Daylight dims outside my window, as I heave a sigh, I wrap up my work for the day. The electricity bills for this month are higher than they were last month... I take one last look at the screen, hoping for the number to magically change...
***
Zohaib, Misha and Nadia believed they would be in each other's lives forever. As children they played, argued, teased and loved one another. Yet nothing could have prepared them for the tragic turn of events one fateful afternoon in Karachi, Pakistan, when the divisions and differences between them are revealed.
Years later and they are still trying to piece their lives back together, still trying to make sense of what happened. Zohaib is living in London, haunted by the ghosts of the past. Nadia has escaped the household where she first met Misha and Zohaib but finds fate delivering her back to their door…
The Idle Stance of the Tippler Pigeon is a beautifully rendered portrait of love, healing, and long-buried pain, digging deep into the nature of trauma and class division.
***
What a fantastic title to catch a readers eye with.
This is the story of three lives; Misha, Zohaib and Nadia, and the chapters are told from their individual perspectives. There are also occasional chapters narrated by secondary characters. Misha and Zohaib are siblings and Nadia, along with her mother, work as servants in the household of the brother and sister. However, Nadia's position is slightly different to that of most children of her class as she is being educated alongside Misha.
The book moves backwards and forwards through time. Zohaib's chapters are set in present day London where he lives as an adult. Nadia's are also set in the present day in Lahore, but Misha's are set during her childhood in Karachi, Pakistan. This provides for a varied narrative of the three characters and has been extremely well executed. In the beginning I was puzzled by how the three stories were connected to one another, but it does all become clear as the book progresses.
This is a fairly short book but is a very powerful read. It is heartbreaking at times to realise how vast the repercussions that one childhood event had on them. It deals with themes of equality, racism and the issue of class within this one Pakistani household. However, it is also about loss and friendship.
The author is a great storyteller, and not a word of this novel has been wasted. She has carefully constructed a tight narrative and has done so extremely well. It is a character led novel with the plot gently simmering along in the background. It moves along at a fairly slow pace which is essential for this book as it gives the reader the opportunity to soak up the characters themselves.
This will appeal to readers who enjoy literary fiction, and I recommend it.
ISBN: 978 1911107705
Publisher: Neem Tree Press
Formats: Paperback
No. of Pages: 250
About the Author:
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Safinah Danish Elahi is a lawyer, poet, writer, and the founder of an independent publishing house based in Pakistan. Her poetry collection has been critically acclaimed and one of her novels has been commissioned for television. Safinah was selected for the Iowa Writer’s Workshop 2022 Fall Residency and is often on the judging panel for writing competitions across Pakistan.
(book and media courtesy of The Write Reads)
(all opinions are my own)
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