| Title | : | The Shadow of the Crescent Moon |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0670922986 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780670922987 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 240 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2013 |
| Awards | : | Women's Prize for Fiction Longlist (2014) |
Three brothers, who adopt the different ways of life from each other after their father's death, meet for breakfast. Soon after, the eldest, Aman Erum, recently returned from America, hails a taxi to the local mosque. The second, Sikandar, a doctor, goes to check in at his hospital. His troubled wife, does not join the family that morning. No one knows where Mina goes these days. And the youngest, the idealist, Hayat, leaves for town on a motorbike. Seated behind him is a beautiful, fragile girl, whose life and thoughts are overwhelmed by the war that has enveloped the place of her birth.
Three hours later their day will end in devastating circumstances.
The Shadow of the Crescent Moon chronicles the lives of five young people trying to live and love in a world on fire. Individuals are pushed to make terrible choices. And, as the events of this single morning unfold, one woman is at the centre of it all.
The Shadow of the Crescent Moon Reviews
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Four chapters into this one,I don't think I should bother finishing it.
At first it seemed like an interesting idea,a book set in Pakistan's tribal areas.This wild land has been the scene of innumerable US drone attacks and military operations since 9/11.
Of course,it should also be remembered that people living in these areas have carried out thousands (yes thousands) of suicide attacks in Pakistan's cities over the better part of the last two decades.I've lost count of Pakistan's very own 9/11s.
Given this background,it is hard for me to muster any sympathy for Fatima Bhutto's characters,who are essentially fighting the Pakistani state.
Fatima Bhutto's own father,Murtaza Bhutto had carried out terrorist activities against the Pakistani state. (He was killed by the police,though not in retaliation for his crimes).
Her grandfather,Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was hanged,for a murder he may or may not have ordered.
Thus,her books have a definite slant.
It is therefore,not surprising,that this is not a pro Pakistan book.She is very critical of the army,again not surprising,given her family's troubles with it.
As for the title,it seems to be a reference to Pakistan's flag,which has a crescent moon.
As for the storytelling,it isn't all that great.As other reviewers have noted,the book doesn't really give an accurate picture of life in the tribal areas.It is debatable how much she knows about the region and how much she has interacted with the locals.
It is a half baked effort and may give a misleading picture to readers outside Pakistan.
Abandoned. -
There are places in the book where the writing is beautiful depicting the lives of three brothers from a Pakistani village during the war in Afghanistan. These are the moments when I could feel the sadness over loss of loved ones , of home , of an earlier peaceful life . Of course I saw the news and read about what was happening in Afghanistan and in the villages bordering it during the war , but this novel brings us the story on a different level to individuals and the author gives us an intimate portrayal of the effects of war and the consequences played out in a single morning for this family .
Aman Erum the eldest brother just wants out - to get away from the family carpet business but mainly to just get away from it all at any cost . The second bother Sikandar , a doctor is dealing with a personal loss and trying to deal with the disruptions that his wife Mina is causing in the village . She goes to funerals of people that she does not know , praying and singing poems and bathing the dead. It is heartbreaking when we find out why .
The youngest Hayat wants to carry on with his father's work and be part of saving the village .The divergent paths that these brother is portrayed in flashbacks and alternating narratives about what each of the brothers is doing that day and how they came to where they are .
At first I was going to give this three stars because in spite of the fact that I was absorbed in the story and was moved by the writing, I was confused over the politics of it all . The government, the village , the tribes , the different positions of the brothers had me trying to figure it all out as I read. When I woke up today thinking about this I decided it deserved four stars because the confusion perfectly illustrated the complexity of it all .
Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP The Penguin Press and NetGalley . -
It is one of those books which makes you feel blessed at just being curled up in your sofa, with a hot cup of coffee in your hand. As you turn the pages, you cringe at the ill-fate of people, you leave a soft sigh at the merciless killings, all the while playing a game of prediction with the patient reader within you.
As you turn the pages, you loose the traditional flow of time. Like a hamster inside a ball, you find yourself moving round and round from events in the past and present. Though the plot happens within a span of a few hours, the story stretches to include incidents from years down the lane - all in a way that makes perfect sense for the reader.
The characters of the three brothers, who weave the story, are contrasting. While one is an epitome of patriotism, the other is an ambitious man who like many others in the conflict zone of Mir Ali wants to escape into a land of opportunities and peace, and yet another is a doctor, who along with his wife, lives a life that faces a happiness drought after his son's death.
No love, you ask? The subtle romance between Aman Erum (The eldest of the brothers who leaves to America to find a good job) and Samarra (a feisty woman who rests her loyalty to her birth place, Mir Ali, seems enough to have one shedding a tear or two when it withers due to the turn of events.
Towards the end of the book, the pace accelerates at a breakneck speed. Even if you have your sausages getting burnt on the stove, you would be incapable of putting the book down. And then like a shooting star, everything ends. You turn back a few pages and read it again to see if you had missed any paragraph. No, it cannot end so soon, you say. It is then that you see goose bumps all over your skin. Goose bumps that probably have erupted as a case of a mini volcanic eruption inside of you. An eruption that has left a deep hollow. You turn the last leaf.
Moments later, you might be watching TV, but then you know your mind is still replaying the seen when Sikandar (one of the brothers who is the doctor) pleads with the terrorists to leave him alone, and when his wife Mina wails her way outside the car to face them, head held high, cursing them for her son's death.
Zalim! Zalim! - the words of Mina echo in your years as you stare towards the sky to see the perfectly formed crescent moon. Although, this time you find yourself incapable of enjoying its beauty. -
Thank you to the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. Like many readers who have already posted reviews on GR, I found there were many things to like about Bhutto's first novel but some aspects were frustrating. Set in Mir Ali -- which is part of Pakistan but on the border of Afghanistan -- this book tells the story of three brothers and two young women with very different perspectives and making very different choices in this war torn world. This short novel takes place over a few hours -- with many ongoing flashbacks which gradually reveal a number of sad and at times horrific secrets -- leading to dramatic events at end. The flashbacks worked well and the writing was quite good. But this book is at times hard to follow if you don't have a sophisticated understanding of the political context. Given that it was written in English, presumably it is meant at least in part for an English audience, many of whom will not have the background understanding this book clearly requires to get the most out it. This is not a usual complaint for me; I am generally happy to use a novel as an opportunity to learn about a historical context or political situation I am not familiar with. I did some internet research to fill the gap, but this is a very specific area of Pakistan facing very specific issues, and filling in the gaps did not prove straightforward. To make it more accessible, Bhutto's book would have benefitted from a bit more historical and political context -- at the very least in a prologue at the beginning. But Bhutto is clearly a promising writer, and I would be happy to take a chance on her next book.
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Having read about Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) already, this book didn't come as a surprize to me. Fatima Bhutto's depiction of the village of Mir Ali is real, her writing vivid and very honest. Given the actual situation of the FATA, it's a very daring work. And probably, only someone coming from the Bhutto dynasty can afford to write about it. She blends fiction and non-fiction very beautifully and her capacity to create clear imagery is commendable. The depth and individuality of her characters, and the varying impacts of the war has on their person are things which I appreciate the most in her fiction. It's a very fine book, free of any unnecessary or irrelevant stuff.
No sensationalization.
A very sincere effort! -
There is no story. I spent the whole time patiently waiting for a pattern to emerge but was left high and dry in the end. The only attraction for me was the intimate details of the various scenes. The plot is the same old Pakistani/American collaboration exploiting the downtrodden Pushtun minority on the Afghan border. Trouble is that the lifestyle portrayed seems to resemble nothing of the strict and clannish Pushtun families I know of. I cannot imagine any young girl or women loitering around in the company of young men like the protagonists in the novel. I also struggle to imagine the city of Mirali as depicted by Fatima Bhutto as it resembled more of a small city in Punjab rather than the ultra conservative Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Some of Fatima’s observations left me pretty incredulous as well, like Taliban respect for absolute justice and the rebellious university students fighting for just cause of liberation against the state of Pakistan. I am afraid the novel does not represent Pushtun area depicted at all. Rather I got a sense of a number of rebellions all merged into one story like a Bollywood movie script. The university rebellion was taken from the Baluch rebellious movement, doctors getting killed taken from larger cities of Pakistan, and lady doctor raped was taken from SUI in Balochistan, making this novel highly imaginative and romantic. Its a poor representation of the people Fatima has tried to highlight I am afraid. -
I was rather inspired by knowing that this book was written by Fatima Bhutto than knowing what the story of the book was. In fact, not just Fatima Bhutto but any of the bestselling book by any Pakistani writer, I’m aspired and inspired to. It’s a quick read but one simply can’t finish it sooner cuz it simply doesn’t let you.
The Shadow of the Crescent Moon is one of those books which is most difficult to decipher. The writing was, very extraordinarily unusual and difficult to access. The idea and thoughts behind the simple words and story, was much bigger and far intriguing than one had assessed. The whole story reveals itself in the last of the pages of the books so you got to have patience and courage to read it till the end. I didn’t understand the book completely. What Fatima Bhutto has illustrated about the Waziristan, Pakistan tribal areas, the war engaged between Taliban, Afghanis, Army, Politicians squeezed the mere people of the area in between recklessly, puts you in deep reverie about where you currently reside; sitting on comfortable sofa, warm family to welcome, food on table and most of it, a safe house to live in. What I understood is, I’m one of those luckiest people.
Anyone can tell you what the story of the book is: three brothers and two girls, having different perspectives about life, going through some chaotic times, engaged with a war with themselves, freeing themselves from themselves. But what it really is about, what I felt along the ride of obliteration of people and their homeland in the name of peace. It hurts to read everything and it’s even worse in reality but nothing comes out other than a silent sob and a wet tear rolling down your cheek cuz you’re helpless like the people suffering, you simply have no power to overcome the situation, you say that you share the consequences and suffering and understand and feel how they feel but you never can, it’s obvious, that’s what it hurts the most; being helpless. Imagine yourself in that position, in fact it’s even impossible to imagine yourself in those destructive and anytime-bombarded streets. And the killing in the name of Shia Sunna; one cannot deny the simplest of the fact. And that kind of killing has grown much worse in Syria, a massacre, which is slowly creeping its way in Pakistan and soon will rule its place dividing the country into two. From the outside looking in, you can't understand it; from the inside looking out, you can't explain it.
Whenever I’ll look at the sight of the crescent moon I’ll come up, every time, with the same question until I have the answer: “What steps one can possibly take, what can I do? Can I give my all of me?” -
I could not tell if the characters were embroiled as terrorists or as citizens trying to survive terrorism. That is a pretty big gap in understanding! Neither the place nor the characters were developed to make me care.
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The Shadow of the Crescent Moon is a fascinating read on so many levels. It is set in Mir Ali, a town in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan that saw an "insurgency" in 2007 that led to a battle between the "insurgents" and the Pakistan Army.
After reading this book, I had to second guess at using the word "insurgents" in the first place. But that's a whole other debate that's neither here nor there.
It follows the story of three brothers: Aman Erum, Sikander and Hayat. Three brothers that are very different from each other.
I related on many levels with Aman Erum, the oldest of the brothers. His realization that he never fitted in nor will ever fit in with his people, and utmost desire to leave a town like Mir Ali for better prospects was something that was too familiar to me. Sometimes my heart would skip a beat as I read through his thoughts because it would be as if Bhutto had snatched the very words from my mouth. It was a pleasantly uncanny experience reading about him. However, his growing desperation and detachment from his identity and principles was a bit nerve wracking to read. While his actions were somewhat understandable, he quickly lost sympathy from me.
Sikander is the younger brother. He has a wife named Mina. They had a son named Zalan who . Theirs is perhaps the most heartbreaking part of the book especially when .
Hayat is the youngest and the most radically different from the rest. He's a nationalist and would be considered an insurgent by the Pakistani State and a freedom fighter by the people of Mir Ali. He is involved with Samarra, a girl who was previously infatuated with Aman Erum. She is an up and coming leader of the insurgency and together they planned on . Samarra's story is also a heartbreaking one. From that experience, she grew angrier and more determined to destroy the State and free Mir Ali.
Bhutto excels in creating the vivid imagery of Pakistan - its culture, its people, the environment. It is like the reader can see what he reads. The language is crisp, certain and effective. Bhutto gets every detail right which delight me as a reader because I'm familiar with the subject matter being from Pakistan.
On the whole, this is a really interesting book and for an up and coming author, Bhutto is off to a great start. -
too much flashbacks detracts the reader a lot. to me its too much dragged to 230 pages with something that could have been summed up in 150 pages. the last few parts are gripping tough and quite finely written.
overall I would say I am not impressed sadly. -
The Shadow of the Crescent Moon was a great fictional read for those interested in stories that connect.
The setting of this novel, Afghanistan, is a setting I do not know much about. The author did an incredible job of describing the setting and life in Afghanistan during the American invasion. I felt fully engrossed with the characters Fatima Bhutto introduced and I felt the need to continue reading this book. I was invested in this novel.
However, I did find this novel rather boring. There wasn't much action or adventure in this fictional novel. It moved incredibly slowly, and when the "action" did hit I was expecting it. There wasn't any twists or turns that left me grasping on for more. It seemed to just be a quality, "normal" fiction novel. There was nothing that made it stand out to me, other than the incredible setting.
I did enjoy this novel, I just felt like it didn't leave me feeling like "wow, I need to read more books by Fatima Bhutto immediately". The novel left me feeling like I gained a little more knowledge on Afghanistan and could now put this book on my shelf.
Fatima Bhutto did an incredible job writing, and I do like this book. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a calm fiction read or anyone who is interested in Afghanistan in fiction.
Three out of five stars.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. -
It was the hallucinatory quality of the prose that got me through this book.
Assuming that this was intended for a Western audience at the end I was unsure what I supposed to feel about this story. Was I to feel informed about political situation as regards the tribal regions of the Northwest frontier of Pakistan? Was it to have my feelings inflamed over the injustices perpetrated against the Pashtun speaking people of that region? To feel their pain through the tragic unfolding of lives of this novel's central characters? To have the chain yanked on on my complacent and spoiled western outlook? To make me come over all liberal guilty and ashamed of my benefiting, no matter at far a remove, colonization, globalization and all those other awful 'izations?
I'm sorry that I felt little sympathy for any of the characters. I'm hopefully assuming that's the authors fault.
But mostly I just ended up feeling thankful for the Enlightenment and the notion of liberal democracy and that I don't live somewhere that the 'traditional value' of intolerance towards everyone and everything outside of my 'tribe' holds sway.
As yet anyway. -
I won this book as a first-reads and I can say that they way that book was structured was fantastic. The literature that is contained in the book was perfect. And the story about the three brothers, Aman Erum, Hayat and Sikander was intriguing. However I believe that the story was left unfinished because it did not contain what had happened when the disaster that Samarra caused strikes, and who the target was that Aman Erum was talking about was. There is still so many questions, but I can say that as I closed the book I was happy, because even still, it was a pleasure to read.
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The steady build up lured me into a false sense of disinterest, but suddenly I was hooked as the separate stories of the three brothers developed and the writing forced me to care about what happened to them. The unexplained ending left me wishing my version would be the true one, I wonder what you wished?
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Check out this and other reviews on my blog
https://throwmeabook.wordpress.com/20...
The Shadow of the Crescent Moon follows the movements of three brothers, Aman Erum, Hayat and Sikander on a rainy Friday in the small and remote village of Mir Ali, in northern Pakistan. Aman Erum, the oldest brother, has recently returned from America and is on his way to the mosque. While he travels by taxi to his destination, we learn through a series of flashbacks his dream of travelling to America and the sacrifices and transgressions he has made in order for his dream to come true.
Hayat, the middle brother leaves on his motorcycle. He can’t imagine living anywhere else than Mir Ali and fights for his home, his village and country, with a group of like minded young men and women. This ragtag group of fighters is lead by a mysterious young woman whose attack plans will soon plunge Mir Ali into a catastrophic tragedy.
Sikander, the youngest of the three brothers, is a doctor at the local hospital. On this particular morning he is on his way to work when he receives a call to get his wife Mina, who ever since a recent family tragedy, has been barely hanging on to her sanity. Told in a series of flashbacks, The Shadow of the Crescent Moon tells a story of the consequences of choices made and paths taken, and we soon learn that every choice the brothers have made, every decision they have taken has brought them to this fateful, tragic day.
Fatima Bhutto has written a novel of beautiful, lyrical, hypnotizing prose. The characters she has created in The Shadow of the Crescent Moon are captivating, strong willed and determined. I found the back story (American invasion of Afghanistan) well written and informative and gave a solid tie in with the characters. That being said, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I would have wanted to just because it was a little too involved in terms of politics for my liking and although the build up to the tragic events of the day was excellent, the end gave the impression of being unfinished with no real explanation of events, no closure.
Would I recommend this title? Sure, if nothing else but for the absolutely beautiful writing. Fatima Bhutto has a wonderful gift for creating with words and I look forward to reading her next book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group (The Penguin Press HC) for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review. -
Per FTC guidelines: I received a digital copy of this book from Edelweiss; I'm not being paid for my review.
The Shadow of the Crescent Moon by Fatima Bhutto tells the story of a single morning in Mir Al, Pakistan, and the lives of the five main characters: Aman Erum, his brother Hayat, his brother Sikandar, Sikandar's wife Mina, and Samarra--an old friend of Erum's, as well as his estranged girlfriend. The novel is centered heavily around the characters and their motivations/desires, but there is a central plot weaved through about an attack that's planned for later in the morning that will have devastating consequences on them all.
I really enjoyed this book. Bhutto's writing is lyrical, capable of encapsulating a lot of emotion in a single sentence. She's a strong writer who has evocatively captured the city and the culture, which I loved. I could feel the city, smell the city, hear the city.
I also enjoyed getting to know the characters. They each had their individual voice, which is hard to pull off when you have five main voices trying to fit into a novel that's about 230 pages. For the most part, Bhutto pulls it off. I could have used a bit more explanation as to Erum's motives, but the other characters were clearly written. I especially liked Samarra and Hayat. I would love it if Bhutto wrote a novel primarily about a character like Samarra. I wanted more about her.
I can see why the flashbacks within the novel might be considered confusing, but I thought they were a great technique to show the blend of past and present and how it affects perspective and ultimately the future.
The ending was quite abrupt; I would have preferred a bit of a smoother ending that kind of gave me more definitive answers as to what had happened. It did fit with the structure of the novel, though.
All in all, I'd recommend the book. It's beautiful and tragic and human. -
It's the morning of the first day of Eid in Mir Ali, a town in the volatile semi-autonomous region of Pakistan near the Afghan border. The novel follows three brothers as they each rush off to important tasks and meetings before the start of noon prayers. Aman Erum has recently come home from studying in the United States, and he's struggling to adjust to life back in a place he never wanted to return to. Sikander is distracted from his work as a doctor by his troubled wife, who barges in on the funerals of strangers. Hayat, unbeknownst to his brothers, is involved in the underground rebel movement.
I have mixed feelings about this book. It offers a fascinating glimpse into a region I knew nothing about. The characters, family dynamics, and secrets Bhutto sets up are well-developed and rich with possibilities. The plot that unfolds is tense, with carefully placed revelations and buildup. Strong writing makes each scene gripping, and I was always absorbed and eager to find out what would happen next.
However: The political situation of Mir Ali is underexplained within the book, particularly early on when it would be most useful, and I had to do some outside research to orient myself. This is a surprising choice, since most readers won't be aware of the background and may pick up the book precisely because it portrays an unfamiliar locale. Even more confusing is the novel's abrupt ending. I don't expect stories to resolve with every thread neatly tied up, but so many pieces of the three plotlines were left unconnected that I felt like the book was missing its final quarter.
There is much in this novel to recommend, but it fell short of what it might have delivered. -
** Books 30 - 2019 **
This books to accomplish Tsundoku Books Challenge 2019
3,9 of 5 stars!
At First glance i interest with this books since it was written by Fatima Bhutto. niece from Formers Pakistani Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto from 1988-1990 and 1993-1996. So when i found this books in Big Bad Wolf 2019 i'm not hesitate to put into my cart!
Wow this books is success makes me getting emotional! Three brothers (Aman Erum, Sikandar and Hayat) who lives in Mir Ali, a small town in Pakistan's tribal area close to Afgan border each of them have their own painful stories
Middle east stories is always complicated and fascinated me. This books is reminds me a lot of ISIS. so many things makes my jaw is dropping. Bomb, murdering, are you sunni or shia? Talibans even yell at you "Kafir" since you can't prove to them that you are one of them. seriously this books is makes my head spinning right now :')
Especially Sikandar and his wife, Mina's stories that the one who broke my heart a lot. It is really painful for me to read their stories to found their son for coming back alive again. This is definitely one of my favorite works after to
The Kite Runner and
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Houssaini
Thankyou Big Bad Wolf 2019! -
Certain passage in books will drive a message with such force. This book opens with three Pakistani brothers eating breakfast on the first day of Eid. Yet "It is too dangerous, too risky, to place all the family together in one mosque that could easily be hit." How fortunate we are to live in a place where these thoughts do not enter our minds. Although the book takes place in one morning in the Pakistani village of Mir Ali, close to the Afghan border, there are flashbacks to enlighten the reader about the background events that shaped these three brothers,their friends, family, and country. A sobering look at a region of the world that is often in the news but about which we know too little.
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At the heart of this book is the politics of Mir Ali and how it pervades through the lives of its' citizens. It was interesting to the distinct journeys that the brothers took because of their politics and values but how their paths also criss-crossed one another in the larger political situation of Mir Ali. At first the rich descriptions and the movement from past to present made it difficult to follow the storyline. However, as over the course of the narrative one becomes invested in the story. The language was also beautiful and allowed me to visualize the book.
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For a first attempt at fiction it is a great effort - I just wish it wasn't following the same plot of Talibans, war on terror and rebellion that we have already read by other authors ...
Read Full Book Review here
http://samramuslim.com/book-review-th... -
“But the shadow of that (crescent) moon never faded over Mir Ali. It hung over its sky night after night, condemning the town to life under its cold shadow…”
Arguably amongst the most notable books to have come out of Pakistan in recent times, Fatima Bhutto’s debut novel is a heart-wrenching, tumultuous account of lives that have been pushed to periphery in the country. Set in Mir Ali, a fictitious tribal town where ‘there’s no greater cause than justice’, and which has been ‘made and unmade by partitions’, the book’s unusually (maybe at times irrationally) fierce with indignation – nurtured by various forces at hand; both intrinsic and extrinsic.
It’s a Friday morning – a drizzly Eid. Three brothers (Aman Erum, Sikandar and Hayat) meet up at breakfast, assuring each other of going with the plan of praying in different mosques, since it’s too dangerous otherwise. There are two women, Samarra and Mina; both poles apart in their demeanour yet distinguishably steady in their different ways of standing up to adversity. Despite all these voices, the central character of the book remains the one that’s voiceless: the town itself. Meticulous details and solid insights into the past and present of the town make it the heart of the story.
The book deals with various issues, with various dimensions to ‘the war’ to put it one way: drone attacks, the Taliban, missing persons, the Army’s questionable role, the centre’s apathy, the horrendous waves of terrorism and the Shia-Sunni conflict. Yet all these troubles do little to add to the theme of the story besides weighing down the lives of those already wrecked. Despite being very political in tone, the novel’s not a commentary (though the narration is very biased at times). And as it is with fiction, no answers are given. Perhaps, there simply are not any answers to give. Still, one wishes Fatima had remained neutral in her narration. She acts to, but her position comes across way too vividly – and a lot of us will disagree with the way she’s penned down the reality. Her take on the situation is uni-dimensional. She could’ve avoided writing about things she isn’t an expert on. And you simply cannot get away with a dearth of homework when picking up issues that are as sensitive as these. For starters, ‘raat ki raani’ is not translated as jasmine in English. That should give you an idea about the (lack of) research the book comes with!
Fatima Bhutto’s expression, as usual, is mostly poetic. Beautiful rhetoric claims the place of explanations. The present phase of the book only follows through to the noon of the decisive Friday, but the book keeps on filling us in with past details through flash-backs. Ample use of Pashto words and translations of Rehman Baba’s poetry lend an authentic feel to the book. There’s a sense of realism to all the central characters of the book – marred by confusion at places. The characters’ internal conflict is perhaps one of the best, most relatable points of the book. It questions the sense of belonging: the sacrifices you have to make to affirm your roots in the times of trouble and the sacrifices you have to make to cut those roots and start anew. That said, the setting of the town and its history she describes are a bit out of the blue – distortion both in geography and history can be easily marked out. (It’s a FATA where girls go about jovially on bike-rides with unrelated men and can ‘choose’ to cover their heads. Wow!) And the book hates Army. Completely, powerfully! But that’s not the trouble. The trouble is that even the Taliban are given some benefit of doubt, but any mention of the Army is replete with downright, incessant bashing. My only point here: way too biased.
So much is lost in tragedy – in the book, in reality. Since the issues dealt with in the book are so relevant, it’s hard to keep the line between fiction and non-fiction from fading at times. You know parts of it to be true, so maybe you’re somewhat prone to taking the part you’re just reading to be true too – except that mostly it isn’t. I don’t know if it works for or against the book, but it definitely gives a streak of importance of the book. And maybe the author gets an edge in the choice of her topic too.
Some will find the time-lapsed narrative a bit confusing, some will complain it’s definitely too partial and half-baked, others might object to the lack of depth of the characters and so on, but ‘The Shadow of the Crescent Moon’ scores where it hurts the most: bringing to light the stories of those wounded. Perhaps, just as the same way we tend to get over-saturated with the plethora of bad news around us, we might brush this narrative aside too as a continuum of the same news. But the town of Mir Ali, replete with its glorious history, beauty and tragedy is bound to stay with us for some time at least.
It is somewhat over-simplistic in its presentation of some facts. It is sometimes over-exaggerated in its portrayal of some forces. One expected a lot more from Fatima Bhutto, but as it was with her last book, ‘Songs of Blood and Sword’, this book also fails to be accurate on so many levels. Fiction gives you liberty – but not when you’re dealing with things that are the rage. But all in all, it is quite a strong book. And that pretty much is its strongest point too. As Bhutto said in one of her interviews that if there’s one thing she wishes her readers take with them from the book, it’s that violence never is the answer to anything. Too bad the novel, and our country, has too much of it.
(This review was originally published in Us Magazine, The News International) -
Haunting
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The Shadow of the Crescent Moon is the first attempt at fiction by the Pakistani poet, Fatima Bhutto. The story revolves around a family comprising three brothers in a small town (Mir Ali) located in the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) of Pakistan.
One the morning of Eid, three brothers gather for breakfast and then head towards different mosques to offer prayers; the first time when each of them are going to different mosques. The eldest brother, Aman Erum, doesn’t want to be confined to the boundaries of Mir Ali and wants to leave the place and explore the world and run a successful business. The second brother, Sikandar is a doctor practising in a government hospital in Mir Ali who is troubled by the loss of his son and more so, by his wife’s new habit of gate-crashing into funerals of strangers. The third brother, Hayat, is an idealist and a Pashto nationalist fighting against the ruthless state of Pakistan and its institution, thereby following in the footsteps of his father. He is even part of an underground rebel group in the local university at Mir Ali. Apart from that, there is a romantic sub-plot between Aman Erum and a young beautiful girl, Samarra, who is very fond of Mir Ali and doesn’t want to leave the place; thereby having a conflicting view as compared to that of Aman Erum. The three brothers await terrible incidents to unfold over the course of the next three hours.
The fact that the Fatima Bhutto is a poet was definitely a plus, with regard to the book, it was a well written prose, with certain abstract expressions and a lot of scenes left open to the reader to conclude after giving sufficient input. I felt the character of Aman Erum and his fiancé Samarra was really well built, and how they had conflicting ideas and how they tried to handle them and also; the character of Sikandar, a pragmatic man living in the reality, and his wife Mina, unable to come to terms with the death of their son, was also a good aspect of the novel. Apart from that, the author also took up a story based in a less known area of Pakistan, rather than the plots that usually revolve around Karachi, Lahore or Islamabad.
With that said, the plot was very poorly structured; the events were supposed to be happening on the same day and a chapter starts with a time of the day. However, very little happens on that day and instead, the book is filled with flashback and other events surrounding it rather than the actual present and within the same chapter, the book went back and forth within the present and the flashback. Moreover, despite the author’s half-Pashto roots, I still find it odd; considering I reasonably know that FATA is extremely conservative and Samarra seems like a typical upper middle-class woman from Islamabad rather than someone from Mir Ali. Just to add further to that point, the author used her setting very little; the description of Mir Ali was very shallow and considering she was eyeing a global audience, she should have described the insurgency in more detail, regarding the factions involved – considering she mentions both a civilian rebellion and the fundamentalist taliban and she barely touches upon whether the two were in any way connected.
I picked up this book from the library purely because of her last name, considering her grandfather Zulfikar was the former Prime Minister, succeeded years later by her aunt Benazir and the other members of her extended family too, being politically involved. I felt the book had a great potential but it was very poorly taken forward for the first 150 pages, and then ended very abruptly with abstract endings. The author took a courageous political position to criticise the military establishment of the country, but the hatred might probably arise from the history of her family with the institution, well expressed, nonetheless. This could have been a fantastic book with a little more details and being presented as a fine 325-350 page novel rather than the 230 page novel that it was.
I still feel that the author’s writing was promising, I enjoyed her flow, but not exactly her plot and thus, I would be looking forward to her future works, but regarding this particular work, I would award it a rating of two on five. -
Fatima Bhutto’s The Shadow of the Crescent Moon is a novel that deserves wide reading for its topic—but more than that, it deserves wide reading for its writing. The novel recounts the experiences of three brothers on Eid (the Muslim new year) in Mir Ali, a small town in Pakistan, near the border with Afghanistan, whose populace have been engaged in a long-term civil war against the Pakistani government.
Life in Mir Ali is perpetually violent. In addition to government and local combatants, there are US drones, and an influx of guerrillas from Afghanistan, who see themselves as freedom fighters, but who don’t differentiate between government targets and local targets that don’t share their particular branch of Islam. In fact, the violence has become so commonplace that for the first time ever the three brothers will not be attending the same mosque for Eid. Instead, each of them is going to a different mosque, a way of ensuring that at least someone will survive the violence that is apt to occur.
Although the primary action of the novel takes place during a period of a few hours, Bhutto offers enough back story that readers can unravel the complicated politics of the region. Perhaps not completely—but certainly more effectively and thoroughly than I’ve seen them explained in any other popular source.
The use of the three brothers allows Bhutto to offer multiple perspectives. Aman Erum, the eldest, has been studying in the U.S. and is desperate to leave Mir Ali for better opportunities elsewhere. Sikandar, the middle brother, is a physician whose son, an only child, has recently been killed in a bombing. Hayat, the youngest, has devoted his life to independence for Mir Ali, having spent his childhood listening to his father’s tales of earlier uprisings. Two women figure significantly as well: Mina, Sikandar’s wife, who has begun obsessively attending funerals of victims of terrorist violence, even when they are complete strangers to her, and Samarra, loved by both the oldest and the youngest, who has risen from a position as a courier for to leader of one of Mir Ali’s most active rebel cells.
As the few hours’ action plays out, readers are thrown from one crisis to the next. Even as each character strives to do what’s right, he (or she) finds himself trapped by circumstances, forced to betray his deepest convictions.
Don’t wait for this novel to come out in paperback. Read it now—both for its political context and for its crisp prose and rapidly paced plot. -
I only read it because of her family connections. I think I heard about it after her memoir came out or my interest in her memoir led me to this book. I haven't read it yet but happened to find this book as a bargain.
Told over the course of a few hours, this book tells the story of three brothers and how one morning changes their life forever. Flipping between the past and present as events and their doings eventually end tragically for them and those around them.
This was a tough book to read. Initially I was drawn into the story of the family, the three brothers and their paths. But as the book went on I found myself skimming, but that wasn't such a good idea since it tends to move back and forth through time. It also wasn't clear to me what the actual plot was until well in the book. Not really a good sign.
Although I have some knowledge of Pakistan I can't help but feel I'm definitely missing something as I read the reviews that talk about having a much more intimate knowledge of the time and setting of the book. I was willing to go along with it but it seems that if one knows the region much better then the reader might get more out of it (or not, depending).
It also seemed like the author had WAY too much going on. It's the story of these brothers and their lives, their loves, the greater geopolitical conflict (post 9/11), what appears to be an assassination plot, etc. It made it difficult to follow along AND to get to know the characters better. It felt like there was potential for a GREAT novel here, but it didn't fully gel or it was removed from the stove while it's only half-cooked or so.
Still, while I see-sawed a bit on whether I should read her memoir after I finished this, I'm still intrigued. Having read this makes me wonder if it will give me any possible background going into her other book, someday. Would recommend this as a library borrow if it's something you still want to read. -
Three brothers from the town of Mir Ali in the tribal area of northwestern Pakistan, their family, community, love, choices, motives, betrayals, secrets, grief, violence, political and social strife. The premise was good, but something in the storytelling didn't connect with me at the level that I anticipated. NY Times book reviewer Lorraine Adams aptly touches on that issue, as if she was inside my head:
"In his lectures to students, Nabokov insisted that novels contain story, lesson and magic, and that the great writer isn’t just a yarn-spinning entertainer or a moral educator but an enchanter. We read the enchanter’s work for that “telltale tingle” in the spine, that “shiver of artistic satisfaction.” This may be too much to expect from a first-time novelist, even one as intelligent and worldly as Bhutto.
At times in “The Shadow of the Crescent Moon,” it’s hard not to notice that she’s still learning the difficult art of story-making. Too often, she tries to build momentum through portentous foreshadowing and cryptic dialogue. She frequently withholds information from the reader to heighten the mystery, a technique that works best when applied sparingly. The innate tension and forward motion that come from setting a novel on a single morning — a fine premise — is squandered by a few too many flashbacks."
Read more of that review at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/19/boo...
While the storytelling has shortcomings, kudos to the book designer and the photographer whose photo graces the cover. I LOVE the cover! I kept closing the book to look at it. If I had a print of it I'd hang in in my house.
Note: I received an advanced proof copy of this novel from the publisher via a Goodreads giveaway. Thanks! -
Although the action of the novel takes place on a single day (a contemporary Eid), in a single town (a small village in the tribal region of Pakistan) and a single family, the narrative winds through the generation ago that the now deceased patriarch was a never apprehended separatist leader, the five years ago when the eldest son went to business school in New Jersey at the cost of becoming an informant, the two years ago that the youngest brother became radicalized by the brutalization by the secret police of the woman eldest brother intended to return to and marry and the year ago that the physician middle brother lost his toddler son to a bomb attack on his hospital by a Sunni militia (and subsequently lost his wife to an obsessive madness manifested in going to the funerals of children killed in drone strikes). On this particular Eid, the Minister of Defense is coming to town to oversee the induction of 400 tribal men into the national army--the climax of decades of assimilation policies including a university and internet access (which can just as easily be turned against what the state wants them to do).
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Set in Mir Ali, a small town of North Waziristan, Shadow of the Crescent Moon sheds light on the perspective of the locals on the wedged war on terror by the government of Pakistan on the insistence of the US. However, things are more complicated than that. There is a Sunni-Shia strife instigated by the Taliban, drone attacks by the US and the role of army which constantly patrols Mir Ali as if it’s under occupation—and in between are families, torn, suffocated, wretched and killed.
What pleasantly surprised me was Bhutto’s research for the novel which realistically captures the cultural setting and history of Mir Ali. While the army enforces its agenda on the locals, restraining their freedom, the people of Mir Ali fight several fights at a time—from the centre for their freedom, from the Taliban, who kill ruthlessly and from their own people who get sold at the hands of other powers.
Although the ending doesn’t do justice to a beautiful beginning and a multifaceted plot, Shadow of the Crescent Moon does narrate the side of story of the people up North-West, who have been suffering for interests greater than their own.
