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The Plague Upon Us
Kashmir in the 1990s, a setting not very different from today...
As blood drips from the pellet-stricken eyes of young men, Oubaid watches a plague of blindness spreading through the streets of his homeland, Kashmir. A voice in his head tells him that he knows who brought this plague, but acknowledging it would mean Oubaid must confront his past and the horrors he has witnessed...
The Plague upon Us portrays Oubaid's memories from the perspectives of four residents of the Kashmir valley who were once childhood friends - a militant, a rich man, the daughter of a social climber and a member of the Brotherhood. As the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle fall into place, there unravels the full tragedy of a people looking for solace and a place to call home.
A searing and power-packed reflection of our times, this brilliantly crafted novel announces the arrival of an arresting new voice in contemporary fiction.
As blood drips from the pellet-stricken eyes of young men, Oubaid watches a plague of blindness spreading through the streets of his homeland, Kashmir. A voice in his head tells him that he knows who brought this plague, but acknowledging it would mean Oubaid must confront his past and the horrors he has witnessed...
The Plague upon Us portrays Oubaid's memories from the perspectives of four residents of the Kashmir valley who were once childhood friends - a militant, a rich man, the daughter of a social climber and a member of the Brotherhood. As the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle fall into place, there unravels the full tragedy of a people looking for solace and a place to call home.
A searing and power-packed reflection of our times, this brilliantly crafted novel announces the arrival of an arresting new voice in contemporary fiction.
264 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 20, 2020
7 people are currently reading
311 people want to read
About the author
Shabir Ahmad Mir
24 books4 followersShabir Ahmad Mir is a writer from Kashmir. The Plague Upon Us is his first novel, which was shortlisted for JCB Prize for Literature 2021.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
September 15, 2020
Kashmir in the 1990s. A time of continual tumult, a place not safe to call home anymore. Oubaid is not just the voice in his head, he is the voice of Kashmir herself. He sheds light to the blunt and blatant trauma that he's trying to forget as a way of overcoming it. He is terrified of this plague, and so he's scared to acknowledge it in risk of confirming its existence.
The story plays along in light of different perspectives so we're allowed to explore all the sides that there are. The bloodshed and violence deprecates the insurgency of our uncertain times and establishes only horror. The truth is unsettling and far from realised.
With a unique and subtle #ownvoices narrative, Oubaid transcends back into the past giving us an eye hole to peep through and zoom in at things which are often missed and deemed unimportant. The Plague Upon Us is intense, arresting, transparent!
The story plays along in light of different perspectives so we're allowed to explore all the sides that there are. The bloodshed and violence deprecates the insurgency of our uncertain times and establishes only horror. The truth is unsettling and far from realised.
With a unique and subtle #ownvoices narrative, Oubaid transcends back into the past giving us an eye hole to peep through and zoom in at things which are often missed and deemed unimportant. The Plague Upon Us is intense, arresting, transparent!
April 16, 2023
3.5 stars
First, the not-so-good: I do feel like a family tree at the beginning could have been useful, and probably more line edits (there were many good lines that felt like were almost brilliant and could have been with a couple edits), but this is still a harrowing portrait of an embattled land and people. Recommended by someone I know who is Kashmiri, and it captures both the endless, Kafka-esque twists and turns of the struggle for azadi (which, to my embarrassment, I am very uninformed about) as well as the beauty of Kashmir. Qualms notwithstanding, I do think this book is important for every Indian to read, or anyone really who's interested in Kashmir.
First, the not-so-good: I do feel like a family tree at the beginning could have been useful, and probably more line edits (there were many good lines that felt like were almost brilliant and could have been with a couple edits), but this is still a harrowing portrait of an embattled land and people. Recommended by someone I know who is Kashmiri, and it captures both the endless, Kafka-esque twists and turns of the struggle for azadi (which, to my embarrassment, I am very uninformed about) as well as the beauty of Kashmir. Qualms notwithstanding, I do think this book is important for every Indian to read, or anyone really who's interested in Kashmir.
November 5, 2021
3.75 stars.
Review soon.
Review soon.
June 6, 2021
Kashmir - a land that personifies the saying " beauty is a curse". A land that is the purported heaven on Earth. A land nations fight over. The land of apple orchards and snowy peaks. The land of grief, lost hopes and dreams.
Set in this land, against, what seems like a permanent conflict and turbulence, Shabir Ahmed Mir's debut novel, The Plague upon us, is an agonising tale of love, loss, desire, greed, betrayal, power, violence and the idea of freedom.
The narrative is clever - the story told in four tales. It's the same story, mind you; but each revealing a bit more than the previous. The first one leaves you utterly confused, dissatisfied even. You feel that the author packed way too much in the first fifty pages; you're left wondering what's left. Then tale two begins and things start making sense. What I liked the most about SAM's book, though, is how he shows that a combination of forces ( corrupt politicians, profit hungry businessmen, the Army, and so on ) are equally to blame for J&K's plight. None of the characters are likeable ( I don't think they're meant to be ). The ending doesn't offer even a glimmer of hope - but that's in line with current times.
However, for all its merits, there are a few things about the book that irked me:
1. A woman is raped. A young woman. Raped. Yet a couple pages later, she's shown to lead a normal ( if isolated ) life. What gives?
2. The chaotic verse in prose style - first two chapters, the chapters between the tales and the concluding chapters are written this way. It didn't work for and it didn't really feel organic.
3. The author packs way too much in a few pages ( 229 to be precise ). I feel the novel would've benefitted from 100+ pages more and not felt as shallow.
4. Oubaid. The narrator ( I think ). There aren't enough words in any of the languages I know to suitably express how detestable I found him. He's foolish, he's weak, he's, I don't know, unhinged. There's zero explanation for his motivation to do some of the things that he does. Also, the kid has zero self respect.
5. The end was far from satisfactory. Not that I expected a happy ending but what I read, wasn't it.
I don't know what I expected from this book but I am pleasantly surprised by it. I read it one sitting and I didn't come away disturbed or depressed. In fact, the book read more like a thriller. That's not not to say the book didn't affect me. I did learn about a few things I wasn't aware of.
All things considered, I am definitely going to recommend TPUS because it's an own voices that needs to be heard and amplified.
Set in this land, against, what seems like a permanent conflict and turbulence, Shabir Ahmed Mir's debut novel, The Plague upon us, is an agonising tale of love, loss, desire, greed, betrayal, power, violence and the idea of freedom.
The narrative is clever - the story told in four tales. It's the same story, mind you; but each revealing a bit more than the previous. The first one leaves you utterly confused, dissatisfied even. You feel that the author packed way too much in the first fifty pages; you're left wondering what's left. Then tale two begins and things start making sense. What I liked the most about SAM's book, though, is how he shows that a combination of forces ( corrupt politicians, profit hungry businessmen, the Army, and so on ) are equally to blame for J&K's plight. None of the characters are likeable ( I don't think they're meant to be ). The ending doesn't offer even a glimmer of hope - but that's in line with current times.
However, for all its merits, there are a few things about the book that irked me:
1. A woman is raped. A young woman. Raped. Yet a couple pages later, she's shown to lead a normal ( if isolated ) life. What gives?
2. The chaotic verse in prose style - first two chapters, the chapters between the tales and the concluding chapters are written this way. It didn't work for and it didn't really feel organic.
3. The author packs way too much in a few pages ( 229 to be precise ). I feel the novel would've benefitted from 100+ pages more and not felt as shallow.
4. Oubaid. The narrator ( I think ). There aren't enough words in any of the languages I know to suitably express how detestable I found him. He's foolish, he's weak, he's, I don't know, unhinged. There's zero explanation for his motivation to do some of the things that he does. Also, the kid has zero self respect.
5. The end was far from satisfactory. Not that I expected a happy ending but what I read, wasn't it.
I don't know what I expected from this book but I am pleasantly surprised by it. I read it one sitting and I didn't come away disturbed or depressed. In fact, the book read more like a thriller. That's not not to say the book didn't affect me. I did learn about a few things I wasn't aware of.
All things considered, I am definitely going to recommend TPUS because it's an own voices that needs to be heard and amplified.
October 12, 2021
The minute I laid my eyes on this book in the JCB prize longlist, I knew I'd pick it up irrespective of its future status of being shortlisted or who knows, winner even. It's the only book on the longlist that grabbed my attention and further dragged my fingers to Amazon to place the order and oh boy (and girl, woman, other), was that choice rewarding!
This is a novel which could very well be the size of "Wolf Hall" with the enticing characters that remind you of the epic "Mahabharat" but the debut author, Shabir Ahmad Mir decided to pack a lot of punch (read, a gut punch) and some more in just around 230 pages.
It is set in Kashmir, at its peak of unrest and insurgency, told through a narrator who'd tell four versions of a single story, from four points of view, all from different social backgrounds but tied by families. And through these four voices, and their four tales we look into their generations of families, and the machinery that runs the place: army officers, politicians, business men and with that, we get a gist of the entire geo politics of Kashmir as a whole.
This is story telling at its purest form, because the narrator is literally narrating you a story and nothing else, and at what pace! It was arresting, gripping and wholly consuming. At times overwhelming, at times yearning for more and more.
What I liked the most about this novel is, inspite of yourself, you cannot simply take a character's side. As and when you do, you read the next tale only to contradict yourself. It evokes a multitude of emotions; grief, terror, helplessness, and most of all empathy. And in the end, you'd feel lost in a labyrinth amid all that had transpired, with no easy answers seeked out, and with no easy way out, wondering who or what brought plague up on them in the first place, just like real life.
I highly, HIGHLY recommend this, for that it offers a snapshot at everything that went wrong with Kashmir, told through characters which would linger in your imaginations and dreams long after everything had gone to dust.
This is a novel which could very well be the size of "Wolf Hall" with the enticing characters that remind you of the epic "Mahabharat" but the debut author, Shabir Ahmad Mir decided to pack a lot of punch (read, a gut punch) and some more in just around 230 pages.
It is set in Kashmir, at its peak of unrest and insurgency, told through a narrator who'd tell four versions of a single story, from four points of view, all from different social backgrounds but tied by families. And through these four voices, and their four tales we look into their generations of families, and the machinery that runs the place: army officers, politicians, business men and with that, we get a gist of the entire geo politics of Kashmir as a whole.
This is story telling at its purest form, because the narrator is literally narrating you a story and nothing else, and at what pace! It was arresting, gripping and wholly consuming. At times overwhelming, at times yearning for more and more.
What I liked the most about this novel is, inspite of yourself, you cannot simply take a character's side. As and when you do, you read the next tale only to contradict yourself. It evokes a multitude of emotions; grief, terror, helplessness, and most of all empathy. And in the end, you'd feel lost in a labyrinth amid all that had transpired, with no easy answers seeked out, and with no easy way out, wondering who or what brought plague up on them in the first place, just like real life.
I highly, HIGHLY recommend this, for that it offers a snapshot at everything that went wrong with Kashmir, told through characters which would linger in your imaginations and dreams long after everything had gone to dust.
October 19, 2021
My second read from the jcbprize shortlist was really an eye opener. Based in Kashmir in the midst if violence this one was graphic and brazen full of manipulation and the death of innocence. I loved the way the story was told, the same events rehashed from 4 different points of view and it was quite a feat the way the author has written it with the main protagonist being questioned but unable to silence the voice in his head gone from a regular young man to a man ravaged by violence and deceipt so much so that he doesn’t know who he is at the end of the book.
The end has questions and no answers the way things so often lie when it comes to government games and violence and lack of accountability. The brotherhood, spreading unmasked terrors formed by the indian army to fight the militants and the militants hiding in plain sight all of them dragging down the common people who have nowhere to turn, no one to keep them safe.
The same events unfurl differently for four characters who are intertwined but who come from different walks of life. I am really glad jcb chose this one to be in the shortlist because the more people read and listen to own voices out of Kashmir the better for everyone who live with blinders on.
I still cant get over how good the execution was in this one.
The end has questions and no answers the way things so often lie when it comes to government games and violence and lack of accountability. The brotherhood, spreading unmasked terrors formed by the indian army to fight the militants and the militants hiding in plain sight all of them dragging down the common people who have nowhere to turn, no one to keep them safe.
The same events unfurl differently for four characters who are intertwined but who come from different walks of life. I am really glad jcb chose this one to be in the shortlist because the more people read and listen to own voices out of Kashmir the better for everyone who live with blinders on.
I still cant get over how good the execution was in this one.
February 29, 2024
An interesting and terrifying setting ruined by shoddy execution and superficially developed characters.
June 23, 2022
inventive and ambitious. a fitting style for a tale about kashmir. though I felt the multiple perspectives on the same events had more scope to develop the characters' interpersonal relationships.
September 24, 2021
An excellent read
October 25, 2021
Kashmir, of contested space and troubled lives, of complicated narratives and numerous players with agendas that are at odds with one another or meeting briefly and then opposing one another. Shabir Ahmad Mir's The Plague Upon Us captures the vortex that Kashmir has been in over the years, leaving a trail of people who continue to be traumatized beyond repair, dead bodies beyond recognition and forced disappearances.
The invocation from Oedipus Rex sets the tone for the book. Mir's writing is striking: it reads like poetry with an economy of words that reflect the mood of the narrative and it's characters, sometimes reflective,at times a rant, or politically charged and deeply philosophical. But mostly, it asks how do you look at truth and reality when you have been played? Following the fate of four friends over the same time frame and mostly the same turns of events, the narrative brings in a host of characters of different hues,from their different positions and by doing so, repeatedly asking what is truth if it can be manufactured?
Camus' The Plague looked at the affliction of the mind, of the darkness that was the reign of the Third Reich with a Cholera epidemic as a metaphor. Mir goes directly for the bone here in the first passage of the book with red and black mirroring the mood of Kashmiris: red for rage,red for the blood that is being shed and black for the bleakness,the indescribable horrors and the weight of tauma, the unsure footing of everyone caught on a precarious footing.
Shortlisted for @thejcbprize this is an assured debut that says what it has to, with an insight that is nuanced and is fiercely honest . This book works on so many levels: the writing, the character arcs and the way they lead convoluted lives, the dashes of magical realism in between the talks of politics and ideology. The blurring of fact into fiction is done just right: those who know a bit of Kashmir will find the facts (TALK 1 for instance, mirroring PAPA 1) and those who don't, will still get a riveting narrative that leaves you thinking.
Full review here: https://scroll.in/article/1008311/the...
The invocation from Oedipus Rex sets the tone for the book. Mir's writing is striking: it reads like poetry with an economy of words that reflect the mood of the narrative and it's characters, sometimes reflective,at times a rant, or politically charged and deeply philosophical. But mostly, it asks how do you look at truth and reality when you have been played? Following the fate of four friends over the same time frame and mostly the same turns of events, the narrative brings in a host of characters of different hues,from their different positions and by doing so, repeatedly asking what is truth if it can be manufactured?
Camus' The Plague looked at the affliction of the mind, of the darkness that was the reign of the Third Reich with a Cholera epidemic as a metaphor. Mir goes directly for the bone here in the first passage of the book with red and black mirroring the mood of Kashmiris: red for rage,red for the blood that is being shed and black for the bleakness,the indescribable horrors and the weight of tauma, the unsure footing of everyone caught on a precarious footing.
Shortlisted for @thejcbprize this is an assured debut that says what it has to, with an insight that is nuanced and is fiercely honest . This book works on so many levels: the writing, the character arcs and the way they lead convoluted lives, the dashes of magical realism in between the talks of politics and ideology. The blurring of fact into fiction is done just right: those who know a bit of Kashmir will find the facts (TALK 1 for instance, mirroring PAPA 1) and those who don't, will still get a riveting narrative that leaves you thinking.
Full review here: https://scroll.in/article/1008311/the...
August 16, 2021
3.5 stars
October 9, 2021
रस निष्पत्ति - रौद्र😡, करुण😪 (in readers)
भाव निर्मिति - शोक😔 ( in characters)
Dear Oedipus
How are you. I don't blame you. All you wished was justice & love, every man's quest. You wouldn't have wronged if you knew the truth
But what about people who impart justice at a drop of knife and mess with people's brain on pretext of love.
These figures - nameless, virtueless, dehumanizing people on name of justice, religion and God.
𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝙵𝚒𝚐𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚜 meting out 𝙍𝙚𝙙 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚
Oh Oedipus! Will gauging out their eyes be enough
All you were trying was to cure the Plague ravaged Thebus but who will cure the Plague of Kashmir😪 - a daughter crying for honorable pharmacist father's death, a wife whimpering for teacher Husband's death and the list of these innocent lives is endless.
Hope you have found peace.
Yours
Seeker
1 story from the perspective of 4 childhood friends, as in real life, the story is same just different view, suffering is same but different means.
"If only they could sleep. Not a heaving sleep full of dreams but a cold insensate one. A sleep like death"
Story explores the social, economical and political strata through eyes of -
-Oubaid, exploited by Tanzeem and Military forces at equal lengths which transforms an innocent child into a monster
-Sabia, daughter of a sycophantic, who is torn between loving & hating the innocent child & monster
-Tufail wishing for peaceful life
-Muzaffar, a militant seeking justice for his honest father
Major Gurpal who though prefers Chekov to Gogol (just like the most of the Author's writing), is no such in reality
Shabbir ahmad dons impartial tone. He is here to ask questions not to seek sides. He is not here to tell right from wrong, he puts the weight on you to judge. He brings in elements of casteism, survival, suffering and makes you chose the worst. At a literal level there is no beginning and no end, just like the sufferings of these people.
With a repeated view point "only through patriarchal eyes" makes the otherwise strong storyline look feeble, making you question the status of women.
Well deserved JCB nomination though👏
भाव निर्मिति - शोक😔 ( in characters)
Dear Oedipus
How are you. I don't blame you. All you wished was justice & love, every man's quest. You wouldn't have wronged if you knew the truth
But what about people who impart justice at a drop of knife and mess with people's brain on pretext of love.
These figures - nameless, virtueless, dehumanizing people on name of justice, religion and God.
𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝙵𝚒𝚐𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚜 meting out 𝙍𝙚𝙙 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚
Oh Oedipus! Will gauging out their eyes be enough
All you were trying was to cure the Plague ravaged Thebus but who will cure the Plague of Kashmir😪 - a daughter crying for honorable pharmacist father's death, a wife whimpering for teacher Husband's death and the list of these innocent lives is endless.
Hope you have found peace.
Yours
Seeker
1 story from the perspective of 4 childhood friends, as in real life, the story is same just different view, suffering is same but different means.
"If only they could sleep. Not a heaving sleep full of dreams but a cold insensate one. A sleep like death"
Story explores the social, economical and political strata through eyes of -
-Oubaid, exploited by Tanzeem and Military forces at equal lengths which transforms an innocent child into a monster
-Sabia, daughter of a sycophantic, who is torn between loving & hating the innocent child & monster
-Tufail wishing for peaceful life
-Muzaffar, a militant seeking justice for his honest father
Major Gurpal who though prefers Chekov to Gogol (just like the most of the Author's writing), is no such in reality
Shabbir ahmad dons impartial tone. He is here to ask questions not to seek sides. He is not here to tell right from wrong, he puts the weight on you to judge. He brings in elements of casteism, survival, suffering and makes you chose the worst. At a literal level there is no beginning and no end, just like the sufferings of these people.
With a repeated view point "only through patriarchal eyes" makes the otherwise strong storyline look feeble, making you question the status of women.
Well deserved JCB nomination though👏
Read
October 23, 2020As gorgeous as the cover of the book is, the story beneath is equally tragic.
For someone like me, who has been raised in a place where the worst thing to happen to you as you walked down the street, was that someone recognized you and wanted to talk to you, reading about Kashmir, a place that does not remember a history where communal violence, the deadly politics and ever-rising militants was not a part of its daily affair; was nothing short of the stuff of nightmares.
For someone like me, reading this book, which included the tales of four people, Oubaid, a youth caught in conflict; Sabia, the daughter of a social climber; Tufail, the son of a moneyed landlord; and Muzzafar, a militant; felt like I’m reading science-fiction. To read about the insurgency in Kashmir, about people being snatched away from their homes in the middle of the night to be “interrogated” and never heard from again, to witness the horror as kids took to guns, and the army took to the streets, was a culmination of all of my worst fears spelled out.
Though I would have liked to read more about Muzzafar’s part of the tale and hated to see it rushed so soon, this book truly gripped me in its pages ever since I picked it up yesterday.
It’s a dreadful yet stunning debut by Shabir Ahmad Mir shining a bright light on the unspeakable horrors of the dirty war that has been waged in Kashmir for decades.
For someone like me, who has been raised in a place where the worst thing to happen to you as you walked down the street, was that someone recognized you and wanted to talk to you, reading about Kashmir, a place that does not remember a history where communal violence, the deadly politics and ever-rising militants was not a part of its daily affair; was nothing short of the stuff of nightmares.
For someone like me, reading this book, which included the tales of four people, Oubaid, a youth caught in conflict; Sabia, the daughter of a social climber; Tufail, the son of a moneyed landlord; and Muzzafar, a militant; felt like I’m reading science-fiction. To read about the insurgency in Kashmir, about people being snatched away from their homes in the middle of the night to be “interrogated” and never heard from again, to witness the horror as kids took to guns, and the army took to the streets, was a culmination of all of my worst fears spelled out.
Though I would have liked to read more about Muzzafar’s part of the tale and hated to see it rushed so soon, this book truly gripped me in its pages ever since I picked it up yesterday.
It’s a dreadful yet stunning debut by Shabir Ahmad Mir shining a bright light on the unspeakable horrors of the dirty war that has been waged in Kashmir for decades.
September 13, 2020
A novel that starts poetically, messy but captivating. The narrator is not sure when innocent childhood games turned into bloodshed, rage and despair. Living in denial as a coping mechanism is the new normal in this novel set in Kashmir, in the 1990s. Oubaid's past actions have a trigger and he is trying hard to not point a finger and specify the exact turn of events that led to this trauma that has now made a permanent home in his bones. Other characters pour in their stories as they navigate through a land that is full of violence, schemes and games.
With a powerful and unique perspective, Mir gives is two sides of the story- the military and the citizen. He gives us a detailed account on Kashmir and Kashmiris and how, inevitably, they become a part of a larger ploy. While most stories take sides, Mir doesn't lean fully on one. The actual story is narrated through a trauma, Oubaid speaking to a professional and also his mind, hence blurring the truth, despite the authoritative tone.
I would definitely recommend this one, because of the unique perspective and a mature style of writing.
With a powerful and unique perspective, Mir gives is two sides of the story- the military and the citizen. He gives us a detailed account on Kashmir and Kashmiris and how, inevitably, they become a part of a larger ploy. While most stories take sides, Mir doesn't lean fully on one. The actual story is narrated through a trauma, Oubaid speaking to a professional and also his mind, hence blurring the truth, despite the authoritative tone.
I would definitely recommend this one, because of the unique perspective and a mature style of writing.
March 2, 2022
The Plague Upon Us was my 4th read from the 2021 JCB Prize Shortlist. The plague it describes is the horror and bloodshed of the ongoing conflicts surrounding insurgency in Kashmir, seen from the alternative viewpoints of four different people, childhood friends who grow apart to lead very different lives.
The novel includes four main sections, each running along the same storyline and timeframe but looking from the perspective of a different character. Each subsequent layer adds more detail to the previous narrative, and sticks to the others through violence and horror. And as the layers build up we are forced to admit different visions of truth and morality. Ultimately, looking through these semi-opaque versions of the same story, we realise how each person’s motivations, fears and hates are brought together into a confused and ugly mix, leaving devastation and long-lasting trauma in their wake.
Whilst I certainly enjoyed the novel overall, there were a number of aspects where it fell short for me. Most importantly, while the author draws us into the psychology of the male protagonists, none of the female characters are given any depth and they seem to appear as mere props. Less serious, and although it is clearly a local edition aimed at Indian readers, I felt that some explanation and context could have been given to the players in the conflict – if only as a glossary. I had no idea what “tanzeem”, “tehreek”, the “Brotherhood” or indeed the Independence Party were, nor their relationships with one another.
It is a compelling story, well narrated, that leaves the reader with a real sense of the desolation of the people of Kashmir. I suspect it must have been quite a bold choice for the JCB Prize.
The novel includes four main sections, each running along the same storyline and timeframe but looking from the perspective of a different character. Each subsequent layer adds more detail to the previous narrative, and sticks to the others through violence and horror. And as the layers build up we are forced to admit different visions of truth and morality. Ultimately, looking through these semi-opaque versions of the same story, we realise how each person’s motivations, fears and hates are brought together into a confused and ugly mix, leaving devastation and long-lasting trauma in their wake.
Whilst I certainly enjoyed the novel overall, there were a number of aspects where it fell short for me. Most importantly, while the author draws us into the psychology of the male protagonists, none of the female characters are given any depth and they seem to appear as mere props. Less serious, and although it is clearly a local edition aimed at Indian readers, I felt that some explanation and context could have been given to the players in the conflict – if only as a glossary. I had no idea what “tanzeem”, “tehreek”, the “Brotherhood” or indeed the Independence Party were, nor their relationships with one another.
It is a compelling story, well narrated, that leaves the reader with a real sense of the desolation of the people of Kashmir. I suspect it must have been quite a bold choice for the JCB Prize.
October 29, 2020
🍁The story revolves around the protagonist Oubaid and his memories of the past which gives an insight into the perspectives of 4 people who were his childhood friends. The story starts with the description of the plague followed by an appearance of an unknown person called the KING who insists Oubaid to narrate his tales which makes Oubaid recollect the tormenting memories of his past .
.
🍁This is the debut novel of the author and he has done a great job in pouring his heart out. It was as if the author has got those memories etched in his mind. There is a brilliant use of parts of speech in the beginning of the tale which gives a sense of suspense to the readers . The description of the tortures endured by Oubaid were horrifying,it literally gave me goosebumps . I am looking forward to reading more books by him in the coming years!
.
🍁This is the debut novel of the author and he has done a great job in pouring his heart out. It was as if the author has got those memories etched in his mind. There is a brilliant use of parts of speech in the beginning of the tale which gives a sense of suspense to the readers . The description of the tortures endured by Oubaid were horrifying,it literally gave me goosebumps . I am looking forward to reading more books by him in the coming years!
November 1, 2021
Let me confess today that I'm frightening to discuss about it, I'm frightening to raise any question. If only reading a fictional tale can give me such feelings then how could they bothering such catastrophe day by day, moment by moment in reality !!
Kashmir, the name of this state itself stands for many unanswerable questions.
Those questions that we ask ourselves or discuss among closed ones within four walls. But dare to ask them to our so called "protectors"/"leaders"
The Plague Upon Us by Shabir Ahmad Mir is an eye opener to me, and it's a mirror of Kashmir of yesterdays, todays and tomorrows.
No I'm not saying that you could see the whole holocaust through this tale because I believe it could not be the entire picture, it's just a partial..
Four tales, same one but each one unfurls in different way, as if every tale has something more to confess us.. and by each passage the story becomes epiphany of veracity of Kashmir.
No it's not extraordinary, and there is few flaws too nevertheless this "229 pages" has whole my heart.
Kudos to Shabir Ahmad Mir to present the truth metaphorically with such dexterity.
And the question I want to ask myself and to you,
When we will be free from this Plague which is still Upon Us ??
How much blood we have to loss to get rid of this "Plague" ??
#theplagueuponus #shabirahmadmir #bookrecommendations #bookreview
Kashmir, the name of this state itself stands for many unanswerable questions.
Those questions that we ask ourselves or discuss among closed ones within four walls. But dare to ask them to our so called "protectors"/"leaders"
The Plague Upon Us by Shabir Ahmad Mir is an eye opener to me, and it's a mirror of Kashmir of yesterdays, todays and tomorrows.
No I'm not saying that you could see the whole holocaust through this tale because I believe it could not be the entire picture, it's just a partial..
Four tales, same one but each one unfurls in different way, as if every tale has something more to confess us.. and by each passage the story becomes epiphany of veracity of Kashmir.
No it's not extraordinary, and there is few flaws too nevertheless this "229 pages" has whole my heart.
Kudos to Shabir Ahmad Mir to present the truth metaphorically with such dexterity.
And the question I want to ask myself and to you,
When we will be free from this Plague which is still Upon Us ??
How much blood we have to loss to get rid of this "Plague" ??
#theplagueuponus #shabirahmadmir #bookrecommendations #bookreview
December 2, 2021
Genius storytelling.
I have always felt Kashmir's stories need to be told with love and care. Shabir Ahmad Mir does all of that, but adds a generous amount of perspective. He addresses Kashmir's great tragedy of misunderstood silos by viewing the same journey through four different lenses, giving all of them equal weight and the same question to struggle with.
One of my favourite books from this year. Will deserve every prize it will eventually land.
I have always felt Kashmir's stories need to be told with love and care. Shabir Ahmad Mir does all of that, but adds a generous amount of perspective. He addresses Kashmir's great tragedy of misunderstood silos by viewing the same journey through four different lenses, giving all of them equal weight and the same question to struggle with.
One of my favourite books from this year. Will deserve every prize it will eventually land.
November 5, 2022
Mir manages to accomplish much in just over 200 pages. The deft and concise narrative style fits the stories of four young Kashmiris like a jigsaw. He lays bare the tragedy enveloping the beautiful land and its people without taking sides, giving a judgement or offering hope. Amidst the politics, fervour and greed, there are ordinary lives born into the conflict who just want to survive.
June 11, 2021
An average read. The author has a flair for story telling however the book is more of a propaganda against the state and the Army
September 21, 2021
Loved the way story is narrated. All the characters especially Oubaid stayed with me for few days. Enjoyed Reading it .
January 6, 2022
Fantastic read...i felt i was with him through his journey
October 26, 2022
(review coming soon - let me process this one!)
August 30, 2023
Arresting writing style. The use of language and fictional places is exceptional. The book brings an evolution of speculative fiction genre in local literature. The story grows on you but Shabir's words are a fresh perspective on Kashmir conflict.
September 15, 2021
Heartbreaking!
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