If These Walls Could Talk – Shaila Abdullah’s debut book opens a window on life as a Pakistani woman

From: http://www.niralimagazine.com/2007/04/if-these-walls-could-talk/

If These Walls Could Talk

Shaila Abdullah’s debut book opens a window on life as a Pakistani woman.

By Nakasha Ahmad, April 1, 2007, Arts

Seven women. Seven choices. Seven lives.

In Beyond the Cayenne Wall, first-time author Shaila Abdullah drops us into the lives of seven Pakistani women, each at a crossroads. But Abdullah isn’t just interested in pulling us into the individual lives of her characters—she also wants to explore what it means to be a Pakistani woman today. “For Pakistani women, the expectations to conform to a certain way of life, the lack of opportunities and mobility for women, and the laws that shape their destiny are real problems.”

Take, for example, Tannu in the collection’s first story, “Amulet for the Caged Dove.” Newly married and infertile, Tannu is forced by her saas (mother-in-law) to pledge her first-born child to the creepy shrine of Shah Daullah—where healthy infants grow up to be mentally disabled chuwas (mice). Or Dhool, from “Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust,” who tries to keep her estranged and greedy husband from marrying off their 11-year-old daughter to a doddering old man.

All of the stories evoke a culture that is foreign to the average Western reader—right down to the names.

 

Abdullah, who lives in Austin, Texas, doesn’t just focus on the stories of village women, compelling though they may be. She’s equally fascinated by the stories of all women from all strata of society—we also encounter educated women and those women who have made lives for themselves abroad.

But no matter the experience, all of the stories evoke a culture that is foreign to the average Western reader—right down to the names. Abdullah laughs as she recalls getting a voice message from a friend, who having finished “Amulet for the Caged Dove,” wanted to know what happened next to “Tuna.”

 

More at the Source

 

 

More Information

[3] Shaila Abdullah Official Web Site
Beyond the Cayenne Wall at [4] Amazon.com

© Copyright 2007 Nirali Magazine