The writing is at times beautiful. But the general feel of the book is depressing and has a disjointed effect. While a chronological scheme is there, it lacks some overarching drive or momentum (and needs some more complete resolution). I just finished the book and I feel like I'm dangling and somewhat unsatisfied. ( )

I wanted very much to like this novel. At the sentence level, the author demonstrates style and verve in prose. And there are passages in the novel--in particular in the beginning chapters--that engaged me and kept me focused.

But as a novel, the entire piece doesn't hang together enough for me. Even if it were considered a novel-in-stories, or story cycle, or fragmented novel, the entire piece doesn't quite hit with me. I think this is the case because the main characters are not very interesting nor very likable characters. I wanted to empathize with the characters--mostly because they are interested in poetry, literature, and the university--but find myself completely neutral and uninterested in their fates. And yet, they are not unappealing enough that I am rooting for their demises, which can be a way to craft characters and provoke an anti-empathy, if you will, in the reader and lead to a great story or novel.

The most interesting characters appear on the first few pages and then totally disappear. For example, I would have liked to hear the tale of the aunt with no children--what was her story--why did she scare her young nephew? ( )

I was disapointed in this book. The main character leaves Pakistan, traveling through India, Italy and ends up a literature professor in London. It could have been interesting, but it wasn't. The characters aren't made real to the reader, no real personalties and some dialogue would have helped. I did like the discussion of Persian poetry, which is very important to the people of those countries. ai wish the author well in his next attempt.

In this nostalgic, meandering book about what might have been, we follow the life of Mehran from Karachi, Pakistan, to London, living through the '70s, '80s, and '90s. It's a relatively short novel, with chapter sometimes as small as half a page. But it took me a while to read, because it's a book that's easily put down (and easily picked back up again, but certainly not a page-turner.)

I loved the constant reference to Persian and Urdu poetry, the honest exploration of what it means to be place-less, the tangled mix of British and South Asian cultures. But I also found the back-and-forth between first and third person to be unsettling, and I found none of the characters sympthetic.

In short, there are a number of elements in this book that I liked, but it's lacking some polish. The book did leave me intrigued about Hussein as an author, though, and I would probably pick up another book of his in the future. ( )

In this original novel, the reader can follow the life of Mehran, from his childhood in Karachi to his youth and later life in London. Although he is described as someone who is able to move from place to place and forget his attachments to people and countries, the novel is the story of his relationship with three countries and three people who influenced his life deeply: Riccarda, Marco and Marvi. Mehran met the first two characters at university, where he focused on the study of persian poets. None of this characters is at home in Britain, they all have other countries to which they come back, however, they do not feel that they fit there either. The author has chosen to develop the plot over several decades, although he often devotes only a short paragraph to a whole year. In these the reader get quick glimpses at how these central relationships in the life of Mehran are developing, and everything else seems unimportant. All the characters in the book are elusive, mysterious, they are wounded and have a tendency to run away. Howver, they all seem to share a deep regard for Mehran, who tries to remain aloof and untouched, but who is, nevertheless, deeply changed by their feelings. The book seems autobiographical, and the author acknowledges parallelisms with his life, although he claims that he is only writing about how his life might have shaped if he had made different choices from which he did. It is a very well written book, poetic and original. ( )