Nadeem Aslam - The Wasted Vigil

Tell the earth-thieves

To plant no more orchards of death

Beneath this star of ours

Or the fruit will eat them up.

The preceding lines from Vasko Popa’s Note on the Terazije Gallows, 1941 are just a fragment of the “pretty, striking words” you will come across in Nadeem Aslam’s ambitious third novel The Wasted Vigil. Aslam is a gifted author who pens down his story in a perfect rhythm; every pause, drift and emotion is measured. It really appears too perfect at times one would say. Nonetheless it is not Aslam’s penmanship, rather his resorting to stereotypical images that both annoyed and disturbed me.

The Wasted Vigil is certainly not an easy book. You can’t take it up and put it down during a dentist’s appointment. It is rather brutal in its exploration of Afghanistan; the past, present and the future.

The setting is an unsettling Afghanistan ravaged by world forces; the Soviets, Talibaan and now the United States. Marcus Caldwell is an English widower, owner of an old perfume factory who has lost his family in the war torn Afghanistan. The perfume factory serves as an asylum throughout the novel’s narrative. There is the Russian widow Lara, on a quest to find her missing conscripted brother. David, an ex- CIA operative. Casa, the stereotypical young jihaadi, who only seems to spew hatred. And Dunia, Aslam’s definition of a “moderate Muslim”. All of these characters are linked together by the war motif.

My objection towards The Wasted Vigil stems from the fact that in an age where every misdemeanour is attributed to the Muslims we hardly need a Pakistani writer to come up and point more accusatory fingers. It is always good to understand the point of view of both sides and yes there are many issues on which we need to correct ourselves. However what I felt lacking in this book was the development of the “moderate Muslim” whereas the jihaadi’s ideas were given more space. Coupled with this were the frequent misquotations from the Quran, taken out of context and employed as the jihaadi’s wrongful justifications.

The Wasted Vigil is a novel of great ambition no doubt, a misguided ambition.

Patrick Suskind - Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

But the hate he felt for people remained without an echo. The more he hated them at this moment, the more they worshiped him, for they perceived only his counterfeit aura, his fragrant disguise, his stolen perfume, and it was indeed a scent to be worshiped.

Originally known as Das Parfum.

I came across this gem of a book while browsing through the minefield that is German literature and I’ll admit, what attracted me towards picking it up was the name itself, even though I profess to not being a fan of Murder/Mystery novels. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is far more than being a mere exploration into the life of a murderer who kills for scent. He has no scent of his own thus he embarks upon a mission to procure the ultimate scent, one that will bestow upon him an identity of his own. The protagonist Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is at odds with the world from the moment he enters it to the time he waves it goodbye forever. Patrick Suskind’s narrative is arresting and guarantees the book to be a page turner with its eye for detail and exploration of the olfactory sense. At first glance one may not be able to relate to Jean-Baptiste. After all he is a murderer, almost an evil genius who puts twenty-five girls to death to steal their scent in his obsession to create the perfect scent that is able to manipulate human emotions. But as you’ll read on, you’ll realize that this story is a quest for identity, interaction and the ethics of human spirit. With its blend of magic realism, horror and mystery, this story will stay with you forever and is definitely worth your time and money.

Melissa Nathan - Pride, Prejudice and Jasmin Field

The television was on.

'ooh, look - it's whatsisname.'
'who?'
'you know . . .'
'which one?'
'the one with the hair.'
'oh yeah - God, haven't seen him for years. What was he in? Years ago now?'
'he was in that detective programme - what was it called?'
'oh I know, with that woman.'
'what woman?'
'you know the one with the um — oh - married to that actor.'
'what actor?'
'big guy, funny eyes - oh god what was he in? That's going to really annoy me now'
'I never knew they were married.'
'yeah (belch), pardon.'
'I wish I could remember the name of that programme'
'what programme?'
'the one that bloke was in.'
'what bloke?'
'you know, whatsisname.'
'who?
'DO YOU TWO MIND IF WE ACTUALLY HEAR THE PROGRAMME AS WELL AS WATCH IT?'
'Sorry.'
'Sorry.'

Haha. So I actually read this book for its dialouge. That and well the title. I heard that some author had written a modern version of Austen's well-loved Pride and Prejudice and was curious.

This book is a fun read. I usually don't immerse in "fun read"(s) as such. But this is a good light hearted book that you can quickly delve into. I think the best part was being able to see the compariosns being drawn between the original P&P characters and the contemporary parallels. The portrayal of Elizabeth and Darcy was spot on. Even though, as was expected, Elizabeth started to annoy me after a while. I wonder why that happens?