A haunting literary debut set in the forbidding remote tribal areas of pakistan and afghanistan. Traditions that have lasted for centuries, both brutal and beautiful, create a rigid structure for life in the wild, astonishing place where iran, pakistan, and afghanistan meetthe federally administered tribal areas fata. According to the bio at fishpond, jamil ahmad is a former civil servant who worked in the frontier provinces of pakistan and also in pakistans embassy in kabul before and during the soviet occupation of afghanistan. In jamil ahmad s debut novel, the wandering falcon, a father explains to his son, after hearing devastating news, one lives and survives only if one has the ability to swallow and digest bitter. Though his body of work was small and limited to one book, the wandering falcon and a short story, the sins of the mother, he is considered as a major writer among pakistani writers of english fiction. Ahmad s debut novel, the wandering falcon, reaches the hands of readers worldwide because of a similar rescue. In the wandering falcon isbn 978 1594488276, 80yearold jamil ahmad provides a deeply moving account of tribal life in afghanistan and pakistan, while telling the story of a young man, tor baz, who was born into, and grew up in, an extremely difficult situation. The wandering falcon the wandering falcon is a collection of short fiction from jamil ahmad. Discover book depositorys huge selection of jamil ahmad books online. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the wandering falcon.
If any of you follow my goodreads feed, you may have noticed that i left a comment wondering if the wandering falcon had a plot. The wandering falcon palm beach county library system. He was also development commissioner for the frontier and chairman of the tribal development corporation, and was posted as minister in pakistans embassy in kabul at a critical time, before and during the soviet occupation of afghanistan. Yet in these pages, eightyyearold debut author jamil ahmad lyrically and insightfully reveals the people who populate those lands, their tribes and traditions. He joined the civil service of pakistan in 1954 and served mainly in the frontier province and baluchistan. Thats because the wandering falcon is not a book about characters, or plot, or inner conflict, or character growth.
The wandering falcon by pakistani author jamil ahmad is a collection of interlinked stories that are set in the remote tribal lands along the pakistanafghan border. In the wandering falcon, this highly traditional, honourbound culture is revealed from the inside for the first time. In this collection of interconnected stories, we get an unflinching glimpse at the lives of the people who live along the border between afghanistan and pakistan. J amil ahmad, a pakistani civil servant, began his career in baluchistan in the 1950s. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Buy the wandering falcon book online at low prices in. Like the landscape itself, the characters portrayed in these short stories are desolate, crude, unyielding and grotesque in their own way. Their son, tor baz, descended from both chiefs and outlaws, becomes the wandering falcon, a character who travels. The wandering falcon is a story about the nomadic people of the middle east and asia. The wandering falcon by jamil ahmad, paperback barnes.
Yet in these pages, eightyyearold debut author jamil ahmad. Buy this book to the nomadic tribes inhabiting the fata federally administered tribal lands, a harsh border. According to the bio at fishpond, jamil ahmad is a former civil servant who worked in the frontier provinces of pakistan and also in pakistans embassy in. With the unfolding of events in india over debates about nationalism, jamil ahmad s book, the wandering falcon, made me think all over again about our uncritical veneration of nationalism.
The wandering falcon by jamil ahmad is a story about a people, not a character. He joined the civil service of pakistan in 1954 and served mainly in the frontier. In pakistan honor is a multidimensional term that incorporates familial adm iration izzat and. The stories are finely crafted and follow arcs that are unpredictable and hover between comic and tragic. Wandering falcon describes pakistans tribal areas jamil ahmad spent decades as a civil servant in the northwest tribal regions of pakistan. The wandering falcon, by jamil ahmad the independent. Most civil servants posted to such a remote area as. The wandering falcon by ahmad, jamil, 1933publication date 2011 topics nomads fiction, pakistan fiction, afghanistan fiction publisher new york. Ahmad sketches out the world where tor baz comes of age a world of deep poverty, of everpresent violence, of dying nomadic ways, of fears of a barely understood outside world, of wandering mullahs and indifferent bureaucrats. Jamil ahmad was one of the few english writers of pakistani origin to have garnered attention outside his country. He offers rare insight into the remote regions of pakistanthe tribal belts. The wandering falcon is jamil ahmad s harsh and beautiful portrait of a tribal landscape.
Two years later, jamil ahmad made his debut as the 78yearold writer of the wandering falcon, one of the finest collections of short stories to come out of south asia in decades. Jamil ahmad is a storyteller in the classic sense there is an authenticity and wisdom to his writing that harkens back to another time. It is a formidable world, and the people who live there are constantly. It is a story about pakistan, afghanistan, iran, and how their tribal people survive through wars and living on barren mountains. A haunting literary debut set in the forbidding remote tribal.
Steve inskeep says jamil ahmads novel the wandering falcon presents a compelling. In this extraordinary story, tor baz, the young boy who becomes the wandering falcon, moves between the tribes of pakistan and afghanistan and their uncertain worlds full of brutality, humanity, deep love, honor, poverty, and grace. The wandering falcon kindle edition by ahmad, jamil. With rare tenderness and perception, jamil ahmad describes a world of custom and cruelty, of love and gentleness, of hardship and survival. About the wandering falcon for readers of khaled hosseini, daniyal mueenuddin, and mohsin hamid, a story set among the mountain tribes of pakistan and afghanistan. Shortlisted for the man asian prize 2011 longlisted for the dsc south asian prize 20 the boy known as tor baz the black falcon wanders the. Jamil ahmad, the wandering falcon jamil ahmed is a talented writer and a gifted storyteller. The stories all concern the life of these tribal people and are linked by one character who weaves in and out of most of the stories. The wandering falcon is jamil ahmad s harsh and beautiful portrait of a tribal landscape shortlisted for the man asian prize 2011. The wandering falcon by jamil ahmad original price. Jamil ahmad s collection of stories from pakistan illuminates the harsh codes of the tribal lands. Book to screen in the news video interviews fully booked podcast. The region he travelsthe federally administered tribal areahas become a political quagmire known for terrorism and inaccessibility.