Thinner than Skin

THINNER THAN SKIN is about indentity and about belonging. It's also a love story: between a young Pakistani man trying to make his way as photographer in America, and a girl of a Pakistani father and German mother brought up in the US who wants to 'return' in the classic diaspora way. They make the trip to Pakistan and what happens there will change them and their relationship forever and be fatal for some. This novel is also a love letter to the wilds of Northern Pakistan, to glaciers, to the nomadic life of the indigenous people in the Northern territories, the old silk road, an area where China encroaches and Pakistani nomads, Uzbeks, Russians, Chinese and Afghans all mix together to trade.

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THE GEOMETRY OF GOD

WINNER OF THE BRONZE AWARD IN THE INDEPENDENT PUBLISHERS BOOK AWARDS 2010

FEATURED IN KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOKS OF 2009

FOREWORD MAGAZINE'S BEST BOOKS OF 2009 FINALIST

‘Elegant, sensuous and fiercely intelligent, a wonderfully inventive story that pits science against politics and the freedom of women against the insecurities of men.’ Kamila Shamsie

‘Such wonderful and persuasive writing. No one writes like her about the body, about the senses, about the physical world.’ Nadeem Aslam

The paleantologist Zahoor tries to do his research while General Zia is launching a campaign to Islamize knowledge. In the Punjab Salt Range, Zahoor’s granddaughter Amal finds proof of the ‘dog-whale’,Pakicetus, the oldest known primitive whale. But Amal’s baby sister Mehwish becomes blind and Amal will have to stay home to raise her. Noman, neurotic, very funny (and horny), an aspiring mathematician, hopes to one day find a number like a magic bloom. Instead, he’s appointed secretary to his father, a minister in the Party of Creation. His father wants Noman to help put the youth of Pakistan back on the Straight Path. Instead of finding the Straight Path, Noman finds Zahoor. While the culture war between the Islamists and the secularists rages, Noman bats for both sides. The friendship between Noman, Zahoor, Amal and Mehwish grows. And then, at Amal’s wedding, tragedy strikes. Zahoor is locked up. It seems it will take an old man on trial to make youth find itself.

'Beautifully written, funny and full of tension, The Geometry of God not only gives great insights into Pakistani culture and thinking, but also strives to be great entertainment. With its playful language and vivid characters, it will give you what you expect from a novel: a great read.' Metro Éireann

‘Uzma Aslam Khan, a fearless young Pakistani novelist, writes about what lies beneath the surface – ancient fossils embedded in desert hillsides, truths hidden inside the language of everyday life. A young math whiz called Noman writes pseudoscience for his father’s cohort of religious extremists while secretly gravitating toward a diehard evolutionist and his adventurous granddaughter, Amal. As faith and reason fatally collide, Amal’s blind younger sister, Mehwish, tries to decipher a world she cannot see but understands better than most. Khan’s urgent defense of free thought and action – often galvanized by strong-minded, sensuous women – courses through every page of this gorgeously complex book; but what really draws the reader in is the way Mehwish taste-tests the words she hears, as if they were pieces of fruit, and probes the meaning of human connection in a culture of intolerance, but also of stubborn hope.’ Paperback Gem, O: The Oprah Magazine

‘The connections are finely layered in this delicately crafted book. There is no denying the sensitivity with which Khan writes. The writing is extremely elegant.’ Indian Express

‘A simultaneous rush that has funniness, absurdity, shock, tenderness, revelation and great sex.’ First City

‘Khan undoubtedly breaks the mould. She carves a sublime story of new and old with contemporary panache’ Dawn

'the characters, the poetry and the philosophical questions she raises are rendered with a power and beauty that make this novel linger in the mind and heart.' Kirkus Review (starred review)

'Throughout this complex narrative, Ms. Khan writes with unfailing intelligence and linguistic magic.' Washington Times

‘The Geometry of God becomes that rare creature, a novel where the urgency of the message is matched by the verve of the narrative…the author's intelligence, imprinted on every page like a watermark, blooms into full colour when delving into Mehwish's strange and lovely inner world…The book may be (and probably will be) read by many as a primer to the growth of fundamentalism in the region; to my mind, however, that is the least of what this gorgeous, complex stunner of a novel offers.’ Eclectica (Click here for full review)

 

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Rupa & Co India

Neri Pozza Italy

Editions Philippe Picquier France

Alfaguara Spain

Clockroot Books/Interlink USA & Canada

Haus UK

Material: Indian edition; US edition (384pp).

TRESPASSING

SHORTLISTED FOR THE COMMONWEALTH PRIZE 2003

‘We glimpse a Pakistan - that no writer in English has ever depicted before - a delicate erotic tale spun from threads of timeless myth.’ The Independent

‘Khan's second novel reverses the East-to-West pilgrimage so fashionable in recent sub-continental fiction. She creates a story of cultural and ethnic conflict in spare and elegant prose that resonates beyond its immediate setting.' The Observer

'A narrative as intricately patterned and vivid as lengths of top-quality silk. The image of doomed love and a violent society is original, emotional, and inevitably sad.' The Sunday Telegraph

'TRESPASSING'S epic scope, encompassing global conflicts as well as very personal concerns, is enhanced by its subtle language and its interweaved narratives of beautifully realized characters.' Metro

‘A tender book, distinguished by subtle descriptions of nature. It is a celebration of the importance of perception, inquisitiveness about the smaller details of life, but Khan does not shy away from the bigger picture. Writing intelligently, she explores colonialism, identity and belief, without presuming to offer any conclusions or solutions. Khan works with questions; hints and queries replace absolutes.’ Chloe Diski, New Statesman

'TRESPASSING is a bold and self-confident piece of work that breaks from the dogmas and doctrines of a conflict-torn state… We cannot help but become involved in the lives of the various characters so lovingly presented.' Sunday Tribune

 

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Flamingo UK

Metropolitan USA

Penguin India

Alhamra Pakistan

Editions Philippe Picquier France

Europa Verlag Germany

Neri Pozza Italy

Alfaguara World Spanish

RBA Catalan

Van Gennep/Rainbow pocket NL

Psichogios Greece

Ambar Portugal

Ordfront Sweden

Alfa Narodna Knjiga Serbia

Det Norske Samlaget Norway

Bertrand Brasil (Record) Brazil

Carmel Israel

THE STORY OF NOBLE ROT

Originally published to great acclaim in 2001, reissued by Rupa (2009).

'An amusing, shocking, haunting novel. As a debut, it is first rate.' The Tribune

'A novel that holds your attention from start to finish.' Deccan Chronicle

'A brilliantly spun tale - it has an ethereal quality reminiscent of the Tales of Arabian Nights - yet is rooted in reality and realism.' Deccan Herald

'The novel has been exquisitely layered with the fantastic - One just can't get enough.' Indian Express

Sales

Rupa & Co India