Basti
By: by Intizar Husain ; translated and with an introduction by Frances W. Pritchett
Contributors: Pritchett, Frances W., 1947-
Series: New York Review Books classics
Publisher: New York Review Books
Published: 2012
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 224
ISBN-13: 9781590175828
Work titles: Bastī
Description: Basti is a beautifully written reckoning with the tragic history of Pakistan. Basti means settlement, a common place, and Intizar Husain's extraordinary novel begins with a mythic, even mystic, vision of harmony between old and young, man and woman, Muslim and Hindu. Then Zakir, the hero, wakes to the modern world. Crowds gather. Slogans echo. Cities burn. Whether hunkered down with family or furtively meeting to exchange news with friends in cafés, Zakir is alone in a country lost to the politics of loneliness.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.