Pakistan discussion

Worthy Pakistani authors in your opinion and their best title/book?

Nasim hijazi's been an all time favourite. So is Ashfaque Ahmed. Currently i guess none is worth a dime. Especially when it comes to history

I think Bano Qudsia is one of the finest authors of Pakistan her novel Raja Gidh is a must read for people who really like good books.

@mahrukh ... Raja gidh is by Ban Qudsia!

sorry but i didn't get what u mean?

i wad under the impression that this book is by some other writer

No its by Bano Qudsia i have read it.Great book though.

okies... my bad

Thank you Mansoor and Mahrukh for your comments. I agree with the names you both mentioned. I was also wondering about pakistani English writers?

I think Mohsin Hamid and Mohammed Hanif have produced some interesting English literature.

Daniyal Mueenuddin's In Other Rooms, Other Wonders is definitely a book to check out http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46...

Hashim-Nadeem's-really-good.-he-raises-awareness-about-those-topics-in-his-books-which-most-authors-won't-dare-to.
"Muqaddas"-and-"Khuda-aur-Mohabbat"-are-favourite-books-of-mine.

My favourite's Kamila Shamsie :)

Anum wrote: "My favourite's Kamila Shamsie :)"

I like her work too :)
I've only read Kamila Shamsie till now, didn't get a chance to read any other Pakistani authors.

By the way feel free to recommend your favourites from the Pakistani authors :]

I tried reading Bapsi Sidhwa's books but couldn't be bothered to finish them so can't say anything positive, and I'm not much of a fan of Moshin Hamid either cause I didn't like Moth smoke. But if you want to read really good Pakistani literature, i recommend you read the English translations of works by Umera Ahmed. She wrote Pir-e-Kamil, also La hasil (The Hollow Pursuits), both are absolutely great.

And if you haven't read Kartography by Kamila Shamsie that's her best. 'In the city by the sea' is just ok, but Kartography is amazing.

Anum wrote: "I tried reading Bapsi Sidhwa's books but couldn't be bothered to finish them so can't say anything positive, and I'm not much of a fan of Moshin Hamid either cause I didn't like Moth smoke. But if ..."

Thank you for the recommendations :]
& Both of the Shamsie's novel you mentioned are on my to-read lists.
I'll sure check the others out which you mentioned.

Anum wrote: "I tried reading Bapsi Sidhwa's books but couldn't be bothered to finish them so can't say anything positive, and I'm not much of a fan of Moshin Hamid either cause I didn't like Moth smoke. But if ..."

thx for you answer, I will look up the book you recommended.

Nrb wrote: "I think Mohsin Hamid and Mohammed Hanif have produced some interesting English literature."

thank you for your answer and recommendation.

Friends, What are your views on Tariq Ali?

Tariq Ali defines, manifests, embodies a Pakistani approach to communist thought. But at times he fails to impress as his many arguments fail to stitch up a overarching leftist narrative. I find Eqbal Ahmed far less pretentious, subtle and intellectually superior leftist than Tariq Ali.
Word of caution: Tariq Ali induces a sense of anti-Islam feel in his books. The references to Islamic fundamentals, personalities and idealogical shocked me and I thought his book should and could be banned in Pakistan. Quite anti-Islamic.

i love to read novels of hashim nadeem but umera ahmed and asfaq ahmed sahab are the best...
hands ov to them:)

Mahrukh wrote: "I think Bano Qudsia is one of the finest authors of Pakistan her novel Raja Gidh is a must read for people who really like good books."

yeah hse is the best:)

I like Moni Mohsin, I also have books by H.M. Naqvi, Mohammed Hanif, Mohsin Hamid, Tehmina Durrani and Kamila Shamsie.
These are the books:

Hafsah wrote: "i love to read novels of hashim nadeem but umera ahmed and asfaq ahmed sahab are the best...
hands ov to them:)"

i totally agree with you.

thanks you so much maria:)

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/14...

Seems to be a relevant list for this conversation.

...And of course, this..
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/13...

Saadat Hassan Manto

i suggest you to read ZAYIYA by ashfaq ahmed...
its awsome

Mohsin Hamid

Nasim Hijazi and Umera Ahmad are among the best as far as Urdu novels are concerned.

@ali couldnt agree more abt Tariq Ali. Though a great writer, he comes across fixated with religion bashing.

@fatin thx for sharing ur recommendations, quite in tune to my tastes In reading.

Aseff wrote: "@ali couldnt agree more abt Tariq Ali. Though a great writer, he comes across fixated with religion bashing."

totally agree with that though i haven't read any of his books but i have studied his writings and style on internet.

I've never read a book by a Pakistani author before, but this thread gives me quite a pleasant range of options to choose from.

its not good to see that our people dont know much of their literature...its very easy to search who are among our classics after independence or even before that...Manto, Mumtaz Mufti and Mansha Yad are the best in short stories, Manto's english translation is easy available..Faiz, Nasir Kazmi, Faraz, Noon Meem Rashid, Majeed Amjad, Jaun Alia are among the best in Poetry...Intizar Hussain, Mumtaz Mufti, Bano and Abdullah Hussain among top novelists..Musansar hussain Tararr and Mirza Athar Baig are still writing novels..most english novelists u people have mentioned above...

My language teacher recently wrote a book. It came out last month. It's really good. A comedy on how pakistani weddings work.
How It Happened

If you like Urdu fiction, Mirza Athar Baig's Ghulam Bagh is one of the best novels that came out recently.

How It Happened - Shazaf F. Haider

An entertaining read that will leave you in fits of laughter at the most unexpected (and inconvenient) moments. It's a contemporary novel on the concept of marriage in a society like Pakistan. Also, just because I said it's going to make you laugh doesn't make it a superficial read.

Isn't Shazaf Haider an indian novelist?

Just pointing out because of the title of the thread, in case someone gets sensitive about the question

I'd have to say Nadeem Aslam. I've read all three of this books (Season of the Rain Birds, Maps for Lost Lovers, and The Wasted Vigil) and loved reading them all. Now looking forward to reading his fourth novel The Blind Man's Garden which I've heard is also great.

Tariq Ali is great if you keep yrself unbiased in reading... Apart from that many great auto biographies come under this context

Aseff wrote: "Thank you Mansoor and Mahrukh for your comments. I agree with the names you both mentioned. I was also wondering about pakistani English writers?"


Mohsin Hamid, Kamila Shamsie and Mohammad Hafiz are worth reading..

would just like to add names of Pakistani authors who have produced notable works:
Nafisa Haji, author of The Sweetness of Tears and The writings on my forehead
Shaila Abdullah author of Saffron Dreams
Ayad Akhtar, author of American Dervish

I wish there was a proper library in karachi where you could get all of these easily. it's so sad that Pakistani authors are not as promoted within the country as they should be

I don't know if blogging comes in category of writing.. I've tried my hand at it lately. It's a travel blog... Check out n if u folks like it share around

http://travelcrazypakistan.blogspot.com

Udas Naslin by Abdullah Hussain , a classic comparable to any literature of the world. Mukhtar Masud's Classics, Loh i Ayam, etc outstanding books of Urdu.These are even better then many many foreign writers in literature.

There are no writers like Syed Sibt i Hasan, Mukhtar Masud , Mushtaq ahmed Yousafi , Muhammad khan , Ahmed Hasan Dani ,Qudrut ullah shahab and Akbar S. Ahmed. These are world class writers and can be presented at any forum. I can't be apologetic about Pakistani writers. They are a class of its own.These names are in addition to those mentioned by friends in their comments above.