5 Must-Read Books by Pakistani Authors

Pakistan has produced some of the most remarkable writers in recent times that have repeatedly made it to the international best sellers and earned applause of critics along with reviews in New York Times, Guardian and other well reputed papers.

Here’s the list of 5 best seller books by Pakistani authors.

A Case of Exploding Mangoes – Mohammad Hanif

A comic novel revolving around the incident that killed General Zia ul Haq in the plane crash, A Case of Exploding Mangoes is a fictitious story of Ali Shigiri, a junior officer in Pakistan Air Force who is set to seek revenge for his father’s apparent suicide, which he blames on General Zia. The book won the Shakti Bhatt first book prize in 2008 and also grabbed a commonwealth book prize in best first book category.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist – Mohsin Hamid

Mohsin Hamid’s master piece which was later adopted into a film by the same name, The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a story of a Pakistani American, Changez, who is forced to return to Pakistan after the 9/11 attacks and finds himself a job as a professor. No sooner Changez finds himself actively participating in demonstrations against policies. The book won him Anisfield- Wolf Book Award and The South Bank Show Annual Award for Literature. The book became a best-seller and reached the top 4th niche in New York Times Best Seller.

My Feudal Lord – Tehmeena Durrani

Tehmina Durrani’s My Feudal Lord is one of the biggest stirrers in Pakistan’s history. The book is an autobiography and revolves around Durrani’s life as the wife of Pakistan’s influential politician, former governor and Chief Minister Punjab Ghulam Mustafa Khar. The book was highly controversial and explored details of her marriage and unveiled how Khar mistreated her and how she had to run away barefoot to survive.

The Crow Eaters – Bapsi Sidhwa

Set in the early 20^th century, The Crow Eater is an exuberant novel packed with witty humor. It describes the life of a Parsee family of Freddy Junglewalla who moves his family including a pregnant wife, baby daughter, and Jerbanoo, his stout mother-in-law from their ancestral forest home to cosmopolitan Lahore. He opens a store, and as his fortunes grow, so does the animosity between Freddy and his mother-in-law. While Freddy prospers under British rule, life with the domineering Jerbanoo is another matter entirely.

Burnt Shadows – Kamila Shamsi

Kamila Shamsi’s impeccable Burnt Shadows traces the shared histories of two families, from the final days of the second world war in Japan, and India on the brink of partition in 1947, to Pakistan in the early 1980s, New York in the aftermath of 11 September and Afghanistan in the wake of the ensuing US bombing campaign. The book received the Anisfield-wolf award and was long listed for the prestigious Orange Prize for Fiction

Between Clay & Dust – Musharraf Ali Farooqi

Between Clay and Dust is about a wrestler and a tawaif, about two art forms that no longer hold the glory they once did. Set somewhere suggestive of post-partition Punjab, albeit in an area left ‘unscathed’ by ‘the ravaging winds of Partition’, the narrative is quiet, thoughtful and centred. Farooqi was among the five writers shortlisted for Asia’s most prestigious literary prize in 2012