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Shamal Days
A middle-aged bachelor heading the editorial at a newspaper in an imagined country in the Arabian Gulf, Abbas is beset by loneliness and the attendant regret – a life punctuated by ifs and maybes, and the dreariness of the dry and dusty shamal winds. Presented with the opportunity to finally bring about change in his life, will indecision get the better of him or will he be able to steer his life away from his less-than-beautiful reality?
Set in the 1990s, with the escalating violence in West Asia serving as a backdrop, this is the story of Abbas and of the small newsroom that brings together people – from different backgrounds and with individual stories but shared editorial goof-ups – to a country built and run by the expatriate workforce.
Shamal Days is a whimsical, ironic take on the aspirations and resentments of expatriate life in a tiny desert country and on the political unrest in the region.
Set in the 1990s, with the escalating violence in West Asia serving as a backdrop, this is the story of Abbas and of the small newsroom that brings together people – from different backgrounds and with individual stories but shared editorial goof-ups – to a country built and run by the expatriate workforce.
Shamal Days is a whimsical, ironic take on the aspirations and resentments of expatriate life in a tiny desert country and on the political unrest in the region.
- GenresFiction
316 pages, Paperback
Published May 1, 2021
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June 29, 2021
Abbas, a bachelor who becomes a editorial head of a newspaper from mere a proof reader in a gulf country. In his lonely life he discovers the hidden ambitions behind a calm facade and changes in life around him accompanied by the the dry and dusty shamal winds. Set in 1990s political crunch in West Asia this book is a magical tale of a desert country.
One thing I really like in a novel is the slow whimsical way everything goes, slow rhythmic flow of story and bit by bit we understand the protagonist of that novel. We try to picture everything in one screen and imagine ourselves in that moment. Shamal Days is one such novel where through the eyes of Abbas we see the longing of human, striving in extreme conditions just for the sake of what they desire to achieve for their families and make a living and how our basic instincts are same even in a small desert country.
At a first glance Abbas's character may seem aloof and distant but his character has much depth. A true and realistic character.
The remarkable writing style is unfolding a history of a gulf region trying their best to stand taller among other countries. How beautifully the socio-political agitation is mixed with the personal life of a news editor and nothing rings falls in this book. Everything revolves around Abbas yet this story is not only his. He is the spokesperson of those million voices trampled beneath the economic hardship.
It was a good book to read but it was too slow for my taste and I was losing focus on the plot. Nevertheless I enjoyed the well developed character sketches.
One thing I really like in a novel is the slow whimsical way everything goes, slow rhythmic flow of story and bit by bit we understand the protagonist of that novel. We try to picture everything in one screen and imagine ourselves in that moment. Shamal Days is one such novel where through the eyes of Abbas we see the longing of human, striving in extreme conditions just for the sake of what they desire to achieve for their families and make a living and how our basic instincts are same even in a small desert country.
At a first glance Abbas's character may seem aloof and distant but his character has much depth. A true and realistic character.
The remarkable writing style is unfolding a history of a gulf region trying their best to stand taller among other countries. How beautifully the socio-political agitation is mixed with the personal life of a news editor and nothing rings falls in this book. Everything revolves around Abbas yet this story is not only his. He is the spokesperson of those million voices trampled beneath the economic hardship.
It was a good book to read but it was too slow for my taste and I was losing focus on the plot. Nevertheless I enjoyed the well developed character sketches.
June 29, 2021
Which country would you like to visit soon?
"No matter how many years they lived in the country, slogging it out in the sun, killing themselves day by day, knowingly estranging themselves from their own backyards and bedrooms back home, they would never become a part of the country - they would always remain expatriates, the second-class, indispensable residents"
There's a phrase which is very common in my native place: 'Wherever you go, you're bound to find a malayali there'. Be it Bangalore or Dubai, you find someone talking in Malayalam, and approach them with the famous question: 'Malayali aano?' (Are you a Malayali?).
'Shamal Days' is the story of Abbas, a man who moved to the Gulf from his hometown Alleppey, aiming to make his mark on the world. For every migrant, this is a dream that is never ending. But there's something about realising your dreams away from home. Loneliness? Insecurity? Outcast? It's a mixed, sad feeling.
'Shamal' means 'the wind that brings with it the sand from the desert'. Here, this makes a reference to 'the winds of change'. With every shamal, Abbas' life takes a turn. For the better? No. For the worse? No.
The book is divided into two parts: the first one showcasing the Isr*el-Pal*stine conflict (it was only now that I got to understand UAE's stance on it, even when it was pretty obvious), and the second one showcasing the fall of Saddam Hussain. T
Anyway, these events are not the main focus of the book; it's how Abbas' life revolved around these that made the story different. Not completely, but they made an impact.
This book brings forward various hard truths applicable to real life; the main one being how indecisiveness can make you lose control of your own life.
Rating - 🌟🌟🌟.💫
"No matter how many years they lived in the country, slogging it out in the sun, killing themselves day by day, knowingly estranging themselves from their own backyards and bedrooms back home, they would never become a part of the country - they would always remain expatriates, the second-class, indispensable residents"
There's a phrase which is very common in my native place: 'Wherever you go, you're bound to find a malayali there'. Be it Bangalore or Dubai, you find someone talking in Malayalam, and approach them with the famous question: 'Malayali aano?' (Are you a Malayali?).
'Shamal Days' is the story of Abbas, a man who moved to the Gulf from his hometown Alleppey, aiming to make his mark on the world. For every migrant, this is a dream that is never ending. But there's something about realising your dreams away from home. Loneliness? Insecurity? Outcast? It's a mixed, sad feeling.
'Shamal' means 'the wind that brings with it the sand from the desert'. Here, this makes a reference to 'the winds of change'. With every shamal, Abbas' life takes a turn. For the better? No. For the worse? No.
The book is divided into two parts: the first one showcasing the Isr*el-Pal*stine conflict (it was only now that I got to understand UAE's stance on it, even when it was pretty obvious), and the second one showcasing the fall of Saddam Hussain. T
Anyway, these events are not the main focus of the book; it's how Abbas' life revolved around these that made the story different. Not completely, but they made an impact.
This book brings forward various hard truths applicable to real life; the main one being how indecisiveness can make you lose control of your own life.
Rating - 🌟🌟🌟.💫
August 22, 2021
This is the story of a middle aged man named Abbas who worked at a newspaper in a desert country. The story is set in the 1990s and this story is basically about Abbas and the people who worked at the same newspaper as him. This is his story as he narrates about his childhood and love life, missing his parents, climbing up at his office status, and deals with his overwhelming loneliness.
There’s not much to the story because this is a very character driven story rather than a plot driven one. When I started this book, I was mesmerized by the writing. The writing is very beautiful and whimsical. The story is not. I thought the story was very dry like the shamal winds itself.
This was extremely slow paced with nothing going on in the plot with a lot of political discussion in the background. There were a bunch of different characters in the story which made things a bit interesting but even so the plot felt flat. I did not care for any of the characters at all and did not attached to them nor did I find any of the character relatable. Also, there was cheating involved which just was indigestible to me. I cannot accept cheating in a story especially when it is a major part of the story.
I want to make it clear that I absolutely loved the writing of this book. Despite the beauty of the words, the writing was very dense and it felt like a much longer book than it was. In the end, the story did not stand up to me and I felt very underwhelmed after finishing the book.
Overall, I think it was a good book and I am glad I read this book. I think I wasn’t the right audience for it. Even if this book didn’t work for me, I’d still recommend it because everyone’s taste is different and you might enjoy this book more than me.
There’s not much to the story because this is a very character driven story rather than a plot driven one. When I started this book, I was mesmerized by the writing. The writing is very beautiful and whimsical. The story is not. I thought the story was very dry like the shamal winds itself.
This was extremely slow paced with nothing going on in the plot with a lot of political discussion in the background. There were a bunch of different characters in the story which made things a bit interesting but even so the plot felt flat. I did not care for any of the characters at all and did not attached to them nor did I find any of the character relatable. Also, there was cheating involved which just was indigestible to me. I cannot accept cheating in a story especially when it is a major part of the story.
I want to make it clear that I absolutely loved the writing of this book. Despite the beauty of the words, the writing was very dense and it felt like a much longer book than it was. In the end, the story did not stand up to me and I felt very underwhelmed after finishing the book.
Overall, I think it was a good book and I am glad I read this book. I think I wasn’t the right audience for it. Even if this book didn’t work for me, I’d still recommend it because everyone’s taste is different and you might enjoy this book more than me.
June 30, 2021
"Shamal Days" by Sabin Iqbal gives an idea about what expatriates have had been through their entire life only just because they were from different nations.
It's a mixture of reality about what actually happened with them in the Gulf with an extra spice of romance of a full grown up man, his desires to fulfill his lust and ofcourse about the conflicts along with the battle between heart and brain.
So , you can say it's full of drama , illicit , suspense along with some national and international politics.
This also gives a close look at the newsroom of gulf which was full of talented , experienced and hardworking people from various countries with some of them playing dirty politics too.
As we all are aware about civilization and also about immigrants who goes in search of better job opportunities not only from rural to urban areas or from city to city but also from one nation to the other.
It's a story revolving mainly around Abbas's life (Malayali) an expatriate from India (along with characters like - Ratnam, Bhaskar , Matt, Sara , Abid , Saddam ,and many more) who came to Gulf away from his parents in search of work and to fulfill his dreams.
So, this book is not only about Abbas but actually it's the reality of our life that if one can't control their desires ,their infatuation towards a person or thing then that could even deteriorates your life drastically and you'll be left all alone with those guilts. If you are here in this world then you are supposed to make some tough decisions that can lead you towards more healthy and prosperous life. But if you fails to do so and ignore your intuitions regarding what was meant to be right for you then you'll be alive but with dead and dry bones covered with thin flesh only!
And this book tells us exactly about how Abbas's indecisiveness had made him guilty over his foolishness and how he urged to go back to his home country but couldn't.
It also reveals about that game of betrayal and conspiracy among some closed one's too.
Overall shamal days is an amazing and realistic book that I really loved reading so much though sometimes it happened that I had to go back to the previous paragraphs so that I could relate it to more .
But felt happy and content as at the end of the day after that cruel Saddam's dictatorship came to an end they (Ratnam , Bhaskar and Abbas too) realised and finally accepted what wrong they have had been doing not only to eachother but to themselves too.
Overall it's a good to read book and you all will definitely enjoy reading this!!!
It's a mixture of reality about what actually happened with them in the Gulf with an extra spice of romance of a full grown up man, his desires to fulfill his lust and ofcourse about the conflicts along with the battle between heart and brain.
So , you can say it's full of drama , illicit , suspense along with some national and international politics.
This also gives a close look at the newsroom of gulf which was full of talented , experienced and hardworking people from various countries with some of them playing dirty politics too.
As we all are aware about civilization and also about immigrants who goes in search of better job opportunities not only from rural to urban areas or from city to city but also from one nation to the other.
It's a story revolving mainly around Abbas's life (Malayali) an expatriate from India (along with characters like - Ratnam, Bhaskar , Matt, Sara , Abid , Saddam ,and many more) who came to Gulf away from his parents in search of work and to fulfill his dreams.
So, this book is not only about Abbas but actually it's the reality of our life that if one can't control their desires ,their infatuation towards a person or thing then that could even deteriorates your life drastically and you'll be left all alone with those guilts. If you are here in this world then you are supposed to make some tough decisions that can lead you towards more healthy and prosperous life. But if you fails to do so and ignore your intuitions regarding what was meant to be right for you then you'll be alive but with dead and dry bones covered with thin flesh only!
And this book tells us exactly about how Abbas's indecisiveness had made him guilty over his foolishness and how he urged to go back to his home country but couldn't.
It also reveals about that game of betrayal and conspiracy among some closed one's too.
Overall shamal days is an amazing and realistic book that I really loved reading so much though sometimes it happened that I had to go back to the previous paragraphs so that I could relate it to more .
But felt happy and content as at the end of the day after that cruel Saddam's dictatorship came to an end they (Ratnam , Bhaskar and Abbas too) realised and finally accepted what wrong they have had been doing not only to eachother but to themselves too.
Overall it's a good to read book and you all will definitely enjoy reading this!!!
June 25, 2021
“His death would be like a river. Or a language. A river dries up, and the riverbed becomes diminishing memory which stuccoes with the blunt edges of the white boulders sticking out, which seem to have nothing to do with waters that once flowed, with only the sunlight often brightening its memory. A language dies with the passing of the last man who speaks it. He disappears without leaving even an echo in the air. A language cannot be preserved like pickles in a jar.”
Shamal, the meaning of shamal is the winds of bad omen. Abbas, the protagonist of the story lives in an imaginary country in middle-east. He works as a journalist in a newspaper firm, he is a very lonely person. Story starts with Abbas thinking about his illegitimate child, a question always occurs in his mind “is it a boy or a girl?” Matt, one of his colleagues makes him to trap himself in crime which is the biggest crime in Arab countries, doing fraud with the sheikh and on the other ratnam is using him, as well his lover with whom he was stitching dreams of marriage, family and kids leave him and leave all things behind and country too. Story is narrated by abaas, he described the things happens in the past in part one, author the describe the whole history of lead characters, there were some characters are just for fun like the one who cannot pronounce F, she pronounce F as P. In some paragraphs author also describes the conflicts between the Palestinian and Israeli forces. Author also talks about some major issues but only for a very short time or paragraphs. The theme of the book is marvelous and astonishing. I have read the cliffhangers by sabin Iqbal too and it is one my favorite book.
Shamal days or The winds of bad omen and Abaas life is a must read for avid readers but I don’t recommend this one for beginners.
Shamal, the meaning of shamal is the winds of bad omen. Abbas, the protagonist of the story lives in an imaginary country in middle-east. He works as a journalist in a newspaper firm, he is a very lonely person. Story starts with Abbas thinking about his illegitimate child, a question always occurs in his mind “is it a boy or a girl?” Matt, one of his colleagues makes him to trap himself in crime which is the biggest crime in Arab countries, doing fraud with the sheikh and on the other ratnam is using him, as well his lover with whom he was stitching dreams of marriage, family and kids leave him and leave all things behind and country too. Story is narrated by abaas, he described the things happens in the past in part one, author the describe the whole history of lead characters, there were some characters are just for fun like the one who cannot pronounce F, she pronounce F as P. In some paragraphs author also describes the conflicts between the Palestinian and Israeli forces. Author also talks about some major issues but only for a very short time or paragraphs. The theme of the book is marvelous and astonishing. I have read the cliffhangers by sabin Iqbal too and it is one my favorite book.
Shamal days or The winds of bad omen and Abaas life is a must read for avid readers but I don’t recommend this one for beginners.
June 29, 2021
"But my own child was taken away from me when I was as young and bright as the morning sun.”
Set in the 1990's 'Shamal Days' portrays the story of an individual who is in a far away land engulfed in agony and is searching for hope.
This is the story of Abbas who is an Indian émigré who works in Gulf as an editor in the newsroom of 'Gulf Mirror'. Life of Abbas is full of regrets and confusion. Out of lust, he committed a grave mistake which he shouldn't have done and today after years what it is left with him, is only the guilt and pain.
This novel, is not just story about Abbas, rather I would call it as a 'novel on human life'. Through Abbas life, we get a glimpse of typical Indian families, the bullies of childhood, the dark memories and regrets in which we get encircled.
I solely have loved reading this piece of literature. Blended with chafe emotions, the power of politics over media, the violence in Gulf countries, this book takes you through the layers of emotions.
Set in the 1990's 'Shamal Days' portrays the story of an individual who is in a far away land engulfed in agony and is searching for hope.
This is the story of Abbas who is an Indian émigré who works in Gulf as an editor in the newsroom of 'Gulf Mirror'. Life of Abbas is full of regrets and confusion. Out of lust, he committed a grave mistake which he shouldn't have done and today after years what it is left with him, is only the guilt and pain.
This novel, is not just story about Abbas, rather I would call it as a 'novel on human life'. Through Abbas life, we get a glimpse of typical Indian families, the bullies of childhood, the dark memories and regrets in which we get encircled.
I solely have loved reading this piece of literature. Blended with chafe emotions, the power of politics over media, the violence in Gulf countries, this book takes you through the layers of emotions.
January 22, 2023
3.5/5
Great writing style but no story!
Great writing style but no story!
July 5, 2021
Shamal Days by Sabin Iqbal
Every Indian applauds the man who leaves the country to “settle abroad” but they don’t think of all the hardships that one will have face in such a foreign land. This book has done a good job in highlighting the said aspect of emigrants. Emigrants are treated like outcasts, perform menial jobs in horrific conditions - all to send an extra penny home or to live the life they dreamed of, but the reality is mostly far away from the truth.
Abbas, the protagonist of the story is an Indian Emigrant from Alleppey, Kerala who works as an editor under the name of – “the gulf mirror”(In the Gulf). He moved to the new and foreign land with his friends to fulfill his dreams but terrible and horrific mistakes were made and now he lives with nothing but guilt and umpteen sorrows. Set in the backdrop of 1990’s , this book is a journey you take into the life of Abbas, our protagonist. You will go through his highs and lows and find his purpose with him. This book will traverse you from India to Gulf and make you feel so many emotions in between! Prevelant issues from the time period will also pop up leaving your jaw dropped.
This book talks about basic human emotions like pain, sorrow , betrayal and lust in such an exquisite and poetic manner that one cannot help but be in awe. Also, the several characters in this book have been decently well developed and the story is well knitted. Might get a little hard to follow characters sometimes, but you’ll get along fine.
One does a lot and beyond for family , love and their own life.
Every Indian applauds the man who leaves the country to “settle abroad” but they don’t think of all the hardships that one will have face in such a foreign land. This book has done a good job in highlighting the said aspect of emigrants. Emigrants are treated like outcasts, perform menial jobs in horrific conditions - all to send an extra penny home or to live the life they dreamed of, but the reality is mostly far away from the truth.
Abbas, the protagonist of the story is an Indian Emigrant from Alleppey, Kerala who works as an editor under the name of – “the gulf mirror”(In the Gulf). He moved to the new and foreign land with his friends to fulfill his dreams but terrible and horrific mistakes were made and now he lives with nothing but guilt and umpteen sorrows. Set in the backdrop of 1990’s , this book is a journey you take into the life of Abbas, our protagonist. You will go through his highs and lows and find his purpose with him. This book will traverse you from India to Gulf and make you feel so many emotions in between! Prevelant issues from the time period will also pop up leaving your jaw dropped.
This book talks about basic human emotions like pain, sorrow , betrayal and lust in such an exquisite and poetic manner that one cannot help but be in awe. Also, the several characters in this book have been decently well developed and the story is well knitted. Might get a little hard to follow characters sometimes, but you’ll get along fine.
One does a lot and beyond for family , love and their own life.
June 24, 2021
"𝓘𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓸𝓬𝓮𝓪𝓷𝓼 𝓶𝓪𝓭𝓮 𝓱𝓲𝓶 𝓼𝓪𝓭, 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓶𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓽𝓪𝓲𝓷𝓼, 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓱𝓲𝓶, 𝔀𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓪 𝓳𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓷𝓮𝔂 𝓲𝓷𝓽𝓸 𝓸𝓷𝓮'𝓼 𝓸𝔀𝓷 𝓫𝓮𝓲𝓷𝓰"
✨Author: Sabin Iqbal
✨Published: May 2021
✨Genre: Fiction
🍁We as humans often go to other countries in pursuit of money and come back to our hometown to live a wealthy life. But how many of us make it back to our home. We fight so hard to earn money to be able to live a happy and carefree life. But it takes ages to earn that and sometimes we don’t even reach there and end up missing to live in the moment as well. We do it all for ourselves and for our loved ones, but we end up leaving them behind for far too long. We end up living a lonely, monotonous and meaningless life.
🍁Shamal Days is a story about one such man, Abbas, who works as an editor of a newspaper "Mirror" in the Arabian Gulf far away from his hometown Alleppey, Kerala. He has always been alone since childhood. His life has been nothing but full of regret and guilt and we see him living through it. We see him fighting with himself to make the right choice.
🍁The story is set in the 1990s around all the violence in the Gulf. The story is not only about Abbass but also the other people of “Mirror” who are from different countries and backgrounds with their individual stories.
🍁The story also sheds light on the miserable working conditions, and highlights the influence of politics on the media. It's amazing and sad at the same time, how words can change the entire meaning of something!
🍁The story is written in flashbacks. It was a little difficult to keep up with the timeline in the beginning but as I understood and read more, it became easier, and it was in fact nice to read such a style of writing.
🍁It is a tale of hardships, indecision, betrayals that makes you think. I love reading books which help us see the side of things which we often neglect or don’t know about since we have never experienced them ourselves. And Shamal Days is one such story for me.
🍁Thank you @harpercollinsin for the review copy
✨Author: Sabin Iqbal
✨Published: May 2021
✨Genre: Fiction
🍁We as humans often go to other countries in pursuit of money and come back to our hometown to live a wealthy life. But how many of us make it back to our home. We fight so hard to earn money to be able to live a happy and carefree life. But it takes ages to earn that and sometimes we don’t even reach there and end up missing to live in the moment as well. We do it all for ourselves and for our loved ones, but we end up leaving them behind for far too long. We end up living a lonely, monotonous and meaningless life.
🍁Shamal Days is a story about one such man, Abbas, who works as an editor of a newspaper "Mirror" in the Arabian Gulf far away from his hometown Alleppey, Kerala. He has always been alone since childhood. His life has been nothing but full of regret and guilt and we see him living through it. We see him fighting with himself to make the right choice.
🍁The story is set in the 1990s around all the violence in the Gulf. The story is not only about Abbass but also the other people of “Mirror” who are from different countries and backgrounds with their individual stories.
🍁The story also sheds light on the miserable working conditions, and highlights the influence of politics on the media. It's amazing and sad at the same time, how words can change the entire meaning of something!
🍁The story is written in flashbacks. It was a little difficult to keep up with the timeline in the beginning but as I understood and read more, it became easier, and it was in fact nice to read such a style of writing.
🍁It is a tale of hardships, indecision, betrayals that makes you think. I love reading books which help us see the side of things which we often neglect or don’t know about since we have never experienced them ourselves. And Shamal Days is one such story for me.
🍁Thank you @harpercollinsin for the review copy
August 2, 2021
“The small desert country, he often felt, was like a hive of bees- of expatriates who arrived from different parts of the world, in different forms of transportation, only to work. To bend their backs in the sun and merciless heat, to turn their blood into money they could send home.”
It’s always a happy occurrence when a book surprises me in all aspects (the writing, the narration, the ambiguous plot) which I didn’t at first particularly expect. Shamal Days, on the surface, is about a middle-aged man called Abbas in an imagined country in the Arabian Gulf (UAE in my opinion) who works as an editor of a small newspaper called Mirror and is beset by loneliness and regrets. It doesn’t sound interesting, right? It wouldn’t have if this book was all about Abbas which, thank goodness it wasn’t. Sabin Iqbal introduces us to this country of high skyscrapers and a shimming economy, to the people who built it from the scrap, the expatriates with their aspirations and resentments, the hypocrisies of the press and the government and our general attitude towards “quick money”.
While reading this book, it reminded me of collages, how putting different images together, one creates one complete picture. Similarly, Iqbal puts these variety of people from all over the world (Indian, Pakistanis, Somalis, Sudanese, English…etc) with their own set of stories and experiences and gives us this panoramic view into the lives of immigrant workers. The book particularly excels when it’s narrating the backstory of these characters, dipping in and out of their lives. It’s whimsical and beautifully written with descriptions of heat and wind and the general climate of a desert country, all of which seems palpable. The story unfolds at a slow pace so be aware of that but it’s relatively easy to read.
All in all I really enjoyed reading Shamal Days and surprisingly more than I thought.
It’s always a happy occurrence when a book surprises me in all aspects (the writing, the narration, the ambiguous plot) which I didn’t at first particularly expect. Shamal Days, on the surface, is about a middle-aged man called Abbas in an imagined country in the Arabian Gulf (UAE in my opinion) who works as an editor of a small newspaper called Mirror and is beset by loneliness and regrets. It doesn’t sound interesting, right? It wouldn’t have if this book was all about Abbas which, thank goodness it wasn’t. Sabin Iqbal introduces us to this country of high skyscrapers and a shimming economy, to the people who built it from the scrap, the expatriates with their aspirations and resentments, the hypocrisies of the press and the government and our general attitude towards “quick money”.
While reading this book, it reminded me of collages, how putting different images together, one creates one complete picture. Similarly, Iqbal puts these variety of people from all over the world (Indian, Pakistanis, Somalis, Sudanese, English…etc) with their own set of stories and experiences and gives us this panoramic view into the lives of immigrant workers. The book particularly excels when it’s narrating the backstory of these characters, dipping in and out of their lives. It’s whimsical and beautifully written with descriptions of heat and wind and the general climate of a desert country, all of which seems palpable. The story unfolds at a slow pace so be aware of that but it’s relatively easy to read.
All in all I really enjoyed reading Shamal Days and surprisingly more than I thought.
July 22, 2021
𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚖 𝙸? 𝙰𝚖 𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚏𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚍, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚞𝚗𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍, 𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚙𝚒𝚎𝚌𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚌, 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚠 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙.
A whimsical and ironic tour into the labyrinths of human striving, aspirations, resentments and guilt that stays with you long after you trun the epilogue. Characters whose charisma, inner demons, perceptions keeps haunting you.
Set in 1990's West Asia in the Arabian Gulf Shamal Days by Sabin Iqbal is a story that showcases the history of a Indian, Abbas, our protagonist in West Asia. Throughout the 305 pages we see and feel through his eyes, his life, his solitude, aloofness amd also his sense of longing with an escalating violence of west Asia serving as the backdrop.
Abbas works at Mirror Magazine, a printing press which brings along people from different countries India, Africa, Pakistan, China , Uk together and here we were introduced with lot of other characters their stories whose thoughts are still playing at the back of my mind. I still feel like travelling with them in the hot desert carrying their stories within me
Hanging between the lines of Ifs- maybes, guits-pleasures, conscious-distant, loneliness-Wins We experiences the dynamics of Abbas's life his dark past, stormy days to betrayal. We realise that inspite of his aloofness he is connected with himself, conncted deep within. A whimsical man with gloomy past and grief stricken memory.
Fiction got blend with the reality when we see the Zionist's attack on Palestine
Plots giving jitters with its realistic view with an aura of fiction. Shamal Days is indeed a page turner, a magical and haunting tale.
𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚖 𝚢𝚎𝚝 𝚞𝚗𝚏𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 '𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚕 𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚍', 𝚠𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚏𝚘𝚊𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚝, 𝚜𝚙𝚛𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚢, 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚢 𝚙𝚘𝚠𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚍.
ᴛʜᴇ ꜱʜᴀᴍᴀʟ; ᴛʜᴇ ᴡɪɴᴅ: ᴛʜᴇ ᴏᴍᴇɴ ᴏꜰ ʙᴀᴅ ᴅᴀʏꜱ.
A whimsical and ironic tour into the labyrinths of human striving, aspirations, resentments and guilt that stays with you long after you trun the epilogue. Characters whose charisma, inner demons, perceptions keeps haunting you.
Set in 1990's West Asia in the Arabian Gulf Shamal Days by Sabin Iqbal is a story that showcases the history of a Indian, Abbas, our protagonist in West Asia. Throughout the 305 pages we see and feel through his eyes, his life, his solitude, aloofness amd also his sense of longing with an escalating violence of west Asia serving as the backdrop.
Abbas works at Mirror Magazine, a printing press which brings along people from different countries India, Africa, Pakistan, China , Uk together and here we were introduced with lot of other characters their stories whose thoughts are still playing at the back of my mind. I still feel like travelling with them in the hot desert carrying their stories within me
Hanging between the lines of Ifs- maybes, guits-pleasures, conscious-distant, loneliness-Wins We experiences the dynamics of Abbas's life his dark past, stormy days to betrayal. We realise that inspite of his aloofness he is connected with himself, conncted deep within. A whimsical man with gloomy past and grief stricken memory.
Fiction got blend with the reality when we see the Zionist's attack on Palestine
Plots giving jitters with its realistic view with an aura of fiction. Shamal Days is indeed a page turner, a magical and haunting tale.
𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚖 𝚢𝚎𝚝 𝚞𝚗𝚏𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 '𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚕 𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚍', 𝚠𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚏𝚘𝚊𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚝, 𝚜𝚙𝚛𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚢, 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚢 𝚙𝚘𝚠𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚍.
ᴛʜᴇ ꜱʜᴀᴍᴀʟ; ᴛʜᴇ ᴡɪɴᴅ: ᴛʜᴇ ᴏᴍᴇɴ ᴏꜰ ʙᴀᴅ ᴅᴀʏꜱ.
June 23, 2021
Shamal Days
By author Sabin Iqbal @sabiniqbal
Publisher: @harpercollinsin
Gulf countries are quite popular for their job opportunities for many. Young minds in the hope of shining future and luxurious life land up there. But do their later lives match what they dreamt of? Have you ever noticed political power sometimes and very unfortunately have a great hand in influencing the fourth estate of many such lands?
_____
Blurb:
A middle-aged bachelor heading the editorial at a newspaper in an imagined country in the Arabian Gulf, Abbas is beset by loneliness and the attendant regret - a life punctuated by ifs and maybes, and the dreariness of the dry and dusty shamal winds. Presented with the opportunity to finally bring change in his life, will indecision get the better of him or will he be able to steer his life away from his less-than-beautiful reality? Set in the 1990s, with escalating violence in West Asia serving as the backdrop, this is the story of Abbas and of the small newsroom that brings together people - from different backgrounds and with individual stories but shared editorial goof-ups - to a country built and run by the expatriate workforces. Shamal Days is a whimsical, ironic take on the aspirations and resentments of expatriate life in a tiny desert country and on the political unrest in the region.
_________
✨This book is not only the story of many such dreamers professional life but their personal turmoils too. Subtly it touches upon nuances of one's private relations as well. Through the tellings of each character's background, the pages let us understand the delicate human emotions.
If you are looking for a book with something fresh, may be you can pick this up sometime soon.
By author Sabin Iqbal @sabiniqbal
Publisher: @harpercollinsin
Gulf countries are quite popular for their job opportunities for many. Young minds in the hope of shining future and luxurious life land up there. But do their later lives match what they dreamt of? Have you ever noticed political power sometimes and very unfortunately have a great hand in influencing the fourth estate of many such lands?
_____
Blurb:
A middle-aged bachelor heading the editorial at a newspaper in an imagined country in the Arabian Gulf, Abbas is beset by loneliness and the attendant regret - a life punctuated by ifs and maybes, and the dreariness of the dry and dusty shamal winds. Presented with the opportunity to finally bring change in his life, will indecision get the better of him or will he be able to steer his life away from his less-than-beautiful reality? Set in the 1990s, with escalating violence in West Asia serving as the backdrop, this is the story of Abbas and of the small newsroom that brings together people - from different backgrounds and with individual stories but shared editorial goof-ups - to a country built and run by the expatriate workforces. Shamal Days is a whimsical, ironic take on the aspirations and resentments of expatriate life in a tiny desert country and on the political unrest in the region.
_________
✨This book is not only the story of many such dreamers professional life but their personal turmoils too. Subtly it touches upon nuances of one's private relations as well. Through the tellings of each character's background, the pages let us understand the delicate human emotions.
If you are looking for a book with something fresh, may be you can pick this up sometime soon.
July 4, 2021
～The story begins with a beautiful poem, reminding the reader it's significance till the end. The Prologue holds the story of Abbas, the protagonist in brief. And then his story is narrated explicitly in two parts taking the reader on a voyage.
～Abbas hails from Alleppey, Kerala. He works in "Gulf Mirror" Newspaper located in Arabian Gulf. With backdrop as West Asia in 1990s, this tale brings about the stories of violence, politics,lives of people in that region, lives of expatriates from different countries & the ones who work in Newspaper. The colleagues of Abbas with different backgrounds are fond of him except a few. Matt, Ratnam, Sara brings an unforseen change in his life. The graph of his life is emotionally still yet inquisitive in childhood, progressive & fluctuating in youth, stagnant and again fluctuating in his late 40s. In short this is an in-depth story of Abbas, his life in India & in Gulf, his professional, personal, emotional and lively encounters. Most of his life is spent in solitude. But what happens when he found a purpose in his life is a mystery.
How will he face his purpose?
What lies ahead of this mystery?
～ The poetic interpretations at various instances during narration is quite nifty. The life of expatriates from India and professional lives of people working in Newspaper is well shown in this book. Despite having many characters which is confusing at times, this book has that magic which makes the readers glued to it. The one thing that amazed me is the way narration bounced from one character to another briskly. The language is classy, comprehensible yet made me go after dictionary😂. Thanks to Google!! Khudos to the author for his compelling narration & captivating tale. Recommended!!
～Abbas hails from Alleppey, Kerala. He works in "Gulf Mirror" Newspaper located in Arabian Gulf. With backdrop as West Asia in 1990s, this tale brings about the stories of violence, politics,lives of people in that region, lives of expatriates from different countries & the ones who work in Newspaper. The colleagues of Abbas with different backgrounds are fond of him except a few. Matt, Ratnam, Sara brings an unforseen change in his life. The graph of his life is emotionally still yet inquisitive in childhood, progressive & fluctuating in youth, stagnant and again fluctuating in his late 40s. In short this is an in-depth story of Abbas, his life in India & in Gulf, his professional, personal, emotional and lively encounters. Most of his life is spent in solitude. But what happens when he found a purpose in his life is a mystery.
How will he face his purpose?
What lies ahead of this mystery?
～ The poetic interpretations at various instances during narration is quite nifty. The life of expatriates from India and professional lives of people working in Newspaper is well shown in this book. Despite having many characters which is confusing at times, this book has that magic which makes the readers glued to it. The one thing that amazed me is the way narration bounced from one character to another briskly. The language is classy, comprehensible yet made me go after dictionary😂. Thanks to Google!! Khudos to the author for his compelling narration & captivating tale. Recommended!!
July 10, 2021
We have heard many true cases regarding what they have been promised in Gulf nations and what they were actually rewarded in the end. People sometimes leave their own nation to find better livelihood but instead, find fallacies tangled with traps and lies.
“A language dies with the passing of the last man who speaks it. He disappears without leaving even an echo in the air. A language cannot be preserved like pickles in a jar.”
Abbas doesn’t have a different story, like all those people who have escaped their past lives to seek a much better life and purpose but at the end estranging their life they have selected for themselves and become a part of a club known as “Expatriates”.
"No matter how many years they lived in the country, slogging it out in the sun, killing themselves day by day, knowingly estranging themselves from their own backyards and bedrooms back home, they would never become a part of the country - they would always remain expatriates, the second-class, indispensable residents“
The literal meaning of the word “Shamal”, i.e. “a hot, dry north-westerly wind blowing across the Persian Gulf in summer, typically causing sandstorms.” speaks many things such as uncertainty and hardship, misery, etc.
Abbas’s story starts with as we were introduced that he works in a newspaper firm as a journalist, further we read about his life while he was thinking about his illegitimate child, further the story gets intensified when Matt introduce him to crime what will happen next, is what you must read by yourself.
The life inside the newspaper agency is beautifully portrayed in this book; the book at many points looks a bit poetic. It’s totally afresh story and the way it was told was amazing.
“A language dies with the passing of the last man who speaks it. He disappears without leaving even an echo in the air. A language cannot be preserved like pickles in a jar.”
Abbas doesn’t have a different story, like all those people who have escaped their past lives to seek a much better life and purpose but at the end estranging their life they have selected for themselves and become a part of a club known as “Expatriates”.
"No matter how many years they lived in the country, slogging it out in the sun, killing themselves day by day, knowingly estranging themselves from their own backyards and bedrooms back home, they would never become a part of the country - they would always remain expatriates, the second-class, indispensable residents“
The literal meaning of the word “Shamal”, i.e. “a hot, dry north-westerly wind blowing across the Persian Gulf in summer, typically causing sandstorms.” speaks many things such as uncertainty and hardship, misery, etc.
Abbas’s story starts with as we were introduced that he works in a newspaper firm as a journalist, further we read about his life while he was thinking about his illegitimate child, further the story gets intensified when Matt introduce him to crime what will happen next, is what you must read by yourself.
The life inside the newspaper agency is beautifully portrayed in this book; the book at many points looks a bit poetic. It’s totally afresh story and the way it was told was amazing.
August 14, 2021
Set in the Arabian Gulf, this is the story of Abbas, a middle-aged man, trying to build up his world in a place faraway from his homeland, working as an editor for a news company and how his life longs for belongingness. The dry shamal days represent the various shades of a human life where things are never easy and where people crave for companionship and loneliness becomes haunting sometimes. With each blow of the wind, the direction of Abbas’s life changes, making him feel like an outcast in an unfamiliar country.
The book also portrays the political crux of the 1990s and how things get impacted with what and how the media presents it to the normal people and how politics plays an agonised role in shaping the media coming out for public. The life Abbas, as written, is layered. It unfolds as we dive deep into the book. It speaks about indecisiveness can lead to a life filled with regrets, guilt and remorse, making a person all secluded.
Initially the character of Abbas, seemed aloof and unrelatable but as the book set in motion, the depth of the character and the beautiful character building was displayed and it made the book a page turner. However, I felt at places the book got dragged a bit, avoiding which could have given a great pace to the book. Also sometimes getting a hold of all the characters was a task but eventually it all gets along.
I am glad I got to read this book as it gives you the space to explore the unique writing style and at the same time makes a place in your mind which then wants to get back to the book soon.
So, in a nutshell, this is a good book which will open you to delving insides basic human emotions, nature and life in general and also will gift you the experience of reading some fluid narrative.
The book also portrays the political crux of the 1990s and how things get impacted with what and how the media presents it to the normal people and how politics plays an agonised role in shaping the media coming out for public. The life Abbas, as written, is layered. It unfolds as we dive deep into the book. It speaks about indecisiveness can lead to a life filled with regrets, guilt and remorse, making a person all secluded.
Initially the character of Abbas, seemed aloof and unrelatable but as the book set in motion, the depth of the character and the beautiful character building was displayed and it made the book a page turner. However, I felt at places the book got dragged a bit, avoiding which could have given a great pace to the book. Also sometimes getting a hold of all the characters was a task but eventually it all gets along.
I am glad I got to read this book as it gives you the space to explore the unique writing style and at the same time makes a place in your mind which then wants to get back to the book soon.
So, in a nutshell, this is a good book which will open you to delving insides basic human emotions, nature and life in general and also will gift you the experience of reading some fluid narrative.
June 25, 2021
"Time has to work on the sense of loss, squeeze the heart over lonely days and nights to churn out art from pain."
A book, set in 1990s, with a backdrop of escalating violence in West Asia, a Middle aged bachelor, Abbas heading the editorial at a newspaper leading a life of confusion, stuck between ifs and maybes, is my latest read which touched my heart. Abbas is a character one can talk about but feel more, inside. He is surrounded by loveliness where people come and go from his life at their own discretion, without bothering the state of others mind. He is indecisive, and goes by the flow allowing being used by the people who landed him great troubles.
Working in Gulf, he sees around how people come there to make money for their families, how survival there is the last thing comes to their minds, how people from different parts of the world work together, but never fail to express their true self, or rather identity at the time of crisis. Mirror, a symbolic newspaper where an Indian, Pakistani, Chinese, Sudanese, and all others work together carrying their own grudges against one another, led by Matt, the evergreen ruler.
This book is something I will read at the time of crisis myself, because one learns many things from the perspective of Abbas. The themes like child sex abuse, identity, power, corruption, money, slavery, etc are all beautifully presented by the author. I also loved how the narrative, third person narrative, takes one from one place to another, linking events and situations. Something which we experience in our real life. It is a must read for all. I loved it.
A book, set in 1990s, with a backdrop of escalating violence in West Asia, a Middle aged bachelor, Abbas heading the editorial at a newspaper leading a life of confusion, stuck between ifs and maybes, is my latest read which touched my heart. Abbas is a character one can talk about but feel more, inside. He is surrounded by loveliness where people come and go from his life at their own discretion, without bothering the state of others mind. He is indecisive, and goes by the flow allowing being used by the people who landed him great troubles.
Working in Gulf, he sees around how people come there to make money for their families, how survival there is the last thing comes to their minds, how people from different parts of the world work together, but never fail to express their true self, or rather identity at the time of crisis. Mirror, a symbolic newspaper where an Indian, Pakistani, Chinese, Sudanese, and all others work together carrying their own grudges against one another, led by Matt, the evergreen ruler.
This book is something I will read at the time of crisis myself, because one learns many things from the perspective of Abbas. The themes like child sex abuse, identity, power, corruption, money, slavery, etc are all beautifully presented by the author. I also loved how the narrative, third person narrative, takes one from one place to another, linking events and situations. Something which we experience in our real life. It is a must read for all. I loved it.
July 14, 2021
Like the ebb and flow of the sultry winds of the West Asia, comes the evocative and contemplative tale of Abbas. A young proofreader working in a State-funded newspaper, Abbas has a melancholic charm about himself that is hard to ignore. His journey through the newsroom and his relation with his colleagues- a global camaraderie – focusses on todays cosmopolitanism while highlighting the prejudices emanating from it. His career is filled with ups and downs including the knowledge of a secret, so devious that it can shake the core of his existence in the Sheikh-ruled country. Shamal Days is about the decisions taken and not taken by Abbas to ensure all unwanted experiences out of his life just the way he filters words for the newspaper.
Abbas and his thoughts represent the several South Asians who venture into the Gulf with a hope of a brighter future for themselves and their families. But does a secure future always await them? Or they tend to slog through the heat, day and night to make ends meet. Loneliness grips them and the dejected heaviness is hard to shove off. To make matters worse, migrants are always seen as ‘others’ no matter how long they reside in the country. Distances – from loved ones and in the hearts of the natives of the country- often take people like Abbas on an almost meditative ride of memories, haves and have nots, and an unpredictable future.
Shamal Days connects with the readers due to its cosmopolitanism and immigrational crises. It dissects the layers of thoughts in an individual and takes the readers on a realistic voyage of life in the desert.
Rating: 4.5/5
Abbas and his thoughts represent the several South Asians who venture into the Gulf with a hope of a brighter future for themselves and their families. But does a secure future always await them? Or they tend to slog through the heat, day and night to make ends meet. Loneliness grips them and the dejected heaviness is hard to shove off. To make matters worse, migrants are always seen as ‘others’ no matter how long they reside in the country. Distances – from loved ones and in the hearts of the natives of the country- often take people like Abbas on an almost meditative ride of memories, haves and have nots, and an unpredictable future.
Shamal Days connects with the readers due to its cosmopolitanism and immigrational crises. It dissects the layers of thoughts in an individual and takes the readers on a realistic voyage of life in the desert.
Rating: 4.5/5
July 5, 2021
📑 : 305
🔖 : #fiction
--
🏜️ Many of us or our acquaintances must have dreamt of working in foreign countries. Gulf countries are quite popular among such jobseekers for their multitude of job opportunities. With dreams in their eyes and pride in their families, youngsters end up working there. But do you think their later lives match up to their dreams? Does politics have an unprecedented hand in affecting such lives?
--
🏜️ Abbas, the protagonist, heads the editorial board of a small newspaper in the Arabian Gulf. He is beset by loneliness and surrounded by similar brooding people. His life is filled with turbulence, but then when presented with the opportunity to finally bring changes in his life, will he be able to achieve it? Or will indecision get the better of him?
--
🏜️The story is set in the 1990s with the escalating violence in West Asia serving as a backdrop. The small newsroom serves as the place where people from different backgrounds and their individual stories are shared!
--
🏜️ I liked how the author has presented the gripping story of an expatriate in West Asia. The story is split into two parts. We are moved and shocked by their lives and stumped by the political unrest. The poetic interpretations are weaved well into the narration!
--
🏜️ This book highlights the personal turmoils of people who dare to dream beyond the realms. The book has multiple characters that might confuse us, but the plot keeps us glued until the end. Recommended to those who love realistic fiction!
🔖 : #fiction
--
🏜️ Many of us or our acquaintances must have dreamt of working in foreign countries. Gulf countries are quite popular among such jobseekers for their multitude of job opportunities. With dreams in their eyes and pride in their families, youngsters end up working there. But do you think their later lives match up to their dreams? Does politics have an unprecedented hand in affecting such lives?
--
🏜️ Abbas, the protagonist, heads the editorial board of a small newspaper in the Arabian Gulf. He is beset by loneliness and surrounded by similar brooding people. His life is filled with turbulence, but then when presented with the opportunity to finally bring changes in his life, will he be able to achieve it? Or will indecision get the better of him?
--
🏜️The story is set in the 1990s with the escalating violence in West Asia serving as a backdrop. The small newsroom serves as the place where people from different backgrounds and their individual stories are shared!
--
🏜️ I liked how the author has presented the gripping story of an expatriate in West Asia. The story is split into two parts. We are moved and shocked by their lives and stumped by the political unrest. The poetic interpretations are weaved well into the narration!
--
🏜️ This book highlights the personal turmoils of people who dare to dream beyond the realms. The book has multiple characters that might confuse us, but the plot keeps us glued until the end. Recommended to those who love realistic fiction!
July 8, 2021
Let me start by saying, this book is a hidden-until-found gem! I mean, if Shashi Tharoor reads and reviews a piece of literature, you don't question its writing (content? sure!); and probably get a dictionary too, haha! And, that explains why it was a slow read - albeit, out of choice. It's not a book you'd like to rush over; you can, but probably shouldn't. Every bit of it, every paragraph has so much to give.
The writing style is extremely descriptive, yet absolutely economical with words, and definitely an aspiration for amateurs like me. I use too much "fat", as Abbas would put it. Sorry, can't help it, Abbas!
Set around 90's and early 2000s, it takes us on a nostalgic ride - I probably wasn't even aware of the world around me in those days! The newsroom rush, the office politics, the feeling of being an outsider - all resonates so well. A story very close to reality, with characters, especially Abbas, being as real as a next door neighbour; it takes us on a rollercoaster ride - mostly with downs than ups. Yet, keeping the adventure and anticipation alive in the readers.
And, idk about others, but I absolutely agree with the concept of "transferred pain"! It does help knowing that you're not the only one going through tragedy. Sadistic, but effective! Observations like these got me taking notes. And, write I did!
Overall, it's an unputdownable book which offers taste of life to its reader.
PS: It's one of those rare pieces which didn't make me smile enough, and yet permanently occupied a place in my heart!
The writing style is extremely descriptive, yet absolutely economical with words, and definitely an aspiration for amateurs like me. I use too much "fat", as Abbas would put it. Sorry, can't help it, Abbas!
Set around 90's and early 2000s, it takes us on a nostalgic ride - I probably wasn't even aware of the world around me in those days! The newsroom rush, the office politics, the feeling of being an outsider - all resonates so well. A story very close to reality, with characters, especially Abbas, being as real as a next door neighbour; it takes us on a rollercoaster ride - mostly with downs than ups. Yet, keeping the adventure and anticipation alive in the readers.
And, idk about others, but I absolutely agree with the concept of "transferred pain"! It does help knowing that you're not the only one going through tragedy. Sadistic, but effective! Observations like these got me taking notes. And, write I did!
Overall, it's an unputdownable book which offers taste of life to its reader.
PS: It's one of those rare pieces which didn't make me smile enough, and yet permanently occupied a place in my heart!
July 14, 2021
Abbas, a middle-aged bachelor who heads the editorial department at a newspaper in an imagined Arabian Gulf country, is plagued by loneliness and regret — a life marked by ifs and maybes, as well as the dreariness of the dry and dusty shamal winds. Will indecision get the best of him when he has the chance to finally make a change in his life, or will he be able to redirect his life?
This is the narrative of Abbas and the small newsroom that brings people – from different backgrounds and with individual experiences but shared editorial goof-ups – to a country established and governed by the expatriate workers, set in the 1990s with the rising conflict in West Asia as a backdrop.
A story that is very near to life, with characters that are genuine. However, the reader's sense of adventure and anticipation is maintained.
The writing style is incredibly descriptive while also being quite sparing with words.
Although the very poetic narration made it a lengthy read for me, it is well worth reading.
All of the characters have been well-developed, and each has played a significant role in the plot. The narrator's voice is deep and imapactful.
Shashi Tharoor, Benyamin, and Margaret Busby have also written about the book's distinctiveness.
My experience reading this was wholesome. I strongly recommend this book. Every page and line and word deserves our time and mind.
Rating 4.5/5
This is the narrative of Abbas and the small newsroom that brings people – from different backgrounds and with individual experiences but shared editorial goof-ups – to a country established and governed by the expatriate workers, set in the 1990s with the rising conflict in West Asia as a backdrop.
A story that is very near to life, with characters that are genuine. However, the reader's sense of adventure and anticipation is maintained.
The writing style is incredibly descriptive while also being quite sparing with words.
Although the very poetic narration made it a lengthy read for me, it is well worth reading.
All of the characters have been well-developed, and each has played a significant role in the plot. The narrator's voice is deep and imapactful.
Shashi Tharoor, Benyamin, and Margaret Busby have also written about the book's distinctiveness.
My experience reading this was wholesome. I strongly recommend this book. Every page and line and word deserves our time and mind.
Rating 4.5/5
June 23, 2021
“And he also remembered, strangely, the passing shamal that picked up sheets of sand outside, beyond the highway, and played it like a fountain, dropping it suddenly, like a child losing interest in its toy all of a sudden.”
When the drive for a wealthy life weighs on oneself, every opportunity, even the one of prospective migration to the Gulf, seems potential. Shamal Days is the story of Abbas, an Indian expatriate, working in a Gulf newsroom and numerous other individuals who have been brought together by the potent pull of desire and aspirations for striving.
Abbas’s story is the story of so many people who, seeking a better life, take a leap of faith towards the Arabian Gulf and other countries without thinking twice. This story gives an insight into the journey of an expatriate in a country that promises prosperity, but under the veil of such promises, delivers resentments and regrets to its seekers.
There are so many raw and crude emotions portrayed in the story that are going to present to you glimpses of a history unknown to many. It will also give you a perspective of the hold of politics on media and the news, how power wields the print. This book is really deep and summons undivided attention from the reader to comprehend its layers and dimensions.
I am glad that I read this book.
When the drive for a wealthy life weighs on oneself, every opportunity, even the one of prospective migration to the Gulf, seems potential. Shamal Days is the story of Abbas, an Indian expatriate, working in a Gulf newsroom and numerous other individuals who have been brought together by the potent pull of desire and aspirations for striving.
Abbas’s story is the story of so many people who, seeking a better life, take a leap of faith towards the Arabian Gulf and other countries without thinking twice. This story gives an insight into the journey of an expatriate in a country that promises prosperity, but under the veil of such promises, delivers resentments and regrets to its seekers.
There are so many raw and crude emotions portrayed in the story that are going to present to you glimpses of a history unknown to many. It will also give you a perspective of the hold of politics on media and the news, how power wields the print. This book is really deep and summons undivided attention from the reader to comprehend its layers and dimensions.
I am glad that I read this book.
Read
July 10, 2021Shamal (noun): a hot, dry north-westerly wind blowing across the Persian Gulf.
Did you ever think emigrate to some other nation if given a chance?
Tw : Glimpses of an abusive childhood, typical Indian family, bullying, violence in Gulf country.
Set in the 1990s in an imagined country in the Arabian Gulf, this story revolves around Abbas, who is an editorial head in a small newspaper - "Gulf Mirror" and his life stuck between "what ifs" and "maybes", engulfed in loneliness, agony and regret of past horrendous and terrible missteps. Presently he lives with only blame and umpteen distresses.
This book took me on a rollercoaster of emotions. This book took me on a journey from India to Gulf and prevalent issues of that decade left me gaping. In India, people literally celebrate those who emigrate to settle abroad but they fail to understand the hardships and difficulties, stereotypes, discrimination these non resident indians face in foreign land.
"No matter how many years they lived in the country, slogging it out in the sun, killing themselves day by day, knowingly estranging themselves from their own backyards and bedrooms back home, they would never become a part of the country - they would always remain expatriates, the second-class, indispensable residents"
This book also portrays how indecisiveness can turn the course of one's life.
Overall, it was a great read for me.
Did you ever think emigrate to some other nation if given a chance?
Tw : Glimpses of an abusive childhood, typical Indian family, bullying, violence in Gulf country.
Set in the 1990s in an imagined country in the Arabian Gulf, this story revolves around Abbas, who is an editorial head in a small newspaper - "Gulf Mirror" and his life stuck between "what ifs" and "maybes", engulfed in loneliness, agony and regret of past horrendous and terrible missteps. Presently he lives with only blame and umpteen distresses.
This book took me on a rollercoaster of emotions. This book took me on a journey from India to Gulf and prevalent issues of that decade left me gaping. In India, people literally celebrate those who emigrate to settle abroad but they fail to understand the hardships and difficulties, stereotypes, discrimination these non resident indians face in foreign land.
"No matter how many years they lived in the country, slogging it out in the sun, killing themselves day by day, knowingly estranging themselves from their own backyards and bedrooms back home, they would never become a part of the country - they would always remain expatriates, the second-class, indispensable residents"
This book also portrays how indecisiveness can turn the course of one's life.
Overall, it was a great read for me.
August 23, 2021
Shamal Days is a story of Abbas, a lonely Indian man away from his native place working as a newspaper editor in the Arabian Gulf. This story mostly revolves around journalism, office politics, cultural differences, loneliness, etc.
First thing first I am just in love with the writing of the whole story. The author has magically used his words to showcase the lives of expatriates away from their homes. The detailing of the lives of all the characters has been exhibited in a very outstanding way.
The story shows the reality of the lives of expatriates in a distant country. It shows how painful and unpleasant life can get in an unfamiliar place. It reveals the struggle of the people who move out of their country with the hope of getting a better life in a foreign country. I had tears at few places where I read about how hard life can get for them.
The story has many characters from different cultural backgrounds working in a small newsroom. These cultural differences lead to various conflicts and office politics. It was a little hard to keep track of all the characters so this time I numbered almost all the characters for not losing track😝.
This whole book made me feel sad, made me cry, and also made me laugh like a maniac at certain places for its irony. If you are someone who likes reading sad books, just go for it!!!
Highly recommended to readers(18+) 🥺💛
First thing first I am just in love with the writing of the whole story. The author has magically used his words to showcase the lives of expatriates away from their homes. The detailing of the lives of all the characters has been exhibited in a very outstanding way.
The story shows the reality of the lives of expatriates in a distant country. It shows how painful and unpleasant life can get in an unfamiliar place. It reveals the struggle of the people who move out of their country with the hope of getting a better life in a foreign country. I had tears at few places where I read about how hard life can get for them.
The story has many characters from different cultural backgrounds working in a small newsroom. These cultural differences lead to various conflicts and office politics. It was a little hard to keep track of all the characters so this time I numbered almost all the characters for not losing track😝.
This whole book made me feel sad, made me cry, and also made me laugh like a maniac at certain places for its irony. If you are someone who likes reading sad books, just go for it!!!
Highly recommended to readers(18+) 🥺💛
June 25, 2021
"He wished he could tuck away his memories into a box and bury it somewhere in the wilderness of the desert, where the next seasoned Shamal, sweeping layers of sand upon sand, layered in grooves, would conceal it beyond the reach of any man. " - Shamal Days, Sabin Iqbal.
Abbas is a middle-aged expatriate, living in a gulf country working for a newspaper as an editor, this is his story of what ifs and would haves, his life, his decisions, his faults, his brokenness and loneliness.
The historical backdrop is of the 90's, the book also discusses the tension in the Gulf countries. The condition of expatriates, the indifference by and for the potential 'potpourri of cultures' in Abbas's thoughts, that reside in the country.
"The small desert country was like a hive of bees- of expatriates who arrived from different parts of the world, only to work. To bend their backs in the sun and merciless heat, to turn their blood into money they could send home."
Abbas is not a small tea bringer or mine worker, but at a decent post so he feels that even hardships have left him alone.
Although he is a part of it, his ache lies in the heart, his hardships are formed from his own decisions, and because of how the people around him tricked and played with his emotions.
"You cannot vomit sorrows out of your system. Memories and regrets linger deep inside a person's heart."
Sabin Iqbal has successfully tugged at the heartstrings of every reader who has/will read the book, he writes about memory being a curse, how a good memory is all you've left to reminisce on in bad times and end up feeling even bitter because you can't have that again, the past ultimately reminding you of the present and the have nots.
Abbas's past life is filled with loss, abuse, trauma, love, betrayal, corrupt companions, momentarily made bad decisions. And at the heart of it all lies a desire to be loved, remembered, to leave a mark on people and come to terms with self.
The writing is a melody that will echo in your head after days, sad, hopeful, real, like the Shamal winds setting sandstorms in the heart.
Thanks to @harpercollinsin for the gifted copy.
Abbas is a middle-aged expatriate, living in a gulf country working for a newspaper as an editor, this is his story of what ifs and would haves, his life, his decisions, his faults, his brokenness and loneliness.
The historical backdrop is of the 90's, the book also discusses the tension in the Gulf countries. The condition of expatriates, the indifference by and for the potential 'potpourri of cultures' in Abbas's thoughts, that reside in the country.
"The small desert country was like a hive of bees- of expatriates who arrived from different parts of the world, only to work. To bend their backs in the sun and merciless heat, to turn their blood into money they could send home."
Abbas is not a small tea bringer or mine worker, but at a decent post so he feels that even hardships have left him alone.
Although he is a part of it, his ache lies in the heart, his hardships are formed from his own decisions, and because of how the people around him tricked and played with his emotions.
"You cannot vomit sorrows out of your system. Memories and regrets linger deep inside a person's heart."
Sabin Iqbal has successfully tugged at the heartstrings of every reader who has/will read the book, he writes about memory being a curse, how a good memory is all you've left to reminisce on in bad times and end up feeling even bitter because you can't have that again, the past ultimately reminding you of the present and the have nots.
Abbas's past life is filled with loss, abuse, trauma, love, betrayal, corrupt companions, momentarily made bad decisions. And at the heart of it all lies a desire to be loved, remembered, to leave a mark on people and come to terms with self.
The writing is a melody that will echo in your head after days, sad, hopeful, real, like the Shamal winds setting sandstorms in the heart.
Thanks to @harpercollinsin for the gifted copy.
July 2, 2021
𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗮𝘆𝘀: 𝗔 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹
#qotd Your favourite genre and why?
@harpercollinsin
Abbas looked out from his cabin. The end of every night in a newsroom was similar to the end of a funeral day. Silence overwhelmed sounds. The bursts of energy, so palpable early in the evening, had been spent, sapped by the hour. Finally, people left, and the handful that didn't, sat either brooding or moving about in slow motion.
Subtle observation and profound writing made this book visually sound. Abbas, the protagonist, is an editor at a small newspaper in Arabian Gulf. His life is full of turbulences. Abbas is beset by loneliness and the attendant regret - a life punctuated by ifs and maybes, and the dreariness of the dry and dusty shamal winds. Presented with the opportunity to finally bring change in his life, will indecision get the better of him or will he be able to steer his life away from his less-than-beautiful reality?
A gripping story set in the 1990s, with escalating violence in West Asia, about the forfeited ambitions, loneliness, betrayal, politics and scorching riddles of the gulf.
A moving and often shocking look at the lives of an expatriate in West Asia. This is excellent work in the realistic fiction genre. I recommend this book to every book lover.
#readwithak
#sabiniqbal
#qotd Your favourite genre and why?
@harpercollinsin
Abbas looked out from his cabin. The end of every night in a newsroom was similar to the end of a funeral day. Silence overwhelmed sounds. The bursts of energy, so palpable early in the evening, had been spent, sapped by the hour. Finally, people left, and the handful that didn't, sat either brooding or moving about in slow motion.
Subtle observation and profound writing made this book visually sound. Abbas, the protagonist, is an editor at a small newspaper in Arabian Gulf. His life is full of turbulences. Abbas is beset by loneliness and the attendant regret - a life punctuated by ifs and maybes, and the dreariness of the dry and dusty shamal winds. Presented with the opportunity to finally bring change in his life, will indecision get the better of him or will he be able to steer his life away from his less-than-beautiful reality?
A gripping story set in the 1990s, with escalating violence in West Asia, about the forfeited ambitions, loneliness, betrayal, politics and scorching riddles of the gulf.
A moving and often shocking look at the lives of an expatriate in West Asia. This is excellent work in the realistic fiction genre. I recommend this book to every book lover.
#readwithak
#sabiniqbal
August 27, 2021
Shamal Days by SABIN IQBAL is a portrayal of the life post independence of nations, the Middle East and Asian countries from the Britishers, carried in the eyes of aspiratiously liberated people.
Sabin carries the character in light, named Abbas, and how the life of people around him revolved who went to the Middle East in search of work from India. Abbas from his early age was hard working and dedicated towards journalism. He got appointed in THE GULF MIRROR as a proofreader, which he hated the most.
From being a proofreader to becoming an editor of the same, Abbas saw a lot happening in the backdrop from personal to social ups and downs.
But the story is incomplete if there is only Abbas in the picture, there is Sara, Ratnam and Mrs. Abdullah who made it more gripping. And one of them falls for Abbas equally, which brings us to the conclusion of the best prologue I have read since one month, his quest for knowing it, IS THAT A BOY OR A GIRL?
This book has two parts, one that talks about the journey of Abbas and the next one deals with the confrontation and acceptance.
I would recommend this book to the literary enthusiasts and budding writers for an amazing word bank and narrative reference.
Sabin carries the character in light, named Abbas, and how the life of people around him revolved who went to the Middle East in search of work from India. Abbas from his early age was hard working and dedicated towards journalism. He got appointed in THE GULF MIRROR as a proofreader, which he hated the most.
From being a proofreader to becoming an editor of the same, Abbas saw a lot happening in the backdrop from personal to social ups and downs.
But the story is incomplete if there is only Abbas in the picture, there is Sara, Ratnam and Mrs. Abdullah who made it more gripping. And one of them falls for Abbas equally, which brings us to the conclusion of the best prologue I have read since one month, his quest for knowing it, IS THAT A BOY OR A GIRL?
This book has two parts, one that talks about the journey of Abbas and the next one deals with the confrontation and acceptance.
I would recommend this book to the literary enthusiasts and budding writers for an amazing word bank and narrative reference.
July 1, 2021
"There’s a fine line between the peacefulness of solitude and the loneliness of isolation."
Shamal days('Shamal' means 'the wind that brings with it the sand from the desert'.)in the particular book Shamal refers to the winds of change in Abbas's life,who also happens to be our protagonist.
Abbas is an Indian emigrate who works as an editor in a Gulf newsroom running under the name "Gulf-mirror"
He migrated to Gulf with his friends in the search of work and to live their dreams but he committed some terrible mistakes in his career as well as in his life that left him with nothing but guilt and sorrow.
This book is not just about Abbas but about every emigrant and the hardships they face like being an outcast, working in terrible conditions,facing politics and finally trying to go back home....
Pain,remorse,betrayal,lust this book is embraced with a lot of common yet painful human hardships.
The writing style was very harmonious and I love how the author characterized every one.It was a little difficult at the start to grasp everything but with the continuation it became easier as interesting.
Shamal days('Shamal' means 'the wind that brings with it the sand from the desert'.)in the particular book Shamal refers to the winds of change in Abbas's life,who also happens to be our protagonist.
Abbas is an Indian emigrate who works as an editor in a Gulf newsroom running under the name "Gulf-mirror"
He migrated to Gulf with his friends in the search of work and to live their dreams but he committed some terrible mistakes in his career as well as in his life that left him with nothing but guilt and sorrow.
This book is not just about Abbas but about every emigrant and the hardships they face like being an outcast, working in terrible conditions,facing politics and finally trying to go back home....
Pain,remorse,betrayal,lust this book is embraced with a lot of common yet painful human hardships.
The writing style was very harmonious and I love how the author characterized every one.It was a little difficult at the start to grasp everything but with the continuation it became easier as interesting.
July 18, 2021
A middle aged bachelor heading the editorial at a newspaper in an imagined country in the Arabian gulf Abbas is beset loneliness and the attendant regret,
.
A life punctuated by ifs and maybes , and the dreariness of the dry and dusty shamal winds. Presented with the opportunity to finally bring about change in his life.
.
Book is set in the 1990s , with the escalating violence in West Asia serving as a backdrop this is the story of Abbas and of the small new rooms that brings together people from different background and with individual stories but shares editorial goof ups to a country built and run by the expatriate workforce.
.
The best book i have read in this month book has Hard truth , author has written with his full heart, book has the untold story of migrant in the gulf , and it highlights the influence of politics , it's the tale of betrayal , hardship and realistic fiction which will make you think , it not tells only the character Abbas story but the story of human's it will teach you a lot 🥺i just love the plot and writting is super ! Everyone should try to read it !
.
A life punctuated by ifs and maybes , and the dreariness of the dry and dusty shamal winds. Presented with the opportunity to finally bring about change in his life.
.
Book is set in the 1990s , with the escalating violence in West Asia serving as a backdrop this is the story of Abbas and of the small new rooms that brings together people from different background and with individual stories but shares editorial goof ups to a country built and run by the expatriate workforce.
.
The best book i have read in this month book has Hard truth , author has written with his full heart, book has the untold story of migrant in the gulf , and it highlights the influence of politics , it's the tale of betrayal , hardship and realistic fiction which will make you think , it not tells only the character Abbas story but the story of human's it will teach you a lot 🥺i just love the plot and writting is super ! Everyone should try to read it !
June 21, 2021
Abbas, the editor of the newspaper "Mirror" is leading lonely life since his childhood. He has decided to work in the Arabian Gulf instead of settling down in via hometown Alleppey, Kerala. All his life Abbas is filled with regrets and guilts about the things he has done in past.
The story set in the 1990s shows the horrific incidents that took place in the Arabian Gulf along with flashbacks of Abbas's past. His abusive childhood, memories of the past, his career as a proofreader, searching for Saddam Hussain and many secrets of his life.
The story shows both Abbas's personal life, his regrets as well as the political issues in the Gulf. The story shows us the issues regarding the expatriates, loneliness, the struggle in the Gulf region etc. The story is told in a very detailed way which might be a bit boring for few like me but the essence of the story was portrayed really well. The language was easy to understand and the characters were very impressive.
Thank you @harpercollins for the review copy in exchange for my honest review.
The story set in the 1990s shows the horrific incidents that took place in the Arabian Gulf along with flashbacks of Abbas's past. His abusive childhood, memories of the past, his career as a proofreader, searching for Saddam Hussain and many secrets of his life.
The story shows both Abbas's personal life, his regrets as well as the political issues in the Gulf. The story shows us the issues regarding the expatriates, loneliness, the struggle in the Gulf region etc. The story is told in a very detailed way which might be a bit boring for few like me but the essence of the story was portrayed really well. The language was easy to understand and the characters were very impressive.
Thank you @harpercollins for the review copy in exchange for my honest review.
July 6, 2021
These days everything happens at a rapid pace . Be it the technological advancements or the changing world. But very few people might have noticed that even the novels these days have become far too fast paced and the character development is rare to find.
This book comes as a breath of fresh air atleast as far as the pace is concerned. The things happen layer by layer and gradually readers are made aware of happenings around Abbas ,the protagonist of this novel. Though there are various junctures when book becomes too slow and I was losing my interest but still it is a welcoming shift from the norm .
The story shows how the various strifes and struggles faced by people of a particular region and introduces us to a world less heard of. Though due to multiple characters and sometimes not clear demarcation between opinions and reality , it gets cumbersome to make out some things . The cover disappointed me but besides that its a decent work of fiction though will only appeal to a specific segment of readers.
This book comes as a breath of fresh air atleast as far as the pace is concerned. The things happen layer by layer and gradually readers are made aware of happenings around Abbas ,the protagonist of this novel. Though there are various junctures when book becomes too slow and I was losing my interest but still it is a welcoming shift from the norm .
The story shows how the various strifes and struggles faced by people of a particular region and introduces us to a world less heard of. Though due to multiple characters and sometimes not clear demarcation between opinions and reality , it gets cumbersome to make out some things . The cover disappointed me but besides that its a decent work of fiction though will only appeal to a specific segment of readers.
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