Another Gulmohar Tree
Published on 1. August 2012
116 pages
978-1-84659-095-5 (ISBN)
Description
Usman is visiting post-war London from Pakistan when he meets a young aspiring artist called Lydia who has, like him, come out of an unhappy marriage. Just as the lonely strangers' friendship begins to blossom into something deeper Usman has to return to Karachi, leaving Lydia behind. Two years later, Lydia impulsively abandons her life in London and boards a ship to Karachi, where the two are married. But as the years flit by Usman feels distanced from his life and realises that he hasn't noticed the buds of the gulmohar tree unfurl. A beautiful account of a marriage that is in turns wry and unashamedly romantic.
Usman is visiting post-war London from Pakistan when he meets a young aspiring artist called Lydia who has, like him, come out of an unhappy marriage. Just as the lonely strangers' friendship begins to blossom into something deeper Usman has to return to Karachi, leaving Lydia behind. Two years later, Lydia impulsively abandons her life in London and boards a ship to Karachi, where the two are married. But as the years flit by Usman feels distanced from his life and realises that he hasn't noticed the buds of the gulmohar tree unfurl. A beautiful account of a marriage that is in turns wry and unashamedly romantic.
Usman is visiting post-war London from Pakistan when he meets a young aspiring artist called Lydia who has, like him, come out of an unhappy marriage. Just as the lonely strangers' friendship begins to blossom into something deeper Usman has to return to Karachi, leaving Lydia behind. Two years later, Lydia impulsively abandons her life in London and boards a ship to Karachi, where the two are married. But as the years flit by Usman feels distanced from his life and realises that he hasn't noticed the buds of the gulmohar tree unfurl. A beautiful account of a marriage that is in turns wry and unashamedly romantic.
Reviews / Votes
'Hussein vibrantly evokes the Karachi of the 1950's and 1960's in an affectionate tribute to a long marriage' Guardian; 'Framed in distilled prose, this is a moving fable about this slow and sometimes startling growth of love. A slender delight.' Financial Times; 'Readers of Hussein's precise poetic prose in this quietly melancholy novel will be similarly rewarded' TLS; 'From the first paragraph, Another Gulmohar Tree plunges us into a world that is irrefutably real. It's this perfectly judged and rendered sense of reality - which pervades these characters' lives, as well as the cities they inhabit - that immediately absorbs and disarms the reader. We are lucky to have Hussein among us, telling us stories as few can, with his particular mixture of deep love, understanding, and sadness.' Amit Chaudhuri; 'A lovely, strange and very moving novel. The colours and shape develop as you read while the couple's mutual understanding moves forward and upward over the years like two branches of blossom meeting at the top of the tree.' Ruth Padel; 'Taut yet lush ... like the flame-bright flowers of the gulmohar tree itself. At its heart it is a story of love, into which Hussein weaves all his remarkable skills of storytelling.' Kamila Shamsie'Hussein vibrantly evokes the Karachi of the 1950's and 1960's in an affectionate tribute to a long marriage' Guardian; 'Framed in distilled prose, this is a moving fable about this slow and sometimes startling growth of love. A slender delight.' Financial Times; 'Readers of Hussein's precise poetic prose in this quietly melancholy novel will be similarly rewarded' TLS; 'From the first paragraph, Another Gulmohar Tree plunges us into a world that is irrefutably real. It's this perfectly judged and rendered sense of reality - which pervades these characters' lives, as well as the cities they inhabit - that immediately absorbs and disarms the reader. We are lucky to have Hussein among us, telling us stories as few can, with his particular mixture of deep love, understanding, and sadness.' Amit Chaudhuri; 'A lovely, strange and very moving novel. The colours and shape develop as you read while the couple's mutual understanding moves forward and upward over the years like two branches of blossom meeting at the top of the tree.' Ruth Padel; 'Taut yet lush ... like the flame-bright flowers of the gulmohar tree itself. At its heart it is a story of love, into which Hussein weaves all his remarkable skills of storytelling.' Kamila Shamsie
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
File size
0,48 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-84659-095-5 (9781846590955)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Aamer Hussein was born in Karachi in 1955 and moved to London in his teens. He is the author of numerous fiction titles including The Cloud Messenger, Insomnia, This Other Salt,and Turquoise and is the editor of Kahani. He reviews regularly for the Independent and the TLS, has held visiting posts at the University of Southampton and the University of London and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Aamer Hussein was born in Karachi in 1955 and moved to London in his teens. He is the author of numerous fiction titles including The Cloud Messenger, Insomnia, This Other Salt,and Turquoise and is the editor of Kahani. He reviews regularly for the Independent and the TLS, has held visiting posts at the University of Southampton and the University of London and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Aamer Hussein was born in Karachi in 1955 and moved to London in his teens. He is the author of numerous fiction titles including The Cloud Messenger, Insomnia, This Other Salt,and Turquoise and is the editor of Kahani. He reviews regularly for the Independent and the TLS, has held visiting posts at the University of Southampton and the University of London and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Content
- Cover
- Title
- Usman's Song
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- Another Gulmohar Tree
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- Acknowledgements
- Copyright
