The House of Bilqis Hardcover - 2009

by Azhar Abidi

A haunting novel about a motherand son and the emotionalconsequences of leaving home

Bilqis Ara Begum, an aristocratic widow, is dismayedwhen her only son, Samad, marries Kate, anAustralian girl, and settles in Melbourne rather thanreturning home to Pakistan. Though Samad attemptsto persuade his mother to join them in Australia, sheinsists on remaining in Karachi even while Pakistan isfacing turmoil. It's 1985. The mullahs and the generalsare in control, and an insurgency is beginning inKashmir. Meanwhile, Bilqis's servant girl, Mumtaz,enters a relationship with Omar, a young man caringfor a neighboring house. Omar is an intense manwho resents Pakistan's class system, and his frustrationleads him to the freedom movement in Kashmir. ButMumtaz is in love and willing to sacrifice her honor tobe with him.

The intertwining stories of Bilqis, Samad, andMumtaz offer a powerful and nuanced portrait ofPakistan in the modern era-a place of conflictingloyalties, rich with history and culture, and plagued byviolence. Abidi's precise and elegant prose illuminatesthe struggle between a mother and son to reconciletheir love for each other with their love for home.