weight?
Mansab extends the sprawling sky of Lahore, across crimson days and indigo nights, and nurtures the love of her protagonists with tenderness and purity, subtlety and sincerity. Her lovers are not the typical rebels or self-discoverers who make up their minds and go for the kill; they are the little children who retreat to their shelters when the rain falls hard and yet, they venture out again when it subsides, on slippery grounds, to collect its wet elixir on their souls. They step out and step in, forever toying with the line, not knowing when to cross and when to contain, but always knowing, to not malign the other’s heart. While the author does beautiful justice in sculpting the interlocked arms of ambition and failure, keeping the backdrop authentic and non-intrusive, it is her love story that brings a staggering element of poignancy, bordering on being impregnable.
Upon reading the final line, I felt a prick in my heart. No, I didn’t know either of the lovers. However, they paraded in my world for three full days and their sharp, passionate pleas punctured my heart. But I didn’t bleed. Instead, I breathed in long, content breaths, as if a window of my heart was suddenly opened and a fresh breeze came rushing in from a land that invalidated ‘forbidden love’.
---
Also on my blog.
Nida comes from a sophisticated family of high-ranking politicians and is married too, to one from this fraternity, but none of that sophistication and power has healed her wounds inflicted by her little daughter’s death.
Life is exacting and cruel. Death is calm oblivion. Life betrays everyone while death, without fail, always finds us.Sasha is trying hard to break the shackles of her middle class drudgery by seeking out pleasures outside her marriage, even as she protects her pretty daughter, Alina, from the preying eyes of the society and dismisses the state of her other daughter, Zoya, who thankfully is too plain to draw any attention.
Morality, especially with regards to sex, was just primitive. No one had morals these days, it was far too inconvenient. It was like carrying liquids in your handbag at airport security-checks. One simply knew not to have them.Bhanggi is an outcast hijra (eunuch) who, sitting under a tree in the Daata Sahab mosque, blesses and prays for worshippers at one hand, and is constantly at war with self and Allah, on the other.
I cannot rid myself of the affliction called hope. I scoop up its broken shards within the cups of my hands. I hold it fast to my heart every time it shatters against the monolithic reality that looms at every turn, in every human eye.When these three imperfect and burdened souls cross each other's paths, nothing ever remains the same.
This is a tale of merging and separating, stereotyping and rebelling, patriarchy and equality, suppression and freedom, violation and redemption, cowardice and courage. But above all, this is a tale of love - A love that blooms at an unconventional junction and between two people who are far, far removed from each other when it comes to their past experiences.
Does a love without proximity carry the curse of disintegration? Or the curse of disintegration is a must as eternity is simply a mirage? Who decides the forbidden line when every heart is tainted? Can’t love simply be, without the prying eyes of society labelling it legitimate or not? Does such a label add gravitas to the love or crush it under its weight?
Mansab extends the sprawling sky of Lahore, across crimson days and indigo nights, and nurtures the love of her protagonists with tenderness and purity, subtlety and sincerity. Her lovers are not the typical rebels or self-discoverers who make up their minds and go for the kill; they are the little children who retreat to their shelters when the rain falls hard and yet, they venture out again when it subsides, on slippery grounds, to collect its wet elixir on their souls. They step out and step in, forever toying with the line, not knowing when to cross and when to contain, but always knowing, to not malign the other’s heart. While the author does beautiful justice in sculpting the interlocked arms of ambition and failure, keeping the backdrop authentic and non-intrusive, it is her love story that brings a staggering element of poignancy, bordering on being impregnable.
Upon reading the final line, I felt a prick in my heart. No, I didn’t know either of the lovers. However, they paraded in my world for three full days and their sharp, passionate pleas punctured my heart. But I didn’t bleed. Instead, I breathed in long, content breaths, as if a window of my heart was suddenly opened and a fresh breeze came rushing in from a land that invalidated ‘forbidden love’.
---
Also on my blog.
June 25, 2018
“But you can only lie about who you are for so long without going crazy.”
----Ellen Wittlinger
Faiqa Mansab, a Pakistani author, has penned an extremely evocative contemporary fiction called, This House of Clay and Waterthat revolves around two women and one transgender searching for love, freedom and identity, set against the repressed yet exquisite backdrop of the city of gardens, Lahore. One is chained and married to a man of extreme political power in a loveless marriage, while the other is a feminist and is destined to be with a man with whom she can't explore her sexual desires and passion and then there's this transgender who knows that God almighty has made him the way he is destined to be and that he must find his love in Allah only, but their lives forever changes when they meet at a dargah (Mosque) and gradually a forbidden relationship begins to blossom under the holy roofs of that dargah.
Synopsis:
Set in Lahore, This House of Clay and Water explores the lives of two women. Nida, intelligent and lonely, has married into an affluent political family and is desperately searching for some meaning in her existence; and impulsive, lovely Sasha, from the ordinary middle-class, whose longing for designer labels and upmarket places is so frantic that she willingly consorts with rich men who can provide them. Nida and Sasha meet at the famous Daata Sahib dargah and connect-their need to understand why their worlds feel so alien and empty, bringing them together.
On her frequent visits to the dargah, Nida meets the gentle, flute-playing hijra Bhanggi, who sits under a bargadh tree and yearns for acceptance and affection, but is invariably shunned. A friendship-fragile, tentative and tender-develops between the two, both exiles within their own lives; but it flies in the face of all convention and cannot be allowed.
Faiqa Mansab's accomplished and dazzling debut novel explores the themes of love, betrayal and loss in the complex, changing world of today's Pakistan.
Nida, the calm, sharp and unloved housewife to a powerful politician in Lahore, is leading a sad, monotonous and often painful married life since the death of her little girl, until she meets Sasha. Sasha, the impetuous and gorgeous housewife to a considerate and understanding businessman, is leading a boring and sex-less marriage with two daughters, but she knows how to quench the thirst for her sexual hunger but once she meets Nida, she questions her infidel and sinful actions to make herself happy. And under the roofs of dargah where these two polar opposite ladies meet for the first time, a bond of friendship and sister hood is immediately formed. Until Nida meets and falls for the homeless transgender, Bhanggi. Bhanggi, an outcast transgender of the society, sits under a tree in the dargah and plays his flute to lure the kind souls, while questioning Allah's ways of showing love to his loyal followers like him, until he meets and falls for Nida. A friendship is immediately struck between the two, followed by their intimate and soulful connection, that develop into something deeper and beautiful, away from the prying and questioning eyes of the judgmental society. Can the friendship survive between Nida and Bhanggi? And what role does Sasha plays in the life of these two? Grab a copy of this book now to find out more.
One of the best books I have read that is written by a Pakistani author till date and trust me, this story is going to stay with me for a very, very long time. This is the kind of story that makes an impact and long after the story has ended, it will hit you right in your head and heart when you're sitting idle and thinking nothing objective. But I wouldn't compare this to Hosseini's The Kite Runner, as this doesn't have those important and right elements to be an extraordinary book like Hosseini's. nevertheless, this story has apt amount of layers and elements to be a very redolent story about friendship and love beyond labels and society's definitions.
The writing style of the author is coherent, laced with deep, moving emotions, that is bound to captivate the readers with the story line. The narrative style of the story line is beautiful, thought provoking and extremely compelling enough to keep the readers glued to the pages of this book. Not only that, the dialogues are heavily layered with myriad of emotions that will sometimes make the readers feel joyous or sad depending upon the characters' plight. The pacing is quite swift, as the story turns a heart breaking and unforeseeable climax through unpredictable twists and turns.
The description of Lahore, the city of gardens, is vividly done by the author. The author has successfully painted the true portrait of a contemporary Lahore, which may look very modern from the outside, but from the inside, it is still holding tightly on to its narrow minded society dominated ideals and customs. The essence of Lahore is heavily felt through the pages of this book, as the author strikingly projects the daily hum drum and the lives of the common folks of Lahore, through their routines, customs, religion, job, desires, dreams, ambitions, and their general lifestyle and their outlook towards life. The author has bring alive this garden city through her elegant and exquisite words rich with Urdu proverbs. The author has not only portrayed the beauty of Lahore, but has also shed light on the darker aspects of a so-called progressive society, that still keeps their women behind the veil. Also religion plays an important role in this book in a very positive manner.
The characters are simply fantastic, in just one word, I have never met anyone like them in real life, but I'm sure that characters like Nida, Sasha and Bhanggi exists in the daily life whose simple, down-to-earth and eccentric faces are hidden in the crowd. All three of the characters is far beyond perfection, heavily flawed, make mistakes, keep secrets, break laws and rules and are courageous. Only thing that makes them different is that they are brave enough to run after their heart's desires even in a society that has shunned hermaphrodites (a hijra) and considered them to be a curse of the society. The love story between Nida and Bhanggi is not profound, according to me, its highly liberating and profound and will give hope to those who think that they don't deserve love since they are different and an outcast in a society. The relationship between the three is so much enriching that it is bound to enlighten souls beyond borders and religious indifferences. The three protagonists' approach towards life is worth a read for one and all.
Overcoming fear is one thing, but overcoming the facades of societal duties and labels to find the true happiness and love is perfectly depicted by the author in this book. Highly recommended for the contemporary and literary fiction fans.
Verdict: A highly emotional and engrossing read!
Courtesy: Thanks to my friend, Deepti for the book.
----Ellen Wittlinger
Faiqa Mansab, a Pakistani author, has penned an extremely evocative contemporary fiction called, This House of Clay and Waterthat revolves around two women and one transgender searching for love, freedom and identity, set against the repressed yet exquisite backdrop of the city of gardens, Lahore. One is chained and married to a man of extreme political power in a loveless marriage, while the other is a feminist and is destined to be with a man with whom she can't explore her sexual desires and passion and then there's this transgender who knows that God almighty has made him the way he is destined to be and that he must find his love in Allah only, but their lives forever changes when they meet at a dargah (Mosque) and gradually a forbidden relationship begins to blossom under the holy roofs of that dargah.
Synopsis:
Set in Lahore, This House of Clay and Water explores the lives of two women. Nida, intelligent and lonely, has married into an affluent political family and is desperately searching for some meaning in her existence; and impulsive, lovely Sasha, from the ordinary middle-class, whose longing for designer labels and upmarket places is so frantic that she willingly consorts with rich men who can provide them. Nida and Sasha meet at the famous Daata Sahib dargah and connect-their need to understand why their worlds feel so alien and empty, bringing them together.
On her frequent visits to the dargah, Nida meets the gentle, flute-playing hijra Bhanggi, who sits under a bargadh tree and yearns for acceptance and affection, but is invariably shunned. A friendship-fragile, tentative and tender-develops between the two, both exiles within their own lives; but it flies in the face of all convention and cannot be allowed.
Faiqa Mansab's accomplished and dazzling debut novel explores the themes of love, betrayal and loss in the complex, changing world of today's Pakistan.
Nida, the calm, sharp and unloved housewife to a powerful politician in Lahore, is leading a sad, monotonous and often painful married life since the death of her little girl, until she meets Sasha. Sasha, the impetuous and gorgeous housewife to a considerate and understanding businessman, is leading a boring and sex-less marriage with two daughters, but she knows how to quench the thirst for her sexual hunger but once she meets Nida, she questions her infidel and sinful actions to make herself happy. And under the roofs of dargah where these two polar opposite ladies meet for the first time, a bond of friendship and sister hood is immediately formed. Until Nida meets and falls for the homeless transgender, Bhanggi. Bhanggi, an outcast transgender of the society, sits under a tree in the dargah and plays his flute to lure the kind souls, while questioning Allah's ways of showing love to his loyal followers like him, until he meets and falls for Nida. A friendship is immediately struck between the two, followed by their intimate and soulful connection, that develop into something deeper and beautiful, away from the prying and questioning eyes of the judgmental society. Can the friendship survive between Nida and Bhanggi? And what role does Sasha plays in the life of these two? Grab a copy of this book now to find out more.
One of the best books I have read that is written by a Pakistani author till date and trust me, this story is going to stay with me for a very, very long time. This is the kind of story that makes an impact and long after the story has ended, it will hit you right in your head and heart when you're sitting idle and thinking nothing objective. But I wouldn't compare this to Hosseini's The Kite Runner, as this doesn't have those important and right elements to be an extraordinary book like Hosseini's. nevertheless, this story has apt amount of layers and elements to be a very redolent story about friendship and love beyond labels and society's definitions.
The writing style of the author is coherent, laced with deep, moving emotions, that is bound to captivate the readers with the story line. The narrative style of the story line is beautiful, thought provoking and extremely compelling enough to keep the readers glued to the pages of this book. Not only that, the dialogues are heavily layered with myriad of emotions that will sometimes make the readers feel joyous or sad depending upon the characters' plight. The pacing is quite swift, as the story turns a heart breaking and unforeseeable climax through unpredictable twists and turns.
The description of Lahore, the city of gardens, is vividly done by the author. The author has successfully painted the true portrait of a contemporary Lahore, which may look very modern from the outside, but from the inside, it is still holding tightly on to its narrow minded society dominated ideals and customs. The essence of Lahore is heavily felt through the pages of this book, as the author strikingly projects the daily hum drum and the lives of the common folks of Lahore, through their routines, customs, religion, job, desires, dreams, ambitions, and their general lifestyle and their outlook towards life. The author has bring alive this garden city through her elegant and exquisite words rich with Urdu proverbs. The author has not only portrayed the beauty of Lahore, but has also shed light on the darker aspects of a so-called progressive society, that still keeps their women behind the veil. Also religion plays an important role in this book in a very positive manner.
The characters are simply fantastic, in just one word, I have never met anyone like them in real life, but I'm sure that characters like Nida, Sasha and Bhanggi exists in the daily life whose simple, down-to-earth and eccentric faces are hidden in the crowd. All three of the characters is far beyond perfection, heavily flawed, make mistakes, keep secrets, break laws and rules and are courageous. Only thing that makes them different is that they are brave enough to run after their heart's desires even in a society that has shunned hermaphrodites (a hijra) and considered them to be a curse of the society. The love story between Nida and Bhanggi is not profound, according to me, its highly liberating and profound and will give hope to those who think that they don't deserve love since they are different and an outcast in a society. The relationship between the three is so much enriching that it is bound to enlighten souls beyond borders and religious indifferences. The three protagonists' approach towards life is worth a read for one and all.
Overcoming fear is one thing, but overcoming the facades of societal duties and labels to find the true happiness and love is perfectly depicted by the author in this book. Highly recommended for the contemporary and literary fiction fans.
Verdict: A highly emotional and engrossing read!
Courtesy: Thanks to my friend, Deepti for the book.
June 13, 2017
One of the books I was eagerly looking forward to, this year, was Faiqa Mansab's 'This House of Clay and Water'. It was launched late last month and I got a copy and finished reading it yesterday. Here is what I think.
#TheStory
The first thing I want to say about the book is that I love that gorgeous cover! It is so beautiful! Now about the book itself. The story is set in Lahore and it starts with the story of Nida. Nida is married and her husband and in-laws are well off. On the surface, life seems to be comfortable and nice, but there seems to be an emptiness in Nida's life. The story goes back and forth in time, as we find out more about Nida's past and try to discover clues to find out why she feels the way she does. Nida goes to the Daata Sahib Dargah sometimes, to calm her spirit, and there, one day, she meets Sasha. Sasha is a free spirit and though she is married and has two young daughters, she rebels against the confines of marriage and goes out with different men who make her feel special. Nida and Sasha meet Bhanggi, in the dargah. Bhanggi is a hijra, a hermaphrodite. His life in the past has been hard, but these days he sits under the banyan tree and plays the flute. People assemble to listen to him and they also come to pray for and receive his blessings, because he is regarded as a qalandar, a Sufi saint. A beautiful friendship blossoms between Nida and Bhanggi and it looks like it would flower into something more. The rest of the story is about how the friendship between Nida and Bhanggi and Nida and Sasha evolve and what happens between them and their families. Well, I am not going to tell you more. You should read the book for yourself and find out what happens next.
#Thoughts
I loved many of the characters in the story, especially Nida, Bhanggi and Zoya, Sasha's daughter. Sasha was also quite fascinating - flawed and imperfect and complex. The story is mostly told from the point of view of Nida, Bhanggi and Sasha, but occasionally others join in - Zoya and for a brief while, Saqib, Nida's husband. The novel's depiction of contemporary Pakistani families - the relationship between men and women, parents and children, women and their in-laws - is very beautifully done. I also loved the novel's depiction of contemporary Pakistani society - the contradictory pictures of the city, the elegance and the poverty, the position of the haves and the have-nots. The life of a hijra and a hijra's role in culture and society is also depicted very insightfully. I also loved the novel's depiction of the city of Lahore - the sights, the smells, the noise, the dust, the traffic, the monuments, the beautiful architecture, the history, the contradictions, the poverty, the elegance, the music, the food, the celebrations - the novel takes the reader into the middle of this beautiful city and leaves them there.
#Quotes
I loved Faiqa Mansab's beautiful, gorgeous prose - there were many beautiful lines and insightful passages throughout the book. Here are some of my favourites.
"I was an utterance in absentia. I was a forgotten word, uttered and mislaid long ago. I was the word that existed because there was another word that was my opposite, and without it I was nothing. I gained meaning only by acknowledging that possible other."
"It is not often that I have two options to choose from. It is nice to be compelled towards something, otherwise one drifts through life unimpeded."
"I'd morphed, altered, nipped and tucked away bits of my personality for so long, I no longer recognized myself. I feared that one day, even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to identify myself. I'd be forever trapped in an image of another's making, and there would be no escape because I would have forgotten to want to escape."
"When death becomes an escape, when it becomes attractive, the purpose of life is fulfilled. To teach one it's futility, it's worthlessness, that is the purpose of life. Incongruously, its value lies in having imparted that lesson."
"In the nights though, I couldn't help but weave the golden cloth of my dreams. Each stitch from heart to thought, and thought to heart, was painful to bear, even if it was joyous at times. Because each thread was fraught with the fears of being broken midway, lost and never found again."
"I had never said those words because there were no words left. My beloved and I were both exiles from language. Our love couldn't be expressed in words. Our love had been woven into the melodies rendered by his flute, and it was subsumed in the atoms of the air we breathed. It had been consecrated in this shrine. It had never been named. It was an unnamed thing that had remained unspoken, unuttered, unsaid. I did not need to name it when he could already hear it."
#FinalThoughts
I loved 'This House of Clay and Water'. It is a beautiful, unconventional, unique love story, a spiritual love story. It is also a story about families and human relationships. It is a brilliant, debut novel and Faiqa Mansab is a fresh, new, exciting voice in Pakistani literary fiction. It is one of my favourite books of the year and I can't wait to find out what she comes up with next.
Have you read 'This House of Clay and Water'? What do you think about it?
#TheStory
The first thing I want to say about the book is that I love that gorgeous cover! It is so beautiful! Now about the book itself. The story is set in Lahore and it starts with the story of Nida. Nida is married and her husband and in-laws are well off. On the surface, life seems to be comfortable and nice, but there seems to be an emptiness in Nida's life. The story goes back and forth in time, as we find out more about Nida's past and try to discover clues to find out why she feels the way she does. Nida goes to the Daata Sahib Dargah sometimes, to calm her spirit, and there, one day, she meets Sasha. Sasha is a free spirit and though she is married and has two young daughters, she rebels against the confines of marriage and goes out with different men who make her feel special. Nida and Sasha meet Bhanggi, in the dargah. Bhanggi is a hijra, a hermaphrodite. His life in the past has been hard, but these days he sits under the banyan tree and plays the flute. People assemble to listen to him and they also come to pray for and receive his blessings, because he is regarded as a qalandar, a Sufi saint. A beautiful friendship blossoms between Nida and Bhanggi and it looks like it would flower into something more. The rest of the story is about how the friendship between Nida and Bhanggi and Nida and Sasha evolve and what happens between them and their families. Well, I am not going to tell you more. You should read the book for yourself and find out what happens next.
#Thoughts
I loved many of the characters in the story, especially Nida, Bhanggi and Zoya, Sasha's daughter. Sasha was also quite fascinating - flawed and imperfect and complex. The story is mostly told from the point of view of Nida, Bhanggi and Sasha, but occasionally others join in - Zoya and for a brief while, Saqib, Nida's husband. The novel's depiction of contemporary Pakistani families - the relationship between men and women, parents and children, women and their in-laws - is very beautifully done. I also loved the novel's depiction of contemporary Pakistani society - the contradictory pictures of the city, the elegance and the poverty, the position of the haves and the have-nots. The life of a hijra and a hijra's role in culture and society is also depicted very insightfully. I also loved the novel's depiction of the city of Lahore - the sights, the smells, the noise, the dust, the traffic, the monuments, the beautiful architecture, the history, the contradictions, the poverty, the elegance, the music, the food, the celebrations - the novel takes the reader into the middle of this beautiful city and leaves them there.
#Quotes
I loved Faiqa Mansab's beautiful, gorgeous prose - there were many beautiful lines and insightful passages throughout the book. Here are some of my favourites.
"I was an utterance in absentia. I was a forgotten word, uttered and mislaid long ago. I was the word that existed because there was another word that was my opposite, and without it I was nothing. I gained meaning only by acknowledging that possible other."
"It is not often that I have two options to choose from. It is nice to be compelled towards something, otherwise one drifts through life unimpeded."
"I'd morphed, altered, nipped and tucked away bits of my personality for so long, I no longer recognized myself. I feared that one day, even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to identify myself. I'd be forever trapped in an image of another's making, and there would be no escape because I would have forgotten to want to escape."
"When death becomes an escape, when it becomes attractive, the purpose of life is fulfilled. To teach one it's futility, it's worthlessness, that is the purpose of life. Incongruously, its value lies in having imparted that lesson."
"In the nights though, I couldn't help but weave the golden cloth of my dreams. Each stitch from heart to thought, and thought to heart, was painful to bear, even if it was joyous at times. Because each thread was fraught with the fears of being broken midway, lost and never found again."
"I had never said those words because there were no words left. My beloved and I were both exiles from language. Our love couldn't be expressed in words. Our love had been woven into the melodies rendered by his flute, and it was subsumed in the atoms of the air we breathed. It had been consecrated in this shrine. It had never been named. It was an unnamed thing that had remained unspoken, unuttered, unsaid. I did not need to name it when he could already hear it."
#FinalThoughts
I loved 'This House of Clay and Water'. It is a beautiful, unconventional, unique love story, a spiritual love story. It is also a story about families and human relationships. It is a brilliant, debut novel and Faiqa Mansab is a fresh, new, exciting voice in Pakistani literary fiction. It is one of my favourite books of the year and I can't wait to find out what she comes up with next.
Have you read 'This House of Clay and Water'? What do you think about it?
April 10, 2020
"I was afraid of death since it was never mine....I have lived the best of it anyway....
I'd morphed, altered, nipped and tucked away bits of my personality for so long, I no longer recognized myself....
Nobody thinks of protecting others from themselves. It's the people who claim concern and love damage us the most.....
Everyone conspired with and against everyone else till society itself became a monstrous organic prison."
I'd morphed, altered, nipped and tucked away bits of my personality for so long, I no longer recognized myself....
Nobody thinks of protecting others from themselves. It's the people who claim concern and love damage us the most.....
Everyone conspired with and against everyone else till society itself became a monstrous organic prison."
March 5, 2023
I usually don't miss out native English fiction. Most of those are easy to tear apart which evidently support western point of view. At first it didn't taste other than something which had Mohsin Hamid as basic ingredient. And Nimra Ahmed and Umera Ahmed might added up some spice. However this isn't the case.
It had a lot of themes and which possibly could have been resulted into more than one pieces. It didn't make us follow our main protagonist but let us see all the characters colliding paths with each other so we could see a society with patriarchy, misogyny, intolerance and religious hypocrisy.
It had a lot of themes and which possibly could have been resulted into more than one pieces. It didn't make us follow our main protagonist but let us see all the characters colliding paths with each other so we could see a society with patriarchy, misogyny, intolerance and religious hypocrisy.
May 9, 2020
4.5 stars
December 1, 2020
While reading Faiqa Mansab's debut novel I wondered time and again how challenging it must have been to write it. For several reasons. Not only does it deal with complex, contested and difficult moral, sociological and cultural themes but indeed also highly emotive and emotionally draining ones. Social hypocrisy and double standards, materialism, patriarchy, misogyny, relationships that wither and die, matrimony without bliss, abuse and molestation, class resentment, sexual violence, infidelity, promiscuity, religious bigotry, empty and profiteering ritualism, and also ambiguous sexuality - there is much here that is taken on and dealt with with intelligence and skill.
The hijra (which in the Indian sub-continent can mean a eunuch, intersex or transgender person) has not been an absent character in our fiction but seldom has there been an effort to approach and conceive the entire scheme of things from his perspective; to explore his emotions and reactions. What is really commendable in this text is Mansab's bold creation of a hijra ascetic as one of her central characters and thereby invite us to experience what it may mean to be born so far on the social periphery and therefore such vulnerability. Exploring the various aforementioned themes she weaves stories that are credible, touching, thought provoking and empathetic. The points of view and perspectives regularly rotate between the various main characters, the narrative flows and the dialogue can be particularly natural and crisp.
I must confess that a default preliminary reaction I have with contemporary stories emerging from our milieu that deal with any of the above or other social evils and injustices is that of apprehension and a little suspicion. All too often it transpires that they paint the entire painting with a single brush, in monochromatic tones and in broad strokes so that none of the nuance and diversity of a complex society peeks through. Equally frequently these are precisely the kinds of reductionist, simplistic and often demonizing pictures that are much in demand with many western publishers, as they further cement and showcase unidimensional, dystopic images of our cultures and societies. What Edward Said said so many years ago on orientalism, othering, stereotyping, selective reporting and demonization still stands and very firmly so.
However, these fears were allayed when I started reading 'This House of Clay and Water' as it soon emerged that Mansab's commitment was to honestly and deeply excavate the inner worlds of her characters, to rigorously understand their contexts and predicaments, and to gaze upon society from their special perspectives. The Lahore that we see in the book is one that is riddled with malaise and social decay but we have to remember that Mansab's quest is a deeply psychological one as she wanders into the inner worlds and experiences the gloomy seasons of her characters; the gloom and despair is utterly unsurprising given the cards that they have been dealt by life. They have little to celebrate. Yet, remarkably, there is also hope as well. There is also bonding and mutual support amongst the excluded and the miserable in the face of their various torments. Also, the perpetual pursuit of escape, redemption and bliss as the main characters seek refuge in spirituality, even while they ask probing and uncomfortable questions about the meaning and purpose of human existence.
Through Nida, Bhanggi, Sasha and Zoya, Mansab brings to the readers a range of disturbing experiences that are not normally explored, or even discussed in our milieu. But that does not make them any less real or significant. Indeed, in important ways these are the very experiences that tell us truly who we are as a people and as a society. At the same time, they are meant to sufficiently shock us into questioning much that we construct, sustain and/or support or take for granted by way of social order and practices. And if they don't do so then these stories take on even greater resonance and meaning for the constructs and taboos they challenge it would appear have become truly hegemonic, internalized and well entrenched.
Faiqa Mansab adroitly traverses the darkest recesses of the melancholic lives and imagines the innermost feelings of those living on the periphery - the unloved, the unloving, the exploited, the brutalized and the abandoned. Through them she boldly shows a mirror to a society that routinely reduces and marginalizes the vulnerable through its materialism, prejudices, stereotypes and taboos. An artfully constructed, deeply felt and genuinely moving novel about the human spirit’s constant search for solace and compassion in a soulless world.
The hijra (which in the Indian sub-continent can mean a eunuch, intersex or transgender person) has not been an absent character in our fiction but seldom has there been an effort to approach and conceive the entire scheme of things from his perspective; to explore his emotions and reactions. What is really commendable in this text is Mansab's bold creation of a hijra ascetic as one of her central characters and thereby invite us to experience what it may mean to be born so far on the social periphery and therefore such vulnerability. Exploring the various aforementioned themes she weaves stories that are credible, touching, thought provoking and empathetic. The points of view and perspectives regularly rotate between the various main characters, the narrative flows and the dialogue can be particularly natural and crisp.
I must confess that a default preliminary reaction I have with contemporary stories emerging from our milieu that deal with any of the above or other social evils and injustices is that of apprehension and a little suspicion. All too often it transpires that they paint the entire painting with a single brush, in monochromatic tones and in broad strokes so that none of the nuance and diversity of a complex society peeks through. Equally frequently these are precisely the kinds of reductionist, simplistic and often demonizing pictures that are much in demand with many western publishers, as they further cement and showcase unidimensional, dystopic images of our cultures and societies. What Edward Said said so many years ago on orientalism, othering, stereotyping, selective reporting and demonization still stands and very firmly so.
However, these fears were allayed when I started reading 'This House of Clay and Water' as it soon emerged that Mansab's commitment was to honestly and deeply excavate the inner worlds of her characters, to rigorously understand their contexts and predicaments, and to gaze upon society from their special perspectives. The Lahore that we see in the book is one that is riddled with malaise and social decay but we have to remember that Mansab's quest is a deeply psychological one as she wanders into the inner worlds and experiences the gloomy seasons of her characters; the gloom and despair is utterly unsurprising given the cards that they have been dealt by life. They have little to celebrate. Yet, remarkably, there is also hope as well. There is also bonding and mutual support amongst the excluded and the miserable in the face of their various torments. Also, the perpetual pursuit of escape, redemption and bliss as the main characters seek refuge in spirituality, even while they ask probing and uncomfortable questions about the meaning and purpose of human existence.
Through Nida, Bhanggi, Sasha and Zoya, Mansab brings to the readers a range of disturbing experiences that are not normally explored, or even discussed in our milieu. But that does not make them any less real or significant. Indeed, in important ways these are the very experiences that tell us truly who we are as a people and as a society. At the same time, they are meant to sufficiently shock us into questioning much that we construct, sustain and/or support or take for granted by way of social order and practices. And if they don't do so then these stories take on even greater resonance and meaning for the constructs and taboos they challenge it would appear have become truly hegemonic, internalized and well entrenched.
Faiqa Mansab adroitly traverses the darkest recesses of the melancholic lives and imagines the innermost feelings of those living on the periphery - the unloved, the unloving, the exploited, the brutalized and the abandoned. Through them she boldly shows a mirror to a society that routinely reduces and marginalizes the vulnerable through its materialism, prejudices, stereotypes and taboos. An artfully constructed, deeply felt and genuinely moving novel about the human spirit’s constant search for solace and compassion in a soulless world.
August 8, 2017
Let’s start with the one good thing-the book did keep me guessing till the very end- I wasn’t sure what would become of Zoya. Other than that, this book was a complete failure in so many ways. The element of ‘Lahore’ was added just to make gullible people like me (who love it as their hometown) buy the book. There are so many elements of the book which just do not go together! It is difficult for me to say this, but the author just took the hot issues like how transsexuals are treated, child abuse, and the sometimes questionable motives behind women wearing hijab- and put them all in one book to create a sizzling hit. At least that’s how I felt; it seemed like a TV drama which is made as filler. Opinions will vary, but I believe that these subjects need to be tackled with a lot more respect and attention. We blame west for stereotyping us and then we do the same thing-all the mother-in-laws are not evil, every gardener/driver is not a child molester, every women wearing hijab is not wearing it for ‘power’, not every marriage is an unhappy one etc etc. The basic problem is that there is no balance in the book- there is just the worst side of Lahore/ Pakistan shown which might be true but where is the good side shown? And yes, it does have a good side. All in all, a complete and utter disappointment.
June 6, 2017
With many layers to it, This House of Clay and Water by Faiqa Mansab takes you to the heart of Lahore. Through the lives of its protagonists, one gets a bird's eye view of attitudes, marriage, society, interactions between men and women, love and desire and the politics of power in an ancient city that has seen it all and has a place for all. Nida and Sasha deal with their respective situations in ways that go against the prescribed wisdom in a conservative society. Bhangi, born neither man nor woman, touches their lives with love and Sufi philosophy. As this finely nuanced story unfolds to its unexpected end, you are forced to step back and reflect on the best and worst of what human beings are capable of.
June 25, 2017
Having fallen upon This House of Clay and Water by chance in an airport, I looked forward to my initiation into Pakistani writing and a novel that promised to address questions of womanhood, sexuality, religion, society and their numerous intersections in the context of South Asia. I'm afraid that though undoubtedly with good intentions, the book sorely lacks subtlety. Its characters are near-unidimensional and reduce human interaction to paltry single layers, the writing is discomfortingly awkward and misplaced, and the author seems to insert sentences intended to have depth and profound meaning where they have no place and only seem forced and cliché.
That said, the themes that are attempted to be addressed are important, and the choice of context (Lahore) makes for an interesting setting. The omnipresence of religion is sometimes well expressed, and a few descriptions evoke some feeling in the reader.
That said, the themes that are attempted to be addressed are important, and the choice of context (Lahore) makes for an interesting setting. The omnipresence of religion is sometimes well expressed, and a few descriptions evoke some feeling in the reader.
September 24, 2017
Faiqa tries very hard to cover "all" aspects of life in Lahore. This attempt to address several issues of living in Lahore, inhibits her from truly developing robust characters and the writing falls prey to the the very subject she tries to highlight - superficiality; of her cast of characters and life itself. Her prose also comes across as patronizing, perhaps an attempt to connect with, or dare I say, impress the "western" readers.
There were some good moments through the book, nevertheless. Early in the book, I was impressed by "..As a child, laughter is all you need as proof of happiness. As a child you don't know there are so many different kinds of laughter ..." And, "..We try to put Him in His place - in a mosque, a temple..... This is where You belong. This is where we put You." Much later, "Freedom isn't given. It just is. If it has to be given, it isn't freedom."
There were some good moments through the book, nevertheless. Early in the book, I was impressed by "..As a child, laughter is all you need as proof of happiness. As a child you don't know there are so many different kinds of laughter ..." And, "..We try to put Him in His place - in a mosque, a temple..... This is where You belong. This is where we put You." Much later, "Freedom isn't given. It just is. If it has to be given, it isn't freedom."
June 18, 2019
This House of Clay and water, as the cover says, is a story of forbidden love. It is story of Nida, Sasha and Bhanggi; all from different strata but connect at one point, Nida. The story is based in Lahore, Pakistan and brilliantly describes how lives of these women/de-woman are controlled by men in their family and society. It brings out the emotional turmoil of people who are being controlled and dictated by patriarchy in society.
One is born in a rich and privileged family but burdened with patriarchy. One is born in a middle class family but acts and aspires to be an affluent and rich woman. And one abandoned at birth, lives on streets and struggles to be himself/herself. These 3 meet at a Dargah and their lives get intertwined for good or bad. They are struggling for love, respect, dignity and freedom. In middle if this quest they find each other and it leads to complicated and deep relationships.
I loved the way Mansab talked about the conservative mentality of our society. She also meticulously penned down the broken lives of these central characters and people around them. Mansab also handled many taboos in a balanced and sensitive way. She has presented the hardships of transgenders, their marginalized life in society and how they end up becoming a beggar or a sex worker as society won’t accept them otherwise. She also talks about child sexual abuse. How ignorance and negligence from parents can make children vulnerable and can lead to one’s worst nightmares. All along the storyline, religion has been kept in parallel; Nida trying to find solace in religion and Allah; Bhanggi taking up green robes to connect with Allah and Sasha transformed into a god fearing, Hijab wearing woman.
I also loved the unconventional story and beautiful emotional connect between Nida and Bhanggi. Mansab manages to bring out the emotions and helplessness of characters effortlessly. Her characters are flawed and broken but well built up. With all that in place, narration threw me off track, many times. I felt it was repetitive, a bit dragged and unnecessary detailed.
Overall, I have mixed feelings on this book. Mansab had everything, good storyline, unique characters and new perspective but somehow the brilliance didn’t reflect in the end product. Nevertheless, this story will remain with me for a long long time. I just know that.
Life is exacting and cruel. Death is calm oblivion. Life betrays everyone while death, without fail, always finds us.
One is born in a rich and privileged family but burdened with patriarchy. One is born in a middle class family but acts and aspires to be an affluent and rich woman. And one abandoned at birth, lives on streets and struggles to be himself/herself. These 3 meet at a Dargah and their lives get intertwined for good or bad. They are struggling for love, respect, dignity and freedom. In middle if this quest they find each other and it leads to complicated and deep relationships.
I loved the way Mansab talked about the conservative mentality of our society. She also meticulously penned down the broken lives of these central characters and people around them. Mansab also handled many taboos in a balanced and sensitive way. She has presented the hardships of transgenders, their marginalized life in society and how they end up becoming a beggar or a sex worker as society won’t accept them otherwise. She also talks about child sexual abuse. How ignorance and negligence from parents can make children vulnerable and can lead to one’s worst nightmares. All along the storyline, religion has been kept in parallel; Nida trying to find solace in religion and Allah; Bhanggi taking up green robes to connect with Allah and Sasha transformed into a god fearing, Hijab wearing woman.
I also loved the unconventional story and beautiful emotional connect between Nida and Bhanggi. Mansab manages to bring out the emotions and helplessness of characters effortlessly. Her characters are flawed and broken but well built up. With all that in place, narration threw me off track, many times. I felt it was repetitive, a bit dragged and unnecessary detailed.
Overall, I have mixed feelings on this book. Mansab had everything, good storyline, unique characters and new perspective but somehow the brilliance didn’t reflect in the end product. Nevertheless, this story will remain with me for a long long time. I just know that.
Life is exacting and cruel. Death is calm oblivion. Life betrays everyone while death, without fail, always finds us.
June 11, 2019
4.5! Heartbreakingly beautiful. I wanted more. It left me with a gash, non healing and not satisfied yet satisfied with the words and ideology of love it talked about.
October 18, 2021
So I went into this book knowing nothing about it. I read it for the South Asian Readathon and like every south Asian book I've read this was so damn relatable especially in terms of how women are ( or should I say how women are supposed to be). Being from India, It should not be surprising that our friends, women across the border too experience the same things what we do. I think we are united strongly that way.
This house of Clay and water is an honest and emotional book of forbidden love, multitude of yearnings, repressed feminity, freedom, loss, betrayal and a whole plethora of emotions against the beautiful backdrop of Lahore.
The novel takes us through the journey of three different characters, Nida, Sasha and Bhanggi. Nida, who married an important politician and wants to break free from the societal obligation to listen and serve her husband and be the perfect " good natured" women but will not admit it. Sasha, a beautiful, self proclaimed women whose marriage is in the verge of breaking and who explores herself and her wants and needs through her sexuality. And then there is bhanggi, a eunach( a transgender, a hijra ) whose fate is being decided by others and who is always considered filth and not capable of love or other human emotions. Fate brings the three of them together.
And I must talk about the infamous Daata Dharga where everyone and everything changes. This Story is unique from the other South Asian stories because of the character of Bhanggi, a hijra. We have seen them, heard of them and judged them but when you read about them as a main character there is something in you that breaks that makes you angry that makes you realise.
This books was so beautifully written and it could touch the right emotions and I am so glad to have read it. I felt so personally for the characters. I must say kudos to such a bold attempt of a book and not to forget, a prominent debut.
This house of Clay and water is an honest and emotional book of forbidden love, multitude of yearnings, repressed feminity, freedom, loss, betrayal and a whole plethora of emotions against the beautiful backdrop of Lahore.
The novel takes us through the journey of three different characters, Nida, Sasha and Bhanggi. Nida, who married an important politician and wants to break free from the societal obligation to listen and serve her husband and be the perfect " good natured" women but will not admit it. Sasha, a beautiful, self proclaimed women whose marriage is in the verge of breaking and who explores herself and her wants and needs through her sexuality. And then there is bhanggi, a eunach( a transgender, a hijra ) whose fate is being decided by others and who is always considered filth and not capable of love or other human emotions. Fate brings the three of them together.
And I must talk about the infamous Daata Dharga where everyone and everything changes. This Story is unique from the other South Asian stories because of the character of Bhanggi, a hijra. We have seen them, heard of them and judged them but when you read about them as a main character there is something in you that breaks that makes you angry that makes you realise.
This books was so beautifully written and it could touch the right emotions and I am so glad to have read it. I felt so personally for the characters. I must say kudos to such a bold attempt of a book and not to forget, a prominent debut.
December 28, 2021
"I couldn't, for some reason, see him with a female identity. I was female and he was different from me."
August 10, 2021
THIS HOUSE OF CLAY AND WATER by Faiqa Mansab reeled me in with its witty writing and sharp observations. Before I knew it, I was completely immersed in the lives of three Lahoris: Nida, Sasha and Bhanggi. Their tales are all different, and yet the characters are bound together by love, loss, and the invisible prisons which keep them trapped. An insightful account of the characters’ search for acceptance and belonging, the book gradually builds to a devastating climax. Highly recommended.
August 9, 2022
4.75 🌟
Now I know why everyone who read it loved it. A highly impressive debut by Pakistani author Faiqa Mansab. This was actually her MFA final thesis with Elif Shafak as her guide no less that went on to become this novel.
The book actually reminds me of Shafak's books. The themes of religion, spirituality, bounds of society, patriarchy , gender bias and child abuse. All the issues that are unfortunately prevalent in the South Asian region.
The setting is the city Lahore. The protagonist is Nida who is a wife of a distant, cold and very misogynistic politician. She has a history of loss, disconnect and grief that she's dealing with.
Her friend Sasha is married to a middle class man but has dreams that are sky high. She abandons all restraints of social and moral codes to get the fulfillment she craves.
Nida in her destitution, finds solace and peace at a famous shrine. What she never thought was that she'll find love there as well. In the form of a eunuch called Bhanggi. A being who in his young life has been subjected to cruelty, violence and abuse of the most horrible kind. A being who is a creation of God yet he is rejected and hated by every person he's met. Until he meets Nida. Mansab has taken a very bold step in writing this storyline. She takes it where I never thought she or any author would but does it with emotion, respect and reverence. So much so that I was rooting for this unlikely and very controversial coupling.
Mansab writes with all three characters' points of view with a couple of chapters given to Nida's husband and Sasha's young daughter. The characterisation is detailed, the inner monologues are thoughtful, the writing is deep and impactful and all the dire issues are maturely dealt with.
I thoroughly enjoyed and in some parts related to the story as most south asian women will at some level.
I'm so glad I finally got a chance to read this book. A book and characters I won't forget in a hurry.
Now I know why everyone who read it loved it. A highly impressive debut by Pakistani author Faiqa Mansab. This was actually her MFA final thesis with Elif Shafak as her guide no less that went on to become this novel.
The book actually reminds me of Shafak's books. The themes of religion, spirituality, bounds of society, patriarchy , gender bias and child abuse. All the issues that are unfortunately prevalent in the South Asian region.
The setting is the city Lahore. The protagonist is Nida who is a wife of a distant, cold and very misogynistic politician. She has a history of loss, disconnect and grief that she's dealing with.
Her friend Sasha is married to a middle class man but has dreams that are sky high. She abandons all restraints of social and moral codes to get the fulfillment she craves.
Nida in her destitution, finds solace and peace at a famous shrine. What she never thought was that she'll find love there as well. In the form of a eunuch called Bhanggi. A being who in his young life has been subjected to cruelty, violence and abuse of the most horrible kind. A being who is a creation of God yet he is rejected and hated by every person he's met. Until he meets Nida. Mansab has taken a very bold step in writing this storyline. She takes it where I never thought she or any author would but does it with emotion, respect and reverence. So much so that I was rooting for this unlikely and very controversial coupling.
Mansab writes with all three characters' points of view with a couple of chapters given to Nida's husband and Sasha's young daughter. The characterisation is detailed, the inner monologues are thoughtful, the writing is deep and impactful and all the dire issues are maturely dealt with.
I thoroughly enjoyed and in some parts related to the story as most south asian women will at some level.
I'm so glad I finally got a chance to read this book. A book and characters I won't forget in a hurry.
October 16, 2018
Love — the primal need of every man yet the one that comes with most strictures and guidelines. Faiqa Mansab, in her debut novel, This House of Clay and Water sets out to tell the tale of forbidden love and how it casts its spell and stirs a storm in the life of a desexed woman, Nida, and a dehumanised hijra (hermaphrodite), Bhanngi.
Set in Lahore, the story captures how love can both incarcerate and liberate, oppress and uplift, enliven and kill, its affects myriad and authority supreme. It depicts how true love exists in a space where the rules of propriety do not hold forth and flourishes without being called it.
Sasha, hailing from a middle class family and anchored to a mediocre life by way of her marriage to Luqman, sleeps with other men to indulge her penchant for luxuries. Unapologetic and self-assured, she stands in stark contrast to Nida, whose identity exists in relation to Saqib, her politically affluent husband. While Sasha has 2 daughters, Alina and Zoya, one of whom she pampers as she neglects the other, Nida lives in the shadow of the death of Fatima, her daughter who dies a premature death at the age of one.
Both Sasha and Nida are looking to rise beyond their circumstances when a chance encounter at the famous Daata Dargah intertwines their fate wreaking havoc and rendering them unrecognisable forever.
The story’s strength lies in its women characters and their many reveries consisting of dreams envisioned, hopes quashed and loves lost. The book will discomfit you, make you sad but most importantly, it will make you question why we endure many cruelties at the hands of people we think we love, why do we fall in love with our incarcerator or in most cases convince ourselves that we are in love with our captor, why is it that societies regulate each one of our actions and can an act of free will ever be realised without repercussions.
Set in Lahore, the story captures how love can both incarcerate and liberate, oppress and uplift, enliven and kill, its affects myriad and authority supreme. It depicts how true love exists in a space where the rules of propriety do not hold forth and flourishes without being called it.
Sasha, hailing from a middle class family and anchored to a mediocre life by way of her marriage to Luqman, sleeps with other men to indulge her penchant for luxuries. Unapologetic and self-assured, she stands in stark contrast to Nida, whose identity exists in relation to Saqib, her politically affluent husband. While Sasha has 2 daughters, Alina and Zoya, one of whom she pampers as she neglects the other, Nida lives in the shadow of the death of Fatima, her daughter who dies a premature death at the age of one.
Both Sasha and Nida are looking to rise beyond their circumstances when a chance encounter at the famous Daata Dargah intertwines their fate wreaking havoc and rendering them unrecognisable forever.
The story’s strength lies in its women characters and their many reveries consisting of dreams envisioned, hopes quashed and loves lost. The book will discomfit you, make you sad but most importantly, it will make you question why we endure many cruelties at the hands of people we think we love, why do we fall in love with our incarcerator or in most cases convince ourselves that we are in love with our captor, why is it that societies regulate each one of our actions and can an act of free will ever be realised without repercussions.
October 6, 2020
I am not forgetting this novel anytime soon. And that's because of its characters.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Set in Lahore, This House of Clay and Water explores the lives of two women. Nida, intelligent and lonely, has married into an affluent political family and is desperately searching for some meaning in her existence; and impulsive, lovely Sasha, from the ordinary middle-class, whose longing for designer labels and upmarket places is so frantic that she willingly consorts with rich men who can provide them. Nida and Sasha meet at the famous Daata Sahib dargah and connect-their need to understand why their worlds feel so alien and empty, bringing them together.
On her frequent visits to the dargah, Nida meets the gentle, flute-playing hijra Bhanggi, who sits under a bargadh tree and yearns for acceptance and affection, but is invariably shunned. A friendship-fragile, tentative and tender-develops between the two, both exiles within their own lives; but it flies in the face of all convention and cannot be allowed.
Faiqa Mansab's accomplished and dazzling debut novel explores the themes of love, betrayal and loss in the complex, changing world of today's Pakistan.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Set in Lahore, This House of Clay and Water explores the lives of two women. Nida, intelligent and lonely, has married into an affluent political family and is desperately searching for some meaning in her existence; and impulsive, lovely Sasha, from the ordinary middle-class, whose longing for designer labels and upmarket places is so frantic that she willingly consorts with rich men who can provide them. Nida and Sasha meet at the famous Daata Sahib dargah and connect-their need to understand why their worlds feel so alien and empty, bringing them together.
On her frequent visits to the dargah, Nida meets the gentle, flute-playing hijra Bhanggi, who sits under a bargadh tree and yearns for acceptance and affection, but is invariably shunned. A friendship-fragile, tentative and tender-develops between the two, both exiles within their own lives; but it flies in the face of all convention and cannot be allowed.
Faiqa Mansab's accomplished and dazzling debut novel explores the themes of love, betrayal and loss in the complex, changing world of today's Pakistan.
July 6, 2017
I'd always believed Faiqa would have penned down a masterpiece the moment she told me about her debut book being published by PRH this summer.
Only after reading this book, my trust in her work turned real. She has written this book with sheer conviction and has won over my heart in a true sense.
This book is a heart-wrenching story about love, loss, abandonment, betrayal, and so many other human emotions. I could not stop wondering how well the emotions laid out in this book reflected upon my own personality.
Not only it talks about the vibrancy of the Lahore city but also explores the depth of its characters. I was equally amazed by every character. The bond between Bhanggi and Nida made me awestruck and teary-eyed at the same time.
With her quirky, fiery, and sparkling persona, I couldn't stop liking Sasha towards the end of the book by putting my own judgments about her as a person at a side.
All in all, This House of Clay and Water is a thought-provoking book, a sure-shot eye-opener that makes us reflect upon our deeds as a human being without having a myopic attitude towards life.
Well done, Faiqa. I'm so proud of you.
Only after reading this book, my trust in her work turned real. She has written this book with sheer conviction and has won over my heart in a true sense.
This book is a heart-wrenching story about love, loss, abandonment, betrayal, and so many other human emotions. I could not stop wondering how well the emotions laid out in this book reflected upon my own personality.
Not only it talks about the vibrancy of the Lahore city but also explores the depth of its characters. I was equally amazed by every character. The bond between Bhanggi and Nida made me awestruck and teary-eyed at the same time.
With her quirky, fiery, and sparkling persona, I couldn't stop liking Sasha towards the end of the book by putting my own judgments about her as a person at a side.
All in all, This House of Clay and Water is a thought-provoking book, a sure-shot eye-opener that makes us reflect upon our deeds as a human being without having a myopic attitude towards life.
Well done, Faiqa. I'm so proud of you.
August 23, 2017
Review to follow soon. Till that time the rating should speak for it.
Update as on 23.08.2017
Finally gotten around to write a review and it could be read on Hina Loves To Read
Update as on 23.08.2017
Finally gotten around to write a review and it could be read on Hina Loves To Read
i-give-up
December 14, 2020Honestly, this is just boring. 50 pages in and I’ve read about a woman who sleeps around because she’s unhappy in her marriage and another one who carries a designer bag around even though she wears a burka
No, thank you
No, thank you
August 5, 2017
“As a child, laughter is all you need as proof of happiness. As a child you don’t know there are so many different kinds of laughter—like different varieties of birds. Some are flightless.”
This debut novel, ‘This house of clay and water’ , by Faiqa Mansab, has many such original and intelligent remarks which would make you think and reflect deeply at the pathetic and real state of human minds.
About the author:
Faiqa Mansab is a Pakistani author who obtained MFA in creative writing from Kingston University, London. Her thesis, which was written for the course, formed the basis for this novel, which was initially rejected by many publishers in UK and USA before getting published finally by Penguin Random House. She currently teaches creative writing in Lahore and is working on her second novel.
About the book:
The story is about the lives of two women, Sasha and Nida, in the city of Lahore.
Sasha is a woman who takes pleasure in defying religion and patriarchy. In the beginning she is introduced as somebody who lives life on her own terms. But as the story progresses, we shockingly see a Sasha who changes and becomes religious and God fearing, resigning to her fate of being stuck with a ‘boring’ husband and feeling guilty for her past actions. Change in her personality happens after a personal tragedy strikes. Women, irrespective of whether they are in New Delhi or Lahore, are taught to feel guilty for living a life of their choice.
Nina, Sasha’s friend, is educated, philosophical but with orthodox beliefs somehow feels that Sasha should not be leading a ‘carefree’ life. But later you find Nida listening to her heart and ending up having a love affair with Bhanggi who is a person of third gender. As the story evolves we see the change in the attitude of these two women who are friends.
Why I enjoyed this book:
The foremost reason is that this book depicts the life of women in Lahore; the same city from where I have a new friend! (Of course I do it both ways: Sometimes I find a friend first and then try procuring books written by authors in that person’s country; sometimes I read books by authors from a different country and then try making friends from that country!)I am convinced that borders(at least the ones in your mind!) can be obliterated by books.
May be for a person from Lahore, this book could appear superfluous but for an outsider like me, this book provides a decent chance to ‘palpate’ the pulse of Lahore city.
Across borders, state, thoughts and aspirations of women remain pretty much the same.
In this era when many Indians yearn for a war to ‘teach’ Pakistani people a lesson, when a cricket match between the two countries simulates a war like situation and when no scope exists for any dialogue between the two countries, I feel the only way to arrest the spread of malicious thoughts, is to promote cross-border literature and art. I still believe that writers and artists can do what rulers cannot.
This debut novel, ‘This house of clay and water’ , by Faiqa Mansab, has many such original and intelligent remarks which would make you think and reflect deeply at the pathetic and real state of human minds.
About the author:
Faiqa Mansab is a Pakistani author who obtained MFA in creative writing from Kingston University, London. Her thesis, which was written for the course, formed the basis for this novel, which was initially rejected by many publishers in UK and USA before getting published finally by Penguin Random House. She currently teaches creative writing in Lahore and is working on her second novel.
About the book:
The story is about the lives of two women, Sasha and Nida, in the city of Lahore.
Sasha is a woman who takes pleasure in defying religion and patriarchy. In the beginning she is introduced as somebody who lives life on her own terms. But as the story progresses, we shockingly see a Sasha who changes and becomes religious and God fearing, resigning to her fate of being stuck with a ‘boring’ husband and feeling guilty for her past actions. Change in her personality happens after a personal tragedy strikes. Women, irrespective of whether they are in New Delhi or Lahore, are taught to feel guilty for living a life of their choice.
Nina, Sasha’s friend, is educated, philosophical but with orthodox beliefs somehow feels that Sasha should not be leading a ‘carefree’ life. But later you find Nida listening to her heart and ending up having a love affair with Bhanggi who is a person of third gender. As the story evolves we see the change in the attitude of these two women who are friends.
Why I enjoyed this book:
The foremost reason is that this book depicts the life of women in Lahore; the same city from where I have a new friend! (Of course I do it both ways: Sometimes I find a friend first and then try procuring books written by authors in that person’s country; sometimes I read books by authors from a different country and then try making friends from that country!)I am convinced that borders(at least the ones in your mind!) can be obliterated by books.
May be for a person from Lahore, this book could appear superfluous but for an outsider like me, this book provides a decent chance to ‘palpate’ the pulse of Lahore city.
Across borders, state, thoughts and aspirations of women remain pretty much the same.
In this era when many Indians yearn for a war to ‘teach’ Pakistani people a lesson, when a cricket match between the two countries simulates a war like situation and when no scope exists for any dialogue between the two countries, I feel the only way to arrest the spread of malicious thoughts, is to promote cross-border literature and art. I still believe that writers and artists can do what rulers cannot.
December 4, 2021
The book begins with a Shams Tabrizi quote: "In this house of clay and water, My heart lies waste without you." You will not understand why its quoted right in the beginning until you have read the last word written in this book!
It's a thought provoking books which captures Lahore & Daata Darbar, Love and Loss so beautifully that you it leaves you speechless. It's not the love that you ordinarily talks about and she doesn't talk about ordinary loss either. Where as Lahore is definitely Lahore in her book. Not to forget that she has highlighted idiocracy of patriarchal society and toxic culture raj.
The following excerpts have been my forever favourite:
About Lahore:
"The teashop I shouldn't be sitting in thinking of fairy tales gone sour was situated in the narrow alleyways of Anarkali Bazaar, named after the slave girl who'd dared to love a Mughal Prince. She'd consequently been buried alive in a wall nearby a convenient and constant reminder to women in Lahore of the relationship between love and walls."
"....Despite the resilient voices that insisted that "anyone who hasn't seen Lahore hasn't been born yet? Or the equally baffling "Lahore is Lahore.." just in case someone confused it with Las Vegas."
"Making a carnival out of nothing, the defining quality of the 'vibrant-hearted Lahoris' translated into eating Cholesterol-laden food in a perpetual state of Carpe-Diem and eventually killing themselves ten years sooner than their natural life span, which wasn't that long in any case."
"Being Lahore had connotations that people in Karachi understood the most. It translated into narrow mindedness, ostentation and provincialism. Well, at least to anyone who wasn't Lahore - to them it was the highest compliment."
"We had reached the mall road. Punctuated by traffic lights and architecture ranging from the Mughal to the colonial to the contemporary era - The mall road is a testament to loose traffic laws and history. Motorbikes pressed around us, packed like honeybees in a comb, dazed and slow, buzzing around."
About Love & Loss, this following excerpt got me deep into thinking:
"The kabbadiya used to say that desire and unhappiness are conjoined twins. He said Love is the greatest of desires, ji and hence it is also the greatest of tragedies. Loving someone is the greatest of burdens, yes? Loves carries within itself the seeds of betrayal."
"Love is the only redemption in this world, even if it berries itself in your heart, yes, like a tiny shard of glass."
"They say only the beloved will make you real, yes? Through those loving eyes, you will only know yourself, What you seeks is unattainable in the mirror, yes? It is only attainable in the eyes of the beloved."
Faiqa's way of expressing and embedding a thought while describing a scenario is so Elif Shafak. To my pleasant surprise at the end of the book that Elif Shafak had been her MFA thesis supervisor. Definitely a connect and sisters in craft.
This book is 5/5 and a must-read.
It's a thought provoking books which captures Lahore & Daata Darbar, Love and Loss so beautifully that you it leaves you speechless. It's not the love that you ordinarily talks about and she doesn't talk about ordinary loss either. Where as Lahore is definitely Lahore in her book. Not to forget that she has highlighted idiocracy of patriarchal society and toxic culture raj.
The following excerpts have been my forever favourite:
About Lahore:
"The teashop I shouldn't be sitting in thinking of fairy tales gone sour was situated in the narrow alleyways of Anarkali Bazaar, named after the slave girl who'd dared to love a Mughal Prince. She'd consequently been buried alive in a wall nearby a convenient and constant reminder to women in Lahore of the relationship between love and walls."
"....Despite the resilient voices that insisted that "anyone who hasn't seen Lahore hasn't been born yet? Or the equally baffling "Lahore is Lahore.." just in case someone confused it with Las Vegas."
"Making a carnival out of nothing, the defining quality of the 'vibrant-hearted Lahoris' translated into eating Cholesterol-laden food in a perpetual state of Carpe-Diem and eventually killing themselves ten years sooner than their natural life span, which wasn't that long in any case."
"Being Lahore had connotations that people in Karachi understood the most. It translated into narrow mindedness, ostentation and provincialism. Well, at least to anyone who wasn't Lahore - to them it was the highest compliment."
"We had reached the mall road. Punctuated by traffic lights and architecture ranging from the Mughal to the colonial to the contemporary era - The mall road is a testament to loose traffic laws and history. Motorbikes pressed around us, packed like honeybees in a comb, dazed and slow, buzzing around."
About Love & Loss, this following excerpt got me deep into thinking:
"The kabbadiya used to say that desire and unhappiness are conjoined twins. He said Love is the greatest of desires, ji and hence it is also the greatest of tragedies. Loving someone is the greatest of burdens, yes? Loves carries within itself the seeds of betrayal."
"Love is the only redemption in this world, even if it berries itself in your heart, yes, like a tiny shard of glass."
"They say only the beloved will make you real, yes? Through those loving eyes, you will only know yourself, What you seeks is unattainable in the mirror, yes? It is only attainable in the eyes of the beloved."
Faiqa's way of expressing and embedding a thought while describing a scenario is so Elif Shafak. To my pleasant surprise at the end of the book that Elif Shafak had been her MFA thesis supervisor. Definitely a connect and sisters in craft.
This book is 5/5 and a must-read.
June 15, 2017
Pakistani literature has so much more to offer than stories of carnage and assault, something Faiqa Mansab proves in her debut novel ‘This House of Clay and Water’. There was tremendous buzz surrounding the release of this book, how it traversed boundaries that no other writer had dared approach in the past, how it painted a vivid, eye-opening picture of modern Pakistan. Naturally, I was very curious to read this, and therefore, as soon as word got out that it had arrived in bookstores, I was one of the first people in line to get my copy. As Mansab’s Lahore pulled me in, the Lahore around me sort of blurred for a few days, making me lose myself in Mansab’s delightful world of forbidden love, deceit, betrayal and loss.
The novel is told from multiple points of view. Starting with Nida, a bored housewife, who spends her days hidden from the elite circle in a famous dargah of Lahore, watching life move on without her. Overweight and exhausted, she has given up on life – almost. The dargah is the last place she expects to find friendship and yet it is in this place that she encounters bold and reckless Sasha and the eccentric Bhanggi, a hijra in modern Lahore. Thus begins a story of friendship and loss where these characters are tested to their very limits.
Mansab paints a distressing picture of Lahore, drawing attention to issues that are all around us, but to which we turn a blind eye everyday. She tells of the plight of the hijras in Lahore, a hated and repressed part of Lahori society, beaten and shamed their entire lives. She explores themes of abuse and forbidden love, both of which are taboo subjects in Lahore, and which naturally make the book all the more interesting to read.
It was such a treat to read about a world that I could strongly relate to, characters I felt deeply for and a storyline that reaches in to grab the heart and refuses to let go. If you’re looking to be shocked, entertained and shaken in equal measure, head over to your nearest bookstore now and pick up this stunning debut. Highly recommended!
The novel is told from multiple points of view. Starting with Nida, a bored housewife, who spends her days hidden from the elite circle in a famous dargah of Lahore, watching life move on without her. Overweight and exhausted, she has given up on life – almost. The dargah is the last place she expects to find friendship and yet it is in this place that she encounters bold and reckless Sasha and the eccentric Bhanggi, a hijra in modern Lahore. Thus begins a story of friendship and loss where these characters are tested to their very limits.
Mansab paints a distressing picture of Lahore, drawing attention to issues that are all around us, but to which we turn a blind eye everyday. She tells of the plight of the hijras in Lahore, a hated and repressed part of Lahori society, beaten and shamed their entire lives. She explores themes of abuse and forbidden love, both of which are taboo subjects in Lahore, and which naturally make the book all the more interesting to read.
It was such a treat to read about a world that I could strongly relate to, characters I felt deeply for and a storyline that reaches in to grab the heart and refuses to let go. If you’re looking to be shocked, entertained and shaken in equal measure, head over to your nearest bookstore now and pick up this stunning debut. Highly recommended!
March 13, 2018
One of the book for which i was looking very eagerly and visited almost all book shops in Lahore to grab a copy, but no book shop have the copy and when i came to know my curiosity for book increase. so one of my friend help me and lend me his book.
Wonderful book it is no doubt. During reading i was convinced it is a natural/real story. Beautifully narrated by Faiqa Mansab about the reality of today's word.
Basically in this book author shared story of patriarchy and the weak status of today's modern women. A women who forget all things around her for her own luxuries while at another hand a well educated high class female forget all her luxuries for her daughter and start dwelling toward Sufism and the love. and when she is in search of meaning of her life she met a Hijra at Dargah of a very busy city Lahore and a fragile friendship came on the scence which start providing pleasure with presence of each other but disturb their surroundings.
In the nut shell the story revolve around patriarchal world and the reality of our society.
The author is successful to invoke all feelings of human being and the real feel come through the body with goosebumps when read the story of Zoya's mishap but how a child can be this much insecure in this world parents have to see all activities of their child because this harassment is too common in these days.
Faiqa clearly depict the true picture of Lahore where all things mentioned in book are common weather wealth, loss, pain, lust, festivals food and patriarchy. and she mentioned the main social issue of today's diaspora and in this era of feminism such things and attitudes can observed so easily. vis-à-vis she go through how these thing change, kill or made insane the human being.
The book captivate the reader through its way of describing a tale of unbound love and took the reader in heart of Lahore.
Wonderful book it is no doubt. During reading i was convinced it is a natural/real story. Beautifully narrated by Faiqa Mansab about the reality of today's word.
Basically in this book author shared story of patriarchy and the weak status of today's modern women. A women who forget all things around her for her own luxuries while at another hand a well educated high class female forget all her luxuries for her daughter and start dwelling toward Sufism and the love. and when she is in search of meaning of her life she met a Hijra at Dargah of a very busy city Lahore and a fragile friendship came on the scence which start providing pleasure with presence of each other but disturb their surroundings.
In the nut shell the story revolve around patriarchal world and the reality of our society.
The author is successful to invoke all feelings of human being and the real feel come through the body with goosebumps when read the story of Zoya's mishap but how a child can be this much insecure in this world parents have to see all activities of their child because this harassment is too common in these days.
Faiqa clearly depict the true picture of Lahore where all things mentioned in book are common weather wealth, loss, pain, lust, festivals food and patriarchy. and she mentioned the main social issue of today's diaspora and in this era of feminism such things and attitudes can observed so easily. vis-à-vis she go through how these thing change, kill or made insane the human being.
The book captivate the reader through its way of describing a tale of unbound love and took the reader in heart of Lahore.
July 25, 2020
One of the greatest works of contemporary fiction and a marvellously penned down debut novel. The story takes you on a roller coaster ride of emotions and you find yourself in tears over the plight of fictional characters.
The story is set in Lahore and revolves around the lives of three very different people and how the three of them are brought together through great pain - the resulting unconventional relationships including that of an intersex person and depressed politician's wife is something I never imagined reading about- the writing is painfully beautiful and the ending stays with you. It's a tough one to recover from!
It touches upon many taboo topics and explores complex issues to the core. It talks about oppression of the will of people. It talks about the hidden underbelly of our society. It talks about child abuse and parental negligence. It talks about the difficulties faced by transgender people in such a manner that it invokes empathic feelings for them from the core of one's heart. This story will break your heart and compel you to think about things you've never thought about.
Highly recommended.
The story is set in Lahore and revolves around the lives of three very different people and how the three of them are brought together through great pain - the resulting unconventional relationships including that of an intersex person and depressed politician's wife is something I never imagined reading about- the writing is painfully beautiful and the ending stays with you. It's a tough one to recover from!
It touches upon many taboo topics and explores complex issues to the core. It talks about oppression of the will of people. It talks about the hidden underbelly of our society. It talks about child abuse and parental negligence. It talks about the difficulties faced by transgender people in such a manner that it invokes empathic feelings for them from the core of one's heart. This story will break your heart and compel you to think about things you've never thought about.
Highly recommended.
April 1, 2018
A lot of things attracted me towards this book and then all those things faded somewhere as the book finished. First and foremost, it was Lahore. But then, Lahore, a city am totally biased towards, is also a city that perhaps Miss Mansab doesn’t likes that much. Too much negativity there. Secondly, Data Darbar. I love that place and mysticism that surrounds it. I must say that this shrine isn’t projected upto its might. Thirdly, qalandars. I love sufism and believe that one’s journey towards it beyond life. It is unimaginable and yet achievable. Mansab wanted to bring that hint of journey but I guess she was never there.
Other than that, I guess it is a nice read on exploring double faces of our society and a life that lies under the blanket of night.
Other than that, I guess it is a nice read on exploring double faces of our society and a life that lies under the blanket of night.
August 18, 2017
Lyrical in presentation, peppered with arresting turns of phrase, THoCaW opens a window into the dichotomy of modern day Pakistan through its many protagonists. Each chapter, in turn, bears witness to the struggles of Nida, Bhanngi, Sasha, Zoya, Saqib and to a lesser extent Faheen, their existence trapped between the clash of conservatism and modernization, elitism and poverty, the male and the female, between Sufism and Islam, the self and the psyche.
It's a heavy book to read, and I set it down several times, letting days go by between chapters. (Not my usual modus operandi while reading.) But once I was invested in Nida and Bhanngi's story, I couldn't put it down.
It's a heavy book to read, and I set it down several times, letting days go by between chapters. (Not my usual modus operandi while reading.) But once I was invested in Nida and Bhanngi's story, I couldn't put it down.
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