Nadeem Aslam

Love is not consolation, it is light.' From the author of Maps for Lost Lovers comes a searing, exquisitely written novel set in Pakistan and Afghanistan in the months following 9/11 - a story of war, of one family's losses, and of the simplest, most enduring human impulses. Jeo and Mikal, foster-brothers from a small Pakistani city, secretly enter Afghanistan: not to fight with the Taliban, but to help and care for wounded civilians. But it soon becomes apparent that good intentions can't keep them out of harm's way...From the wilds of Afghanistan to the heart of the family left behind - their blind father haunted for years by the death of his wife, by the mistakes he may have made in the name of Islam and nationhood, Jeo's steadfast wife and her superstitious mother - Aslam's prose takes us on an extraordinary journey.

In an unnamed town Jugnu and his lover Chanda have disappeared. Rumours abound in the close-knit Pakistani community, and then on a snow-covered January morning Chanda's brothers are arrested for murder. Telling the story of the next twelve months, Maps for Lost Lovers opens the heart of a family at the crossroads of culture, community, nationality and religion, and expresses their pain in a language that is arrestingly poetic. 'This is a deeply pastoral novel, tied to the seasons and resonating with birdsong ...Like Aslam, I was heartbroken when the dense, dark tapestry was finished.' Independent on Sunday 'Despite the violence that lies at the heart of the novel, it is a celebration of love and life. Sights and sounds, smells and colours are not so much vivid backdrops for the narrative as structural, mood- and texture-enhancing parts of it ...This is that rare sort of book that gives a voice to those voices that are seldom heard.' Observer

Lara, una mujer rusa, llega a casa de Marcus Caldwell, un médico de origen inglés que vive en una antigua fábrica de perfumes. La existencia de Marcus se quebró tras una doble pérdida: la de su hija, Zameen, durante la invasión soviética y la de Qatrina, su mujer, a causa del régimen Talibán. Lara busca a su hermano, que quizás Zameen conociera, un soldado soviético desaparecido en la zona años atrás… Aslam se sirve de personajes inolvidables para mostrarnos el retrato del amor en tiempos de guerra y el de una región arrasada por el horror. Humanidad y lirismo confluyen en una historia descarnada que nos enseña que en realidad nadie es inocente.

When shots ring out on the Grand Trunk Road, Nargis' life begins to crumble around her. Her husband, Massud - a fellow architect - is caught in the crossfire and dies before she can confess to him her greatest secret. Under threat from a powerful military intelligence officer, who demands that she pardon her husband's American killer, Nargis fears that the truth about her past will soon be exposed. For weeks someone has been broadcasting people's secrets from the minarets of the city's mosques and, in a country where the accusation of blasphemy is a currency to be bartered, the mysterious broadcasts have struck fear in Christians and Muslims alike. Against this background of violence and fear, two outsiders - the young Christian woman Helen and the mysterious Imran from Kashmir - try to find an island of calm in which their love can grow. In his characteristically luminous prose, Nadeem Aslam reflects Pakistan's past and present in a single mirror - a story of corruption, resilience, and the hope that only love and the human spirit can offer.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE JHALAK PRIZE 2018When shots ring out on the Grand Trunk Road, Nargiss life begins to crumble around her. Her husband, Massud - a fellow architect - is caught in the crossfire and dies before she can confess to him her greatest secret. Under threat from a powerful military intelligence officer, who demands that she pardon her husbands American killer, Nargis fears that the truth about her past will soon be exposed. For weeks someone has been broadcasting peoples secrets from the minarets of the citys mosques and, in a country where the accusation of blasphemy is a currency to be bartered, the mysterious broadcasts have struck fear in Christians and Muslims alike. Against this background of violence and fear, two outsiders - the young Christian woman Helen and the mysterious Imran from Kashmir - try to find an island of calm in which their love can grow. In his characteristically luminous prose, Nadeem Aslam reflects Pakistans past and present in a single mirror - a story of corruption, resilience, and the hope that only love and the human spirit can offer.

This land and its killing epochs.Nadeem Aslams dazzling new novel takes place in modern-day Afghanistan. A Russian woman named Lara arrives at the house of Marcus Caldwell, an Englishman and widower living in an old perfume factory in the shadow of the Tora Bora mountains. It is possible that Marcuss daughter, Zameen, may have known Laras brother, a Soviet soldier who disappeared in the area many years previously. But like Marcuss wife, Zameen is dead; a victim of the age in which she was born. In the days that follow, further people will arrive at the house: David Town and James Palantine, two Americans who have spent much of their adult lives in the area, for their respective reasons; Dunia, a young Afghan teacher; and Casa, a radicalised young man intent on his own path.The stories and histories that unfold - interweaving and overlapping, and spanning nearly a quarter of a century - tell of the terrible afflictions that have plagued Afghanistan. A work of deepest humanity, The Wasted Vigil offers a timely portrait of this region, of love during war and conflict. At once angry, unflinching and memorably beautiful, it marks Nadeem Aslam as a world writer of major importance.

Siamo in un'innominata citta inglese, ai cui margini vive una comunita pachistana. Kaukab vive da quarant'anni in Inghilterra, non parla la lingua e cerca di non avere contatti con i bianchi. Donna semplice e ignorante, di stretta fede musulmana, lacerata tra le regole morali delle proprie origini e la realta che la circonda, Kaukab rispecchia i conflitti che agitano l'intera comunita. Shamas, suo marito, e invece una sorta di libero pensatore, convinto che le due culture debbano e possano integrarsi. Suo malgrado s'innamora di Soraya, una giovane appena giunta dal Pakistan: un amore tragico, che lo rendera per sempre infelice. Un tentativo di descrivere il conflitto che nasce dalla precarieta dei sentimenti e dall'urto delle culture.

"Lara, una giovane russa, e in Afghanistan alla ricerca di notizie sul fratello, un veterano dell''invasione sovietica. Qual e la chiave della sua scomparsa? Forse Marcus Caldwell, un inglese che vive all''ombra delle montagne di Tora Bora. Forse David, formalmente una spia di Washington, nel paese dai tempi dell''invasione sovietica. Forse James, soldato delle forze speciali statunitensi. E Casa, il giovane talebano, sara lui a custodire il segreto? Cinque vite molto diverse tra loro si ritrovano all''intersezione di decenni d''invasioni, occupazioni e violenze. "

The highly acclaimed and Betty Trask Award winning debut from the author of Maps for Lost LoversA sack of letters lost in a train crash nineteen years previously has mysteriously reappeared, and the inhabitants of a small town in Pakistan are waiting anxiously to see what long buried secrets will come to light. Could the letters have any bearing on Judge Anwars murder?In one of the most exquisite fictional debuts of recent years, Nadeem Aslam creates an exotic and timeless world, but one whose traditional rituals of everyday life are played out against an ominous backdrop of faraway civil wars, assassinations, changing regimes, and religious tensions. Vivid and poignant.Evening StandardPoised and troubling.The TimesA real treat.Daily TelegraphOne of the most impressive first novels of recent years. Salman Rushdie

La desaparición de una jovenpareja de enamoradosperteneciente a la comunidadpakistaní de una ciudad delnorte de Inglaterra se convierteen un auténtico drama socialcuando los hermanos de ellason detenidos y acusados delasesinato de los novios. Unaencrucijada de pasiones,culturas y religiones en unahistoria de amor por encima delas diferencias.

A sack of letters lost in a train crash nineteen years previously has mysteriously reappeared, and the inhabitants of a small town in Pakistan are waiting anxiously to see what long-buried secrets will come to light. Could the letters have any bearing on Judge Anwar''s murder? In one of the most exquisite fictional debuts of recent years, Nadeem Aslam creates an exotic and timeless world, but one whose traditional rituals of everyday life are played out against an ominous backdrop of faraway civil wars, assassinations, changing regimes and religious tensions. ''''One of the most impressive first novels of recent years'' Salman Rushdie''

Jugnu y su joven amante Chanda han desaparecido. Los rumores recorren la comunidad pakistaní en una ciudad al norte de Inglaterra. Entonces, una nevada mañana de enero, los hermanos de Chanda son arrestados por asesinato. Mapas para amantes perdidos narra las cuatro estaciones siguientes, durante las cuales se abre el corazon de una familia prendida en una encrucijada de culturas, pasiones y religiones.

El jardín de un hombre ciego narra los problemas provocados por el choque de culturas en el ámbito familiar con el terrorismo como telón de fondo. La historia se desarrolla a lo largo de un mes clave de nuestra historia: el octubre que precedio al 11-S.El jardin de un hombre ciego comienza en Pakistan con Gio y su hermano Mikal, que abandonan su casa para ir a la guerra de Afganistan. Gio muere en la batalla y Mikal, que no sabe de su muerte, emprende una denodada busqueda para encontrarlo.Pero su mayor deseo es volver a casa junto a su amante (la mujer de Gio), que lo espera ocupandose de un anciano ciego atormentado por los errores que cometio durante su vida en nombre del Islam y de la Nacion.

El jardín de un hombre ciego narra los problemas provocados por el choque de culturas en el ámbito familiar con el terrorismo como telón de fondo. La historia se desarrolla a lo largo de un mes clave de nuestra historia: el octubre que precedio al 11-S. El jardin de un hombre ciego comienza en Pakistan con Gio y su hermano Mikal, que abandonan su casa para ir a la guerra de Afganistan. Gio muere en la batalla y Mikal, que no sabe de su muerte, emprende una denodada busqueda para encontrarlo. Pero su mayor deseo es volver a casa junto a su amante (la mujer de Gio), que lo espera ocupandose de un anciano ciego atormentado por los errores que cometio durante su vida en nombre del Islam y de la Nacion.