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Granta: The Magazine of New Writing #112
Granta 112: Pakistan
Packed with almost 200 million people speaking nearly sixty languages, brought into nationhood under the auspices of a single religion, but wracked with deep separatist fissures and the destabilizing forces of ongoing conflicts in Iran, Afghanistan and Kashmir, Pakistan is one of the most dynamic places in the world today.
From the writers who are living outside the country - Daniyal Mueenuddin, Kamila Shamsie and Nadeem Aslam - to those going back - Mohsin Hamid and Mohammed Hanif - to those who are living there and writing in Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Baluchi and English, there is a startling opportunity to draw together an exciting collection of voices at the forefront of a literary renaissance.
Granta 112: Pakistan will seize this moment, bringing to life the landscape and culture of the country in fiction, reportage, memoir, travelogue and poetry. Like the magazine's issues on India and Australia, its release will be a watershed moment critically and a chance to celebrate the corona of talent which has burst onto the English language publishing world in recent years.
From the writers who are living outside the country - Daniyal Mueenuddin, Kamila Shamsie and Nadeem Aslam - to those going back - Mohsin Hamid and Mohammed Hanif - to those who are living there and writing in Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Baluchi and English, there is a startling opportunity to draw together an exciting collection of voices at the forefront of a literary renaissance.
Granta 112: Pakistan will seize this moment, bringing to life the landscape and culture of the country in fiction, reportage, memoir, travelogue and poetry. Like the magazine's issues on India and Australia, its release will be a watershed moment critically and a chance to celebrate the corona of talent which has burst onto the English language publishing world in recent years.
288 pages, Paperback
First published September 2, 2010
22 people are currently reading
543 people want to read
About the author
John Freeman
55 books286 followersNote: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
John Freeman is an award-winning writer and book critic who has written for numerous publications, including The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, The Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, and The Wall Street Journal. Freeman won the 2007 James Patterson Pageturner Award for his work as the president of the National Book Critics Circle, and was the editor of Granta from 2009 to 2013. He lives in New York City, where he teaches at NYU and edits a new literary biannual called Freeman's.
John Freeman is an award-winning writer and book critic who has written for numerous publications, including The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, The Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, and The Wall Street Journal. Freeman won the 2007 James Patterson Pageturner Award for his work as the president of the National Book Critics Circle, and was the editor of Granta from 2009 to 2013. He lives in New York City, where he teaches at NYU and edits a new literary biannual called Freeman's.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
December 18, 2020
Granta,the British quarterly,published a Pakistan edition in 2010. It includes the work of some well known Pakistani writers,some history,some poetry and a look at terror attacks,that were taking place at the time. Also has some interesting photographs,and artwork.
Mohsin Hamid's short story,A Beheading,is the best piece of fiction here. (It was written at the time,when the Taliban were actually beheading people). Fatima Bhutto's essay bored me. Basharat Peer's article,Kashmir's Forever War,was interesting.
I'm not too keen on Nadeem Aslam. Kamila Shamsie's detailed look at Pakistani pop music,is interesting as well.
There are also excerpts from the books of Uzma Aslam Khan,and Mohammad Hanif.
I skipped quite a few articles,but overall,it is an interesting collection.
Mohsin Hamid's short story,A Beheading,is the best piece of fiction here. (It was written at the time,when the Taliban were actually beheading people). Fatima Bhutto's essay bored me. Basharat Peer's article,Kashmir's Forever War,was interesting.
I'm not too keen on Nadeem Aslam. Kamila Shamsie's detailed look at Pakistani pop music,is interesting as well.
There are also excerpts from the books of Uzma Aslam Khan,and Mohammad Hanif.
I skipped quite a few articles,but overall,it is an interesting collection.
December 26, 2018
3.5 stars
Every Pakistani MUST read Leila in the Wilderness by Nadim Aslam (titular story). It is absolutely mind-blowing and why I even read the rest of the stories. But every other work featured pales in comparison to the beauty of the first story. Definitely a must read
Every Pakistani MUST read Leila in the Wilderness by Nadim Aslam (titular story). It is absolutely mind-blowing and why I even read the rest of the stories. But every other work featured pales in comparison to the beauty of the first story. Definitely a must read
February 4, 2011
I think everyone needs to read this. No, really. This small but dense volume brings home the realities, the hopes and dreams, the desperation, the creativity, the complexity of modern Pakistan in a way that lurid news stories about "Islamization" and the Taliban never can. It contains a myriad of explorations--fictional, journalistic, poetic, artistic--of what it means to be Pakistani. It was at times frightening, at times inspiring, but I came out of it feeling like I have a much greater understanding of what the world is like for the parts of my family that still live in Pakistan, and even those who have become part of the South Asian diaspora and now live in the UK or US.
March 14, 2015
When I began the first story in this issue, Nadeem Aslam's "Leila in the Wilderness," it felt eerily familiar. It happens that I had recently read Krupabai Satthianadhan's Kamala: The Story of a Hindu Child-Wife, a relentlessly grim 19th century realist novel about a child-bride oppressed by her husband's family. Though Leila is Muslim, rather than Hindu, the story began the same way -- a bride in her early teens, beaten for producing girl babies (who mysteriously disappear) and continually browbeaten by her mother-in-law. However, this story moves into post-Rushdie territory by shifting to magical realism, and turns out very differently indeed.
The other standout for me was Uzma Aslam Khan's "Ice, Mating," where the culture clash between an adult immigrant from Pakistan and his American-raised girlfriend, and their differing ideas of "home" come to the forefront. Kamila Shamie's "Pop Idols" was a fascinating piece of reporting; though her topic was Pakistani rock bands, their interaction with a larger cultural and political context is what truly fascinates. Mohsin Hamid's "A Beheading" reminded me a little of the end of Kafka's The Trial; Jamil Ahmad's "The Sins of the Mother" was devastating.
The other standout for me was Uzma Aslam Khan's "Ice, Mating," where the culture clash between an adult immigrant from Pakistan and his American-raised girlfriend, and their differing ideas of "home" come to the forefront. Kamila Shamie's "Pop Idols" was a fascinating piece of reporting; though her topic was Pakistani rock bands, their interaction with a larger cultural and political context is what truly fascinates. Mohsin Hamid's "A Beheading" reminded me a little of the end of Kafka's The Trial; Jamil Ahmad's "The Sins of the Mother" was devastating.
March 14, 2019
Memorable Quotes
Leila in the Wilderness – Nadeem Aslam
“The divide wasn’t just on the surface: an ‘underground wall’ – delving to the depth of fifteen feet – kept the dishonourable corpses separate from the honourable ones.”
“The strength with which a molar holds on to the jaw when you have it extracted is as nothing to the strength with which the soul is attached to the body. When they begin to tear away from each other, the torment is unbearable.”
“Allah in His wisdom gave us five external senses, and five internal – common sense, estimation, recollection, reflection and imagination.”
Kashmir’s Forever War – Basharat Peer
“It doesn’t matter how many times I come back, the frequency of arrival never diminishes the joy of homecoming…”
“The dead speak in Kashmir, often more forcefully than the living.”
Ice, Mating – Uzma Aslam Khan
"Converging is what divided us."
Butt and Bhatti – Mohammad Hanif
"He has been a customer of women and occasionally their tormentor but never a lover. He believes that being a lover is something that falls somewhere between paying them and slapping them around."
Arithmetic on the Frontier – Declan Walsh
"Carrying guns is a common fashion around here,' Kamal told me as we bumped along. Like a woman wears a necklace, this is our jewellery."
"...disputes dragged on for decades, handed from father to son like cherished heirlooms. 'You never forgive,' he said. 'You may wait twenty, thirty, fifty years - and then you take revenge."
"Roasting hospitality, smouldering pride, cold and clinical revenge - thus it has always been among the Pashtun."
"Today the population has swelled to 700,000 - as Kamal puts it, 'Sexual intercourse is appealing to everyone. Everyone!"
"Only 12 per cent of women can read and write - unsurprising, perhaps, considering how rarely they leave their houses..."
"...a guilty man may delay jirga justice until his enemies have knocked off an equal number of his own relatives; thereby evening up the score. This is what Kamal calls a 'trick of the trade'."
Pop Idols – Kamila Shamsie
"…I merely affirmed what every adolescent growing up, like me, in Karachi could tell you – youth culture was Foreign. The privileged among us could visit it, but none of us could live there."
"...East met West in its adulation of the gun and its hatred of the godless Soviets."
White Girls – Sarfraz Manzoor
"I would look at the rapt expressions on the faces of the white girls and I could practically hear their knickers sliding to their ankles."
Leila in the Wilderness – Nadeem Aslam
“The divide wasn’t just on the surface: an ‘underground wall’ – delving to the depth of fifteen feet – kept the dishonourable corpses separate from the honourable ones.”
“The strength with which a molar holds on to the jaw when you have it extracted is as nothing to the strength with which the soul is attached to the body. When they begin to tear away from each other, the torment is unbearable.”
“Allah in His wisdom gave us five external senses, and five internal – common sense, estimation, recollection, reflection and imagination.”
Kashmir’s Forever War – Basharat Peer
“It doesn’t matter how many times I come back, the frequency of arrival never diminishes the joy of homecoming…”
“The dead speak in Kashmir, often more forcefully than the living.”
Ice, Mating – Uzma Aslam Khan
"Converging is what divided us."
Butt and Bhatti – Mohammad Hanif
"He has been a customer of women and occasionally their tormentor but never a lover. He believes that being a lover is something that falls somewhere between paying them and slapping them around."
Arithmetic on the Frontier – Declan Walsh
"Carrying guns is a common fashion around here,' Kamal told me as we bumped along. Like a woman wears a necklace, this is our jewellery."
"...disputes dragged on for decades, handed from father to son like cherished heirlooms. 'You never forgive,' he said. 'You may wait twenty, thirty, fifty years - and then you take revenge."
"Roasting hospitality, smouldering pride, cold and clinical revenge - thus it has always been among the Pashtun."
"Today the population has swelled to 700,000 - as Kamal puts it, 'Sexual intercourse is appealing to everyone. Everyone!"
"Only 12 per cent of women can read and write - unsurprising, perhaps, considering how rarely they leave their houses..."
"...a guilty man may delay jirga justice until his enemies have knocked off an equal number of his own relatives; thereby evening up the score. This is what Kamal calls a 'trick of the trade'."
Pop Idols – Kamila Shamsie
"…I merely affirmed what every adolescent growing up, like me, in Karachi could tell you – youth culture was Foreign. The privileged among us could visit it, but none of us could live there."
"...East met West in its adulation of the gun and its hatred of the godless Soviets."
White Girls – Sarfraz Manzoor
"I would look at the rapt expressions on the faces of the white girls and I could practically hear their knickers sliding to their ankles."
October 7, 2018
outstanding
December 17, 2010
Interesting issue of Granta. When I started reading it, I was irritated by the characters of the mother and son in the first story, Leila in the Wilderness, so much so that I had to abandon the issue for a period of time. However, when I came back to begin reading the issue again, the story picked up its pace and proved more interesting with its mystical realism-like ending although those two characters continued to be so corrupt, self-serving, downright evil through out the remainder of the story. This issue turned out to be less a fiction issue and more a nonfiction reporting, memoir issue than I had expected. Nevertheless the insights offered throughout the issue satisfied. After the previous few disappoints from issues of Granta, I felt the publication returned to good form with this issue with its focus on Pakistan and writers from that country.
October 26, 2010
I read the first piece, "Leila in the Wilderness" by Nadeem Aslam, last. It is a beautiful piece of magical realism whose story harkened back to the pieces, fiction, memoir and reporting, I'd read before. I guess if I read the Granta from beginning to end, it would have foreshadowed the pieces that followed. This was a collection of works, prose, poetry and graphic arts that offered a deep look into Pakistan. I was engrossed.
November 1, 2010
This "magazine" consists of several talented authors, commentators and journalists. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this mix of writing voices and mediums. It's a great way to learn some about Pakistan and the region. I will say that Nadeem Aslam remains my wholehearted favorite. His writing, on so many levels, is pure joy and makes reading an absolute perfect activity.
November 15, 2010
Wonderful selection of work, mainly by Pakistani writers but also a few pieces by writers familiar with Pakistan. Many of the authors are well-known but there are several unknowns, as well as some translations.
May 20, 2012
My favorite was "Ice, Mating" by Uzma Aslam Khan. I had read her novels Trespassing and The Geometry of God already; after reading this, I remain a true fan. (Some of the art in this granta edition was nice too.)
November 7, 2011
I've only read "The Beheading," a harrowing short story. Love the photography and the colorful artwork on the cover. Need to read more.
October 31, 2010
Fabulous anthology of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art. The inferior pieces are balanced by overpowering stories and accounts. A must-read for anyone with an interest in South Asian writing.
November 9, 2010
A rockstar journal covering an urgent and important topic. Not to be missed.
May 13, 2014
A few very good stories but the rest was hard going.
August 21, 2011
I enjoyed this issue of Granta way more than expected. This year I've been doing ok at expanding my reading horizons a bit further beyond my beloved American literature and I think this Granta came at the right moment.
This issue has too many pieces that I liked. So, at the risk of not narrowing down enough, here we go with my long list of special mentions:
- Leila in the Wilderness by Nadeem Aslam -- Opening short story of the issue. Also how I got to know Aslam for the first time.
- Portrait of Jinnah by Jane Perlez -- For a West European like me with zero knowledge about Pakistan this was a very informative piece. Interesting discovery: the name Pakistan comes from the initials of Punjab, Afghanistan, Kashmir and Sind; and from Baluchistan, the 'stan' part meaning land.
- Ice, Mating by Uzma Aslam Khan -- Beautiful short story about a couple of Pakistani that meets in California. Nice quote: 'We said 'opposites attract' and we were right. Converging is what divided us.'
- The House by the Gallows by Intizar Hussain -- Pakistani writer Hussain talks about dealing with censorship. 'Along with religion, an unthinking nationalism had become the other god of Pakistan.'
- A Beheading by Mohsin Hamid -- Short and stark. Impossible to get it out of your head.
- Restless by Aamer Hussein -- Story of a boy that moves from Bombay to London. As it turns out, it matters little where you come from and where you move to. The themes characterizing puberty and being a foreigner are the same regardless of ethnicity and origin. 'Pakistan divided. East Wing, West Wing, we'd called its distant limbs, but the body that lay between them belonged to another vehicle, almost all of India: and how long could we fly together with unmatched wings?'
This issue has too many pieces that I liked. So, at the risk of not narrowing down enough, here we go with my long list of special mentions:
- Leila in the Wilderness by Nadeem Aslam -- Opening short story of the issue. Also how I got to know Aslam for the first time.
- Portrait of Jinnah by Jane Perlez -- For a West European like me with zero knowledge about Pakistan this was a very informative piece. Interesting discovery: the name Pakistan comes from the initials of Punjab, Afghanistan, Kashmir and Sind; and from Baluchistan, the 'stan' part meaning land.
- Ice, Mating by Uzma Aslam Khan -- Beautiful short story about a couple of Pakistani that meets in California. Nice quote: 'We said 'opposites attract' and we were right. Converging is what divided us.'
- The House by the Gallows by Intizar Hussain -- Pakistani writer Hussain talks about dealing with censorship. 'Along with religion, an unthinking nationalism had become the other god of Pakistan.'
- A Beheading by Mohsin Hamid -- Short and stark. Impossible to get it out of your head.
- Restless by Aamer Hussein -- Story of a boy that moves from Bombay to London. As it turns out, it matters little where you come from and where you move to. The themes characterizing puberty and being a foreigner are the same regardless of ethnicity and origin. 'Pakistan divided. East Wing, West Wing, we'd called its distant limbs, but the body that lay between them belonged to another vehicle, almost all of India: and how long could we fly together with unmatched wings?'
December 4, 2013
Fascinating anthology. 'Leila in The Wilderness' touched a cord within me about the backwardness of obstetrical practice in countries like India and Pakistan where superstition still has most poeple tightly in its grip. The very fact that the characters don't know (or won't believe) that the gender of the new-born infant depends solely upon the man's ejaculation demonstrates the backwardness of their highly-chauvinistic belief system. The story on the Sheedi community by Fatima Bhutto also left me fascinated. However my heart was most broken by the last story titled 'The Sins of The Mother' left me rather melancholy.
I also enjoyed the writings on the changing face of Pakistani popular music. I am a huge fan of the Pakistan Coke Studio and have watched every season spellbound. Great anthology about a land that holds great charm and affection in my heart as it was once home to my grand-parents and because of all those wonderful, highly-bright and beautiful people i have forged friendships with during my tie as an undergrad in America and then later wile pursuing my Masters degree in London.
I'm totally convinced that all the new writing and music coming out of Pakistan is going to be world class as the rich experiences most Pakistani residents have to face on a daily basis make for stellar, angst-filled stories. May themight of your pens never dimish and may their nibs stay forever sabre-sharp!
I also enjoyed the writings on the changing face of Pakistani popular music. I am a huge fan of the Pakistan Coke Studio and have watched every season spellbound. Great anthology about a land that holds great charm and affection in my heart as it was once home to my grand-parents and because of all those wonderful, highly-bright and beautiful people i have forged friendships with during my tie as an undergrad in America and then later wile pursuing my Masters degree in London.
I'm totally convinced that all the new writing and music coming out of Pakistan is going to be world class as the rich experiences most Pakistani residents have to face on a daily basis make for stellar, angst-filled stories. May themight of your pens never dimish and may their nibs stay forever sabre-sharp!
February 28, 2013
The Granta collection is a carefully edited, multi-facet read. It includes stories and essay, poetry and photography. And the cheerful, colorful cover itself gives the read a different tune, even though some of the stories are painful and tragic. But it also includes an amazing story about the mountains of Pakistan: "Ice, Mating" by Uzma Aslam Khan, about creating a glacier: ""After five winters, the ice blocks - one male, one female - would begin to creep downhill, growing into a natural glacier.."
Who knew?
The story that fascinated me most in the Granta collection: "Pop Idols" by Kamila Shamsie. In a mere 14 pages, she tells so much about life in Pakistan, how it was to grow up there, and how national and international politics influenced everything, including pop bands.
(this is part of a longer book review of "high altitude reads" as part of a global reading challenge, more here: http://virtual-notes.blogspot.de/2013... )
Who knew?
The story that fascinated me most in the Granta collection: "Pop Idols" by Kamila Shamsie. In a mere 14 pages, she tells so much about life in Pakistan, how it was to grow up there, and how national and international politics influenced everything, including pop bands.
(this is part of a longer book review of "high altitude reads" as part of a global reading challenge, more here: http://virtual-notes.blogspot.de/2013... )
July 21, 2011
The subscription was a very welcome Christmas present (thanks, Mum...)
I very much like the idea of a collection of writings: fiction, non-fiction, poetry and photo-journalism, around a common theme. The highlights included the short story about a young woman kept as a virtual prisoner by a Machiavellian local politician, stories of Pakistan's pre-Al Haq pop scene(an aspect of the country I knew absolutely nothing of) and the poem about a plane coming in to land. Moreover, nothing in this edition really dragged. I think the 'theme' idea around which granta is put together works particularly well when the theme in question is a country of which I knew fairly little.
I very much like the idea of a collection of writings: fiction, non-fiction, poetry and photo-journalism, around a common theme. The highlights included the short story about a young woman kept as a virtual prisoner by a Machiavellian local politician, stories of Pakistan's pre-Al Haq pop scene(an aspect of the country I knew absolutely nothing of) and the poem about a plane coming in to land. Moreover, nothing in this edition really dragged. I think the 'theme' idea around which granta is put together works particularly well when the theme in question is a country of which I knew fairly little.
February 8, 2019
I liked this book, I did. The essays in particular, most of which I'd already read somewhere but enjoyed re-reading(Portrait of Jinnah by Jane Pelrez ended too abruptly for me but loved Declan Walsh's Arithmetic on the Frontier)
BUT maybe one day I'll be able to read about brown men with a hankering for white women without grimacing and find some kind of significance in it, and maybe I'll be able to read one of Nadeem Aslam's novels/stories and be able to tell them apart, and maybe Hari Kunzru is right in that art from Pakistan cannot help but be political in some form.
All I can say though is read this for Jamil Ahmed. And then go read the Wondering Falcon.
BUT maybe one day I'll be able to read about brown men with a hankering for white women without grimacing and find some kind of significance in it, and maybe I'll be able to read one of Nadeem Aslam's novels/stories and be able to tell them apart, and maybe Hari Kunzru is right in that art from Pakistan cannot help but be political in some form.
All I can say though is read this for Jamil Ahmed. And then go read the Wondering Falcon.
March 11, 2011
Not one of my all-time Granta favorites. But good nonetheless.
November 11, 2011
Wow. Is there any 'happy' Pakistani literature? This book needed at least one story that had a pleasant/'feel good' ending. (I suppose one of the biographical pieces ended well.)
December 22, 2012
Some interesting stories, a broad picture of Pakistani life and tribal customs
December 9, 2014
Pieces are hit/miss.
June 7, 2015
I reserve my Review until August. Its too early in June
May 1, 2018
Horrifically violent cover to cover; despite some good writing, this book invokes more fear than sympathy for Pakistan.
April 29, 2020
I liked his issue, but also it does make Pakistan seem like a a tribal land where women are oppressed and terrorists behead people. Except, overseas Pakistanis are hip (and annoyingly self-absorbed). I knew this was a popular critique of this issue, so its been lying on my shelf for ten years!
Nadeem Aslam, Intizar Hussain and the non-fiction and reports are really excellent. The rest is okay. I don't understand why there's a piece on Popular culture that a non-Pakistani reader would not care about or understand. Shamsi herself is far far from an expert on the matter (and no one calls the clothing brand "J." "J dot").
The rest of the fiction was okay. I was especially annoyed by Uzma Aslam Khan's "she not like other Pakistani girls" protagonist/love interest. Theres threes stories about diaspora experiences (2 too many). None really treat the subject with any nuance, besides the question of sex and marriage from the male perspective.
Nadeem Aslam, Intizar Hussain and the non-fiction and reports are really excellent. The rest is okay. I don't understand why there's a piece on Popular culture that a non-Pakistani reader would not care about or understand. Shamsi herself is far far from an expert on the matter (and no one calls the clothing brand "J." "J dot").
The rest of the fiction was okay. I was especially annoyed by Uzma Aslam Khan's "she not like other Pakistani girls" protagonist/love interest. Theres threes stories about diaspora experiences (2 too many). None really treat the subject with any nuance, besides the question of sex and marriage from the male perspective.
July 11, 2022
Fantastic collection of stories, essays and poems that throw light on Pakistan - the country, it’s society , politics and culture . Each piece is unique bringing out the beauty of the place as well as its problems . You travel through the length and breadth of the country - from its cities to the mountains in the North West Frontier Province with a feeling of wonder and intrigue.
Leila in the wilderness and Pop idols were my absolute favourites in the book ! So glad to have been recommended this
Leila in the wilderness and Pop idols were my absolute favourites in the book ! So glad to have been recommended this
September 12, 2020
I read this book back in 2010 and was blown away by Nadeem Aslams 'Leila in the Wilderness'. I somehow rediscovered the volume during the 2020 lockdown and was pleasantly reaquainted by the short novellas...I highly recommend this to anyone.
April 24, 2024
Fascinating insights into the real life of a people, a landscape, a political world, a culture, a history, a nation. (But I really miss the editor’s introduction to frame the collection in some kind of context.)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews