Black Wings

by Sehba Sarwar

Fiction. Spanning two continents, BLACK WINGS is the story of Laila and Yasmeen, a mother and daughter, struggling to meet across the generations, cultures, and secrets that separate them. Their shared grief, as well as the common bond of unhappiness in their marriages, allows them to reconnect after seventeen years of frustration, anger and misunderstandings.

Genres: Fiction, Pakistan

212 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Sylvia]

In Black Wings Sehba Sarwar brings attention to two important matters, who we are and where we come from, who we were and who are we willing to be.

Set in the 9/11 context, here we have the lives of two women and the stories that made them who they are. The narrators are a mother and a daughter who have been separated by the distance between the US and Pakistan, but most painfully, by the distance they created themselves. Until now.

In Black Wings Laila and her daughter Yasmen, take turns to open up that box of secrets and regrets that have defined their destinies. This is a back and forth between present and past, between one's thoughts and one's assumptions, and the grief they both carry.

This novel is, above all, about story-telling, because it is in the stories that both mother and daughter tell (to themselves, to their kids) where they find a coping mechanism, resilience, and a way out of their pain.

[Ellen Serpico · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book about the stories we tell ourselves and each other. A realistic, complex, and sometimes painful mother-daughter relationship! The exploration of a realistic, complex, and sometimes painful cultural identity! Magical realism! What’s not to love!

[Kristie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this at a book event with Sehba Sarwar and Sabaa Tahir(!), and Sehba was very gracious to sign my copy afterwards. I had no expectations going in, as I hadn't heard of this book prior, but I knew from reading just the first few chapters that I was going to like it.

Sehba Sarwar can really evoke a sense of place. Taking place between Houston/U.S. and Karachi/Hawagali/Pakistan, this is a complex family story that revolves around loss, story, and myth. I saw a lot of general (and very specific!) parallels between my own life/upbringing and the lives of these characters. At the heart of the book is the mother/daughter relationship between Laila and Yasmeen, who love each other deeply but at times feel oceans apart from one another. It was so nuanced and realistic, even amidst the mythology of kaneezes (witches) and other mountainside mysteries.

The stories-within-a-story framework really worked to immerse me in the stories themselves, as well as helped me understand intimately what mattered to the characters and got me to connect emotionally with them. At times the stories could seem a bit too far-fetched for me to suspend my disbelief, but for the most part I really engaged with all the themes, symbolism, and wisdom this book imparted.

[Melanie Hatter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a lovely story of the sometimes challenging relationships between mothers and daughters. Loved the stories within the story!

[Michael Norwitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quiet novel set post-9/11, in which a Pakistani-American woman is first visited by her mother from her home country, then takes her young children on a trip for the first time to visit her homeland. She is still in mourning for her fraternal twin who died when they were teenagers. She and her mother are both gifted storytellers and they reveal bits of their pasts slowly to each other and to the next generation through narratives they share.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it a long time ago, have a signed copy, and know the author to be 100% talented. I feel lucky that I met her all those years ago!

[Constance Colding · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book when it first came out and loved it! It’s not really a cross cultural novel, the human elements are universal and totally reflect feelings within families. It is very powerful, in the onion peel off the history. I e visited the village it was portraying and loved it. It is truly magical!
It took me a long time to write this, but I was motivated by hearing a song by the Mamas and the Papas I listened ro today and it reninded me of this wooden historic church. It is truly a magical place!