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rockpools
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The best sort of narrative nonfiction. The story of five people, all of whom are firmly rooted in Karachi life and community- an ambulance-driver, a crime reporter, an educator-activist, a mapmaker-surveyor & a housewife. Shackle interviewed/chatted with the five over a period of five years, resulting in deep storytelling of their lives, concerns, hopes and families, amidst the disorder, violence & corruption of the city. ⬇️

rockpools You feel the whole book is coming from a place of respect and admiration for the place and its people.

As an aside, is it weird to fall in love with a city you have no intention of ever going near? (Yes, Rachel, it is. Maybe stop talking about now...) Years ago, I fell for Karachi reading Kamila Shamsie‘s Kartography. Despite the horrors (there are a lot of horrors in this book), Karachi Vice hasn‘t managed to shake that from me.
3y
rockpools Oh, and because I haven‘t used enough hashtags, this is my 2nd book for #NutsInMay. @Andrew65 3y
See All 11 Comments
Andrew65 Great 👏👏👏 3y
Librarybelle Sounds great! 3y
Megabooks Stacked! 3y
Cinfhen This really sounds GREAT!! #stacked 3y
BarbaraBB This really sounds good. Also because I share your fascination for Karachi. I have been there once but haven‘t read Kartography. I must read that since I‘ve loved other books by Shamsie. 3y
rockpools @BarbaraBB I‘m not sure if it was her first novel, certainly a very early one, so different to her more well-known ones. Teenagers in 1980s Karachi, a very different time, I think. And wow, how was it? Were you there long? 3y
BarbaraBB I was in Pakistan in 2000. A few days in Karachi. It was intense. So much violence and poverty on one side and so much beauty and extremely nice people on the other. It made a big impression and I‘ve meant to return ever since. 3y
rockpools @BarbaraBB ❤️ That description is really how the city comes across in Karachi Vice. But yes, intense sounds like the word. 3y
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