In 1945, Hiroko Tanaka is a young woman in Nagasaki, engaged to a German man, Konrad Weiss, who is killed in the atomic bombing that leaves her with a burn mark shaped like the pattern of her kimono on her back. She travels to Delhi in 1947 and marries Sajjad Ashraf, then lives through Partition, moving to Pakistan. The novel traces her family and that of Konrad's English relatives through Karachi, Afghanistan and New York after 9/11, following her son Raza. Kamila Shamsie links violence across decades to ask how people carry history and how it spills across borders and generations.
It will interest readers of historical and international fiction who want a wide span, with characters whose fates intersect over sixty years. It suits those curious about connections between Nagasaki, Partition and the war on terror.
Contemplative and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Mindful Reader. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2009
- Language
- EN
