abecedarian
Well-Known Member
This is one of those books I hate to give a rating to. The writing is excellent; the characters lifelike and memorable. What probably bothers me is how gloomy and desparate the events described here. What a tumultuous time and place to be living; that period of history when India broke off a piece of itself to create the nation of Pakistan. Imagine a small village on the edge of that newly formed line, full of Moslems, Hindi, and Sikhs who'd managed to forge a workable method of getting along amongst themselves, now suddenly forced to evacuate half the town for 'their own protection.' Of course, even that is not as simple as it sounds; nothing ever is. There's horrible violence and attrocities afoot from all sides. Good reading, but not for everyone
