Between Clay and Dust,Used

Product Description Ustad Ramzi was once the greatest wrestler in the land, famed for his strength and unmatched technique. Young apprentices flocked to his akhara to learn his craft, fans adored him, and rival wrestling clans feared his resolve that would never admit defeat. The courtesan Gohar Jan was just as renowned. Celebrated throughout the country for her beauty and the power of her singing, her kotha was thronged by nobles, rich men, and infatuated admirers. Musharraf Ali Farooqis latest novel presents these extraordinary characters in the twilight of their lives. Their skills are no longer what they once were, new challengers to their eminence have risen, and the adoring crowds and followers are long gone. An immense catastrophe has laid waste to the country; its new inheritors have no time for the old ways. Stripped of their resources and their old powers, Ustad Ramzi and Gohar Jan must face their greatest challenge yet. Powerful and haunting, Between Clay and Dust is a triumph of storytelling and a poignant exploration of love, honour, redemption, and the strength that great souls find to go on when all is lost. Available for the first time in Canada, Between Clay and Dust was a finalist for the Man Asian Literary Prize. Review There is a belllike clarity to Farooqis delineation of his characters, his slow unraveling of their motivations and desires. This is a quietly affecting book, with a profound understanding of tragedy; that what happens to us is as much a function of how we respond to events as the events themselves. The Sunday Guardian A privileged peek into the mind of the Pahalwan and Courtesan, the subcontinents most intriguing symbols of romance. Storytelling at its best. Naseeruddin Shah This is the most poignant, the most subtle, the most moving novel I have read in the past few years from this, or any, region. A natural storyteller, Farooqi imagines a world we thought we were familiar with and then pulls the rug out from under our feet. The Caravan From the Back Cover Ustad Ramzi was once the greatest wrestler in the land, famed for his strength and unmatched technique. Young apprentices flocked to his akhara to learn his craft, fans adored him, and rival wrestling clans feared his resolve that would never admit defeat. The courtesan Gohar Jan was just as renowned. Celebrated throughout the country for her beauty and the power of her singing, her kotha was thronged by nobles, rich men, and infatuated admirers. Musharraf Ali Farooqis latest novel presents these extraordinary characters in the twilight of their lives. Their skills are no longer what they once were, new challengers to their eminence have risen, and the adoring crowds and followers are long gone. An immense catastrophe has laid waste to the country; its new inheritors have no time for the old ways. Stripped of their resources and their old powers, Ustad Ramzi and Gohar Jan must face their greatest challenge yet. Powerful and haunting, Between Clay and Dust is a triumph of storytelling and a poignant exploration of love, honour, redemption, and the strength that great souls find to go on when all is lost. Available for the first time in Canada, Between Clay and Dust was a finalist for the Man Asian Literary Prize. About the Author Musharraf Ali Farooqi is a novelist and translator. He was born in 1968 in Hyderabad, Pakistan, and now divides his time between Toronto and Karachi. Between Clay and Dust was shortlisted for the 2012 Man Asian Literary Prize and longlisted for the 2013 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. He also writes childrens literature (including Pakistans first Englishlanguage novel for children) and critically acclaimed translations of Urdu classics.