The third book in a five-part fantasy series that is being compared to Harry Potter has recently come out. With magical dragons...
Published 06 Jun, 2025 07:46pm
An unusual collection of verse explores themes of nature and the environment and humanity’s attempts to mould them and co-exist
Published 06 Jun, 2025 07:41pm
In this column, we return to the structure of Qissa Chhabili Bhattiyari [Chhabili the Innkeeper] discussed earlier, to study how
Published 06 Jun, 2025 07:32pm
I have long delved into the relationship between art and power. It brings up new questions after every new incident,...
Published 01 Jun, 2025 06:51am
A powerful Urdu novel invites readers to question not only Pakistan’s political journey but also deeper spiritual and moral...
Published 01 Jun, 2025 06:51am
Despite a few historical flaws, Sana Pirzada’s latest novel, set before the turn of the 20th century, is a roller-coaster ride of
Published 01 Jun, 2025 06:51am
A former faculty member and administrator of prestigious universities pens a book that is part memoir, part history and part...
Published 01 Jun, 2025 06:51am
Pankaj Mishra’s latest book is a personal coming to terms with his pro-Zionist upbringing as well as the roots of the Western
Published 25 May, 2025 05:25am
A best-selling debut Young Adult novel from Korea weaves a fantasy that is grounded in reality, and which ultimately gently
Published 25 May, 2025 05:25am
A book by an accomplished trekker about his 10-day journey to the mountainous border of Pakistan with China is more erudite
Published 25 May, 2025 05:25am
November, 2023. On the top floor of the Shard, a very modern building near the Thames, there’s a prize-giving for...
Updated 27 Jul, 2025 08:18am
Zafar Masud, one of the only two survivors of PIA Flight 8303 that crashed in Karachi five years ago, has penned a first-person
Published 18 May, 2025 08:40am
A sci-fi novel with a robot as a protagonist is a sarcastic commentary on human society and the futility of human ambition
Published 18 May, 2025 08:35am
A slim compilation of fascinating accounts of travels inside and outside Pakistan makes the reader feel like the author’s constant
Updated 18 May, 2025 12:02pm
In The Museum Detective, Maha Khan Phillips returns with a fast-paced archaeological thriller. Set in Karachi, the...
Published 18 May, 2025 08:25am
In the works of Urdu’s prominent poet and cultural historian Farrukh Yar, the compositeness of South Asian civilisation and its...
Updated 11 May, 2025 02:17pm
Senior journalist and rights activist Hussain Naqi’s detailed interview in a newly published book is a story of journalism and...
Published 11 May, 2025 09:07am
A formulaic romance novel segues into a study of the emotional and psychological challenges faced by its protagonists, exploring
Published 11 May, 2025 09:02am
A debut novel by a Middle East political analyst forces readers to reconsider their assumptions about ideological transformation
Published 11 May, 2025 08:56am
An academic book investigates the demand for populism in the country and analyses the complex relationship between populism,
Published 04 May, 2025 07:15am
Coco Mellors’ remarkably engaging latest novel is an authentic story about sisterhood,
sibling rivalry, loss, anguish
Published 04 May, 2025 07:15am
An unconventional biography of Shyam Benegal by a longtime collaborator and mentee, provides rich information on the filmmaker
Published 04 May, 2025 07:15am
Regarding the shelves in a bookshop the other day, where some of my favourite writers were displayed, I recalled
Published 04 May, 2025 07:15am
When it comes to art’s relationship with power, history is replete with instances where artists have sucked up to power. However
Updated 27 Apr, 2025 11:25am
The sequel to The Light Blue Jumper has deeper themes and more ambitious worldbuilding, while retaining the sci-fi novel’s trad
Published 27 Apr, 2025 06:44am
A novel about exes getting involved with their exes’ partners’ exes is a sweet, light, easy read but do not expect it to stay
Published 27 Apr, 2025 06:44am
What is the ‘Pakistan Ideology’ and is it the same as ‘Islamic Ideology’, as it is sometimes represented? The latest book
Published 27 Apr, 2025 06:44am
A book co-authored by a Pakistani and an American scholar is the first-ever to present a South Asian perspective on the...
Published 20 Apr, 2025 08:06am
A debut novel about a family dispute showcases the author’s facility with words but suffers from a less-than-riveting plot
Published 20 Apr, 2025 07:58am
An Urdu book by a disciple pays worthy tribute to the musical legend that was composer Nisar Bazmi
Published 20 Apr, 2025 07:53am
The death of Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa (Arequipa, 1936-Lima, 2025) marks the end of a Golden Age of Latin...
Published 20 Apr, 2025 07:47am
A selection of articles and editorials by Shaukat Siddiqi, originally published in the Urdu weekly magazine Al-Fath during the...
Published 13 Apr, 2025 09:00am
A debut novel set in rural England explores the deep fractures caused by rigid traditions, identity struggles and ideological...
Published 13 Apr, 2025 08:52am
A book on linguistics presents findings about how change in the world and modernisation is impacting patterns of behaviour and...
Published 13 Apr, 2025 08:48am
My father Shamsur Rahman Faruqi’s archive of letters is vast. Before emails diminished the volume of handwritten...
Updated 13 Apr, 2025 01:42pm
Over 100 years after the first publication of T.S. Eliot’s ‘The Waste Land’, an Urdu book delves into the poem’s journey and...
Published 06 Apr, 2025 11:05am
A gothic YA novel is often predictable but also atmospheric and entertaining and would enhance a young person’s desire to develop
Published 06 Apr, 2025 10:58am
A Punjabi book brings together interesting biographies and anecdotes about 30 outstanding sportspersons from both Pakistani...
Published 06 Apr, 2025 10:54am
The qissa is a marvellous genre that encompasses every imaginable form of storytelling, from adventures to travelogues to healing
Published 06 Apr, 2025 10:46am
A recent book is a compelling examination of the interplay between growth, equity and governance and an essential read for anyone
Published 30 Mar, 2025 08:49am
A second collection of engaging short fiction from writer Shahbano Alvi, often centred on unhappy marriages, death and disease...
Published 30 Mar, 2025 08:37am
An ambitious anthology presents the curated work of 68 Pakistani poets writing in English, turning the venture into an informal...
Published 30 Mar, 2025 07:57am
In Pakistan and among the Pakistani diaspora, it is heartening to see the strong emergence of a new generation of gifted English
Published 30 Mar, 2025 07:47am
The Zeenat Haroon Writing Prize for Women is sending out a call for submissions. This year’s category is ‘Short Fiction’. Writers
Published 30 Mar, 2025 07:42am
A ‘standalone sequel’ collection of college stories by Nadya Chishty-Mujahid draws readers into familiar territory but is more...
Published 23 Mar, 2025 09:06am
A recent book details the story of a woman who, through her sheer dedication and pursuit of excellence, has shaped the future of
Published 23 Mar, 2025 08:59am
A well-researched book details a people’s history of Karachi and how gradual negligence turned the city of lights into a city of
Published 23 Mar, 2025 08:54am
My copy of So Long a Letter is dated September 1986. That year, I was feeding my imagination on what we then quaintly referred to
Published 23 Mar, 2025 08:35am
A voluminous biography of China’s celebrated former prime minister, based on previously inaccessible documents, is also partly a
Published 16 Mar, 2025 12:03pm
American journalist and author Jessica Bruder was in Pakistan last month to attend the Lahore Literary Festival. She speaks with
Published 16 Mar, 2025 11:54am
Mustansar Hussain Tarar’s new book delves into the intricacies of human nature as he shares his personal experiences with some of
Published 16 Mar, 2025 11:42am
‘True crime’ has existed in some guise since the late 19th century, but it got its name in the 1960s. Books in...
Published 16 Mar, 2025 11:32am
Ta-Nehisi Coates’ new book, spanning Senegal, the United States and Palestine, is a call to arms for anyone who believes in the
Published 09 Mar, 2025 09:25am
A rewrite of the movie Runaway Bride with a new ending conceived by the author is consummate romance novel fodder
Published 09 Mar, 2025 09:20am
Published 13 years after his death, the memoirs of legendary comedian, actor and compere Moin Akhtar make one feel as if he is...
Published 09 Mar, 2025 09:17am
Many years ago, the late poet, critic and broadcaster Qamar Jameel scribed his poetry collection Chahaar Khwaab [Four Dreams] for
Published 09 Mar, 2025 09:12am
The 13th Lahore Literary Festival, which took place February 21-23, had some intriguing sessions of discussions focusing on the...
Published 02 Mar, 2025 08:19am
A retired detective and his daughter-in-law create a dynamic and unconventional crime-solving duo
Published 02 Mar, 2025 08:15am
Winner of the 2024 Booker Prize, a slim novel set in a space station engages with deep questions about the future of humanity and
Published 02 Mar, 2025 08:09am
A kind of poetic justice was meted out to me some years later. My school had been recently nationalised and, while a number of
Published 02 Mar, 2025 08:03am
The book provides the complete history of Jammu & Kashmir, from the rule of the Mughals followed by the Sikhs and Britishers...
Published 23 Feb, 2025 09:58am
While sometimes dated, journalist Zahid Hussain’s collection of 39 interviews with people who mattered at the time, provides...
Published 23 Feb, 2025 09:42am
A slim collection of short stories covers vast ground, from magical realism to social ills and diverse issues facing expatriate...
Published 23 Feb, 2025 09:37am
At a first glance, one feels jitters going through the spine to note the title Ghalib gave to his 1857-1858 diary of that fateful
Published 23 Feb, 2025 09:34am
The 16th Karachi Literature Festival was held over three days from February 7-9. An author of two novels assesses the annual...
Published 16 Feb, 2025 09:29am
An Urdu translation of the most famous book by last year’s winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Han Kang, is flawless and...
Published 16 Feb, 2025 09:23am
An important new book leads one to rethink what the world could have been, had notions of ethnic and civilisational superiority...
Published 16 Feb, 2025 09:17am
At the 16th Karachi Literature Festival (KLF), the two incisive keynote speeches in the inaugural session, by F.S....
Updated 09 Mar, 2025 09:11am
A second edition of a book with an additional article delves into the prickly issues surrounding the state of Pakistan, in...
Published 09 Feb, 2025 10:01am
Awais Khan’s latest novel, about a married Lahore high-society couple trying to navigate a relationship fraught with personal...
Published 09 Feb, 2025 09:33am
A stupendous piece of painstaking research, a new book in Urdu provides the most comprehensive listing of Mohammed Rafi songs...
Published 09 Feb, 2025 09:26am
The pronoun ‘hum’ or ‘we’ is added to many of Farsi-Urdu nouns to create poetic, evocative compounds such as...
Published 09 Feb, 2025 09:24am
A historian looks at Lahore as a case-study to see how his hometown has systematically lost its connection to its many-splendoured
Published 02 Feb, 2025 09:17am
A memoir by a young blogger seems like a self-help book for young women like her and is primarily focused on child-rearing and...
Published 02 Feb, 2025 09:13am
Dr Mahmood Ali Ayub compares the life experiences and poetic styles of two celebrated poets — Pakistan’s Faiz Ahmed Faiz...
Published 02 Feb, 2025 09:10am
Sometimes the lack of stimulation is just what the mind needs to develop in a healthy way. I recently thought about...
Published 02 Feb, 2025 09:03am
While a new book about the scandalous death of poet and former bureaucrat Mustafa Zaidi more than 50 years ago still doesn’t give
Published 26 Jan, 2025 09:58am
A slim book is a good starting point for those who want to have a basic idea about Pakistan’s economic problems and policies over
Published 26 Jan, 2025 09:53am
An English translation of Hasan Manzar’s Urdu novel Habs successfully retains the style and meaning of the original work
Published 26 Jan, 2025 09:40am
In Jamshoro, a couple of months ago, I had a chance to visit the M.H. Panhwar Institute of Sindh Studies. The...
Published 26 Jan, 2025 09:35am
A gripping tale about prevailing political realities, Omar Shahid Hamid’s sixth novel is a playful political satire about power
Published 19 Jan, 2025 09:11am
A collection of short stories, essays and reflections force one to ponder the harsh realities of life and the resilience required
Updated 19 Jan, 2025 05:03pm
A coffee table book chronicles the convoluted journey of the establishment of the National Art Gallery in Islamabad, from its...
Published 19 Jan, 2025 08:58am
This summer I was awarded a GCSE in Urdu. I’m now inching towards an A-level in the language. I was inspired to...
Published 19 Jan, 2025 08:48am
A first collection of short stories by a renowned academic fuses the absurd with realism and explores social layers of...
Published 12 Jan, 2025 08:43am
Set against the backdrop of gruesome murders in the late 1970s in bleak post-industrial Yorkshire, England, a rewarding debut...
Published 12 Jan, 2025 08:39am
A veteran journalist’s recollections document Pakistan’s political and social history, offering insight particularly into some...
Published 12 Jan, 2025 08:35am
Written around 1592, William Shakespeare’s play Richard III follows the reign of England’s infamous monarch and...
Published 12 Jan, 2025 08:30am
Bapsi Sidhwa, who passed away on December 25, was one of the pioneers of English novel writing in Pakistan and also one of its
Published 05 Jan, 2025 10:40am
An excellent translation into Pashto of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is one of the lasting legacies of the late Qalandar Momand
Published 05 Jan, 2025 10:17am
Mani Shankar Aiyar is a human Wagah/Attari gateway, a tangible point of contact between two irascible neighbours — India and...
Published 05 Jan, 2025 10:10am
Our ace poet Ahmed Mushtaq writes: “Yeh hain naey loagon ke ghar, sach hai ab inn ko kya khabar/ Dil bhi kisi ka...
Updated 26 Jan, 2025 09:33am
Shazaf Fatima Haider’s latest novel, about a woman contemplating divorce, delivers a bold and irresistible rollercoaster ride that
Published 29 Dec, 2024 09:13am
A well-researched book delves into the technological changes that are impacting the world’s socio-cultural landscape and what to
Published 29 Dec, 2024 09:08am
A coffee table book about pre-Partition postcards from the areas now part of Pakistan evokes nostalgia as well as preserves a part
Published 29 Dec, 2024 09:04am
Professor Abdur Rasheed, who retired as Urdu professor from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, is one of Urdu...
Published 29 Dec, 2024 08:56am
A book by a Nobel Prize winning molecular biologist about the biology of aging and death offers fascinating insight into the...
Published 22 Dec, 2024 10:36am
A coming-of-age novel about friendships, family dynamics and cultural pressures resonates with the South Asian migrant experience
Published 22 Dec, 2024 10:28am
A new collection of poems touching on themes of love, friendship, grief, loss, death, gratitude and the complexity of...
Published 22 Dec, 2024 10:25am
