num_pages: 252
description: What does it mean to be an English-language fiction writer in a country that is perpetually on the brink of disaster? In this first-ever collection of interviews with Pakistani novelists writing in English Mushtaq Bilal explores how fictions are informed by the authors cultural identities. Is it possible for instance to write about Pakistan without self-censoring? How do writers contest and challenge Western stereotypes of the country? Do they even consciously do that? And what about challenging Pakistani stereotypes of the West? Providing fresh insights into some of the most important and politically engaged contemporary fiction to come out of the subcontinent Writing Pakistan is essential reading for anyone interested in the art of storytelling in books and in Pakistan itself  because to understand a nation one needs to talk to those who are writing it.
language: English
title: Writing Pakistan: Conversations on Identity, Nationhood and Fiction
publisher: Harper Collins India