The Review

I’ve heard quite a bit of praise about this debut novel from Ali Sethi. I admittedly had high expectations for this novel based on my love of the assumed similar novels The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. Like these two novels, Sethi has written a book about living a live in a country undergoing turmoil and political unrest. However, this story is much different than those written by Khaled Hosseini.

There were parts of this novel that I found to be intriguing and enlightening. I did feel a greater sense of understanding about what has transpired in Pakistan’s recent history. Political activities and religious influences have caused great effects on the country’s people and culture, specifically on the women of Pakistan and the rights they were afforded. Zaki, the main character, is surrounded by the women in has family in such a great way that he was sensitive to human nature and rights. Zaki was a bright young boy and a deeply introspective thinker and saw the inequality that surrounded him. The reader of this novel comes to sympathize for Zaki and his wishes for a better life, not only for himself but for those who he loves.

What made this novel a difficult read was the structure in which this book was written. There is inconsistency in the storyline which tells the histories of the characters involved. Specifically, the timeline of the story is visited at different intervals of the characters’ lives. Therefore, it takes the reader some time to understand where he is at in the story and whose history he is reading about. This, in addition to the numerous characters with ethnic names, made it challenging for me to follow. The “back and forth” in the story line works for some novels, but for this particular read, I would have recommended a beginning to end method of story telling by starting with the Grandmother’s life through the ending.

Another hurdle that I faced was the language barrier and method of communication, or lack thereof, between the characters. I didn’t find their prose intriguing enough. Much is learned in the overall story telling, however it is effortful to understand their psyches.

One thing that I took away from this novel is the ultimate peace and joy that I was born a citizen of such a remarkable and wonderful country. I live in a land that is not dominated by religious insistence. I breathe and speak in a country in which I am entitled to my opinion and may speak of it as freely as I wish. As a woman, I fear that I never take for granted the liberties and equality that I enjoy in my daily existence. This is not the case in so much of our world… today and yesterday.

On Sher’s “Out of Ten Scale:”

The motto of one of Zaki’s schools was “I think and therefore I am.” I can appreciate this novel for making me think about and question the inequalities of this world. As far as providing a recommendation, I struggle with that. This book is not for everybody. Of that, I am certain. If the history of this region intrigues you and you are interested in learning more about growing up in Pakistan, this book will be one that you will certainly enjoy. However, for me it was a book that took me considerable time to read and absorb. I felt weighted down by its topic with little hope for the characters. With the stack of novels that awaited my eyes, I felt resentfully trapped in such a sad tale. Therefore, for the genre Fiction:Historical (Foreign), I am going to rate this book a 5 OUT OF 10. However, please note that the average rating on Amazon.com is 3 1/2 stars with nearly every reviewer giving it 4 stars. So, this rating may be specific to my reading interests. ( )

This is the story of a young Pakistani boy, Zaki Shirazi, being raised by his widowed mother who publishes a women's magazine. They live with his paternal grandmother who is also raising her niece, Samar Api. The story begins with Zaki's arrival in Pakistan for Samar Api's wedding, then reverts to his mother's youth and works it's way back to the wedding at the end.

This story kept me engaged, and I enjoyed it very much. However, until the middle of the 4th chapter (almost 100 pages in), I was thoroughly confused. The 2nd & 3rd chapters jumped around too much, and there were a lot of conversations in Pakistani (is that what the language is?) that were neither translated, nor discernible by context. But Sethi hit his stride in Chapter 4 with stories of 3 generations coming of age in Pakistan.

To my shame, I had little knowledge of Pakistan's history before I read this. I still had little knowledge after, because historical incidents were alluded to in family conversations & actions, but not explained outright. The book did send me off for a history lesson, though, and that may have been the point.

All in all, an enjoyable and definitely recommended book! ( )

Read Ali Sethi’s The Wishmaker more for a very detailed glimpse of life in modern day Pakistan, and less for a textbook representation of plot progression. The book centers on a family, and opens with preparations for a wedding. During the course of the novel we are given many stories surrounding the family and its members. The story is narrated through the eyes of college graduate Zaki, but it becomes clear that the heart of the family is its strong women.

This was my first dose of Pakistani literature, and overall I was fascinated by the elements of cultural in particular the influence of traditional Islamic values and how they clashed with the metropolitan city of Lahore. I admit, at times it was confusing, keeping the characters straight and not getting lost amongst the dozens of subplots. The Wishmaker is a lot to take in, but it is a unique and successful depiction of the evolution of today’s Pakistani lifestyle—an impressive debut. ( )

The Wish Maker, by Ali Sethi, is a coming-of-age tale set in contemporary Pakistan. I read the book with sustained pleasure because I have an active interest in learning more about Pakistan, its history, culture, and the great diversity of its people. In retirement, I've taken college-level courses about Pakistan and read at least a dozen modern novels written by Pakistanis. This novel did not disappoint: it gave me a very vivid portrait of life in modern Lahore. Unfortunately, the book has one significant flaw: there is precious little tension pulling the plot along toward a satisfactory conclusion. Instead, the author gives us countless details into the lives of his many characters—details that continue to build character or cultural background, but fail to take the plot in any solid direction.

The main character in this novel is Zaki Shirazi. We first meet him as a young college student returning from his studies in the United States to Pakistan to attend the wedding of his very close older female cousin, Samar Api. Following this opening chapter, the novel takes us backwards in time and progresses chronologically, following Zaki's life from the time when he was 12 years of age to the present day, when he is once again at his cousin's wedding. There are numerous points in the chronological story when the author takes long historical diversions in order to tell us about significant parts of the family's back story.

Zaki's story is unique because he grows up in a family of very strong, intelligent, and capable women. The grandmother is a career journalist who makes an entrepreneurial success out of starting and managing her own woman-centered magazine. Zaki's mother also takes up the journalism trade and assists with the family's magazine. The grandmother, Zaki's mother, and Zaki all live close together in modern cosmopolitan Lahore. However, Zaki's aunt, the mother of Zaki's cousin, Samar, is a completely different story, and it is this difference that provides the main tension for the plot. Zaki's Aunt Chhoti marries into a very rich and religiously traditional landowning family in rural Barampur. As a result, she lives in strict Islamic purdah. Chhoti has one child, a beautiful girl named Samar. When Samar grows to school age, the mother manages to convince her orthodox family to let the girl go live with her grandmother, aunt (Zaki's mother), and cousin (Zaki) in Lahore in order to get a better education than could be obtained in rural Barampur. Unfortunately, the girl starts mixing with a wild and racy group of friends and ends up deeply wounding her Barampur family's honor.

This is a very subtle and lovely tale—a story that offers a true slice of authentic modern Pakistani life. The writing is capable and fresh, but I would have preferred it if the author had cut at least a hundred pages from this work. Even for me, a reader who loves to learn about Pakistani culture, there were just far too many digressive storylines that provided cultural color and depth, but did not add to the plot.

I recommend this work for anyone interested in contemporary Pakistan. ( )