Dawn Books and Authors

31/05/2023

Harris Khalique writes on the late Shoaib Hashmi and the glorious age of Pakistani media when people could see the "umbilical link between literature, language, theatre and the performing arts."

“In the short history of the growth of America, if you look closely, there has perhaps been one good and clever man, Lincoln...

31/05/2023

Muhammad Suhayb reviews "Pakistan Ki Urdu Filmi Sanat" [Pakistan’s Urdu Film Industry] by Dr Aqeel Abbas Jafri, that records the Subcontinent's motion picture history from 1926 to 2020

A recap of Pakistan’s film history makes for a worthwhile resource and can be considered a true collector’s item

31/05/2023

Kamila Rahim Habib reviews "Grieving for Pigeons: 12 Stories of Lahore". This short story collection by Zubair Ahmad, translated by Anne Murphy from Punjabi to English, takes readers on an immersive, poignant journey through Lahore of the 1960s and ’70s
https://www.dawn.com/news/1756393/fiction-the-essence-of-lahore

31/05/2023

Nadeem Farooq Paracha reviews Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy's new book "Pakistan: Origins, Identity and Future" — a blunt, bold, yet well-informed and well-intentioned study of the outcomes of Pakistan’s political, social and religious evolution

Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy’s new book is a blunt, bold, yet well-informed and well-intentioned study of the outcomes of Pakistan’s...

25/05/2023

The concluding part of Mehr Afshan Farooqi's column series on Ghalib and the heart

The hospital twinkles with lights, like a beacon dispelling the darkness of the winter morning. The lobby sparkles. A steady...

25/05/2023

Muna Khan reviews Gabrielle Zevin's "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" — a novel centred on video games and gamers, but actually about friendship and the power of complex connections
https://www.dawn.com/news/1754747/fiction-imperfect-futures

25/05/2023

Foqia Sadia Khan reviews Shehzadi Zamurrad Awan's "Women and Social Change in Pakistan", that provides a panoramic, broad-brush overview of the status of Pakistan's women
https://www.dawn.com/news/1754748/non-fiction-failing-pakistani-women

25/05/2023

Rizwana Naqvi reviews Alka Joshi's "The Secret Keeper of Jaipur", that uses the same characters as her bestselling debut book and delves into a world of corruption, power and class divisions
https://www.dawn.com/news/1754749/fiction-a-cinema-gold-bars-and-herbs

17/05/2023

Musharraf Ali Farooqi writes on muraadi kahaaniyan [votive tales] which are listened to in gratitude upon the fulfillment of a prayer. The 'Tale of the Third Day’s Moon' is such a story involving a prince, his friend, mangoes, melons, and moons.

If someone forgets to listen to the votive tale after a prayer has been answered, something can likely go wrong. However, if...

17/05/2023

Muhammad Omar Iftikhar reviews "Readistan" by Shah Rukh Nadeem. Pakistan's 'premier booktuber' summarises 50 books from diverse genres in a conversational way, for those struggling with time to read in their fast-paced lives

A Youtuber picks 50 books from a diverse range of genres and summarises their content in a conversational way for those...

17/05/2023

Irfan Aslam reviews Athar Tahir's novel "Second Coming", about an ageing Pakistani bureaucrat falling in love with a much younger Thai woman

Athar Tahir returns to fiction with a debut novel about an ageing bureaucrat falling in love with a much younger Thai woman

17/05/2023

Dr Rabela Junejo reviews Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro's "Saints, Sufis and Shrines: The Mystical Landscape of Sindh", that will pique the interest of local and foreign scholars and interested laypersons alike

Anthropologist Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro’s latest erudite book will pique the interest of local and foreign scholars and interested...

17/05/2023

Harris Khalique writes on "Nigah-i-Aina Saaz Mein" [In the Eye of the Mirror Maker: Memories, Experiences and Observations of a Revolutionary Political Worker], an oral historiography of the rich life story of Rishad Mahmood

The Institute of Historical and Social Research (IHSR), Karachi — set up by progressive activist-turned-philanthropist Dr Tariq...

17/05/2023

Safinah Danish Elahi reviews "Nine Lives" — a fast-paced murder mystery by Peter Swanson in the style of Agatha Christie

Bestselling American author Peter Swanson’s latest novel is a fast-paced murder mystery in the style of Agatha Christie

17/05/2023

Sher Alam Shinwari reviews "Bacha Khan: Drama" by noted Pashto poet and playwright Gul Muhammad Betab. A tribute to a soul who enlightened Pakhtuns with love of their land and people, linguistic diversity, and art and culture

A play by a noted Pashto poet and playwright is a tribute to a soul who enlightened Pakhtuns with the light of political...

17/05/2023

Muneeza Shamsie's highly readable review of the spectacular 19th century poem "The Incomparable Festival" by Mir Ali Yar “Jan Sahib”, as translated by Shad Naveed, with analysis/explanation by Dr Raza Khan
https://www.dawn.com/news/1751382/poetry-rekhti-ethnography-and-time-past

26/04/2023

Claire Chambers on non-fiction about the Uighurs. The Turkic Muslims of China’s Xinjiang province — also known as East Turkestan — suffer from a covert but aggressive colonisation involving threats, violence and surveillance at the hands of the Chinese government

The Uighurs — Turkic Muslims of China’s Xinjiang province, also known as East Turkestan — suffer from a covert but aggressive..

26/04/2023

Muneeza Shamsie in conversation with Aamina Ahmad, whose acclaimed debut "The Return of Faraz Ali" won the Best First Novel award at the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Awards and the Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction

Many congratulations on winning the Writers’ Guild Award for The Return of Faraz Ali, a riveting, carefully structured novel...

26/04/2023

Nadya Chishty-Mujahid reviews Robert Galbraith's (J.K. Rowlings) "The Ink Black Heart". With its fast, suspenseful pace, this detective novel is entertaining despite its length
https://www.dawn.com/news/1748830/fiction-murder-she-wrote

26/04/2023

Suhayb Alavi reviews Mahpara Safdar's "Mera Zamana, Meri Kahani". The renowned erstwhile PTV newscaster's autobiography is a must for young girls, media students, and anyone interested in the events of the 1970s and ’80s

Renowned erstwhile PTV newscaster Mahpara Safdar’s autobiography is a must for those interested in the events of the 1970s and ’80

19/04/2023

Harris Khalique writes on the public education system in Pakistan

American author and humorist Mark Twain once said that he never let his schooling interfere with his education. Likewise, Albert

19/04/2023

Nasir Abbas Nayyar writes on Mir Taqi Mir in honour of the 300th birth anniversary of the 'khuda-i-sukhan'

Commemorating Mir Taqi Mir, the undisputed master of Rekhta, in the 300th year of his birth

19/04/2023

Mahnaz Naveed Shah reviews Ayesha Husain's debut novel "What More Could She Possibly Want?", that sensitively explores multi-generational relationships, needs, expectations and obligations and the impact of people’s own insecurities on themselves and on each other

A debut novel sensitively explores multi-generational relationships, needs, expectations and obligations and the impact of...

19/04/2023

Umer Khan reviews "Journeys Toward Gender Equality in Islam" by Ziba Mir Hosseini. This fascinating book asks that, if justice is an intrinsic value in Islam, why have women been treated as second-class citizens in its legal tradition. And is gender equality possible within it?

A fascinating book asks that, if justice is an intrinsic value in Islam, why have women been treated as second-class citizens in

12/04/2023

Kazim Alam writes on discovering the music of Bob Dylan, and his autobiography "Chronicles: Volume One" — an odd book, yet authentic; not a ghostwritten tome workshopped by a team of for-hire content developers.

I got hooked on American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan’s music in May 2021. Ammi and Abbu had passed away, one after...

12/04/2023

Munib Ahmad Khan reviews Shahid Siddiqui's "Potohar: Khitta-i-Dilruba" [Potohar: Land of the Beloved]. This lyrical collection of essays about the region’s history, culture and myths presents complex and layered humans engaged in ordinary human activities

A lyrical collection of essays about the region’s history, culture and myths presents complex and layered humans engaged in...

12/04/2023

Rehana Alam reviews Karma Brown's novel "Recipe for a Perfect Wife" that comes across almost as a beach read, but is a page-turner that provokes readers to think about gender roles
https://www.dawn.com/news/1746737/fiction-husbands-and-wives

12/04/2023

Nadeem Farooq Paracha reviews "Pakistan Left Review: Then and Now", edited by Nadir Cheema and Stephen M. Lyon. This selection of editorials, analyses and interviews published in a the long-defunct leftist journal from London presents not only a slice of history of the Pakistani left, but is also an indicator of its naiveté

A selection of editorials, analyses and interviews published in a long-defunct leftist journal from London presents not only a...

07/04/2023

B&A issue of April 2 makes a cameo in the promo for "Money Back Guarantee"

07/04/2023

Taha Ali reviews "Conspiracy: A History of Bo****ks Theories, and How Not to Fall for Them" by Tom Phillips and Jonn Elledge — a quick and entertaining primer to this topsy-turvy world, but only as a superficial first step

Conspiracy theories now dominate the mainstream. Two British journalists provide a quick and entertaining primer to this topsy