The Plague Upon Us . By Shabir Ahmad Mir.

 

Spoiler: No

Recommend: yes, for the style of writing, and also to get a perspective into life in our own country.

Each time I visit India I pick up random Indian authors. Generally without reading reviews in search for variety and something different. This is the second book from my Feb visit.

The book left me feeling unsettled. The narration style was different and made it impossible to keep the book down. I ended up reading it in one sitting. But the book ended up being open ended. I don’t like open ended books. I like there to be a logical ending. However, it was a befitting ending. The other reason this left me unsettled was the shady portrayal of army.

The story is based in Kashmir and takes you through the life of 4 characters who grew up together. Oubaid - the son of the shepherd related to the Puj and part Zaeldar, Tufail - son of the Zaeldar, Sabia - daughter of Puj, and Muzaffar - son of a journalist.

The story reveals the deals people make that make them all accomplices to the state of the valley. And the impacts of these deals. There are no true heroes or true villains. 

The story is not one story, but 4. The same story told through the four characters and each uncovering a missing detail, or a different perspective. And once you realize that, you want to read through all the perspectives to try and piece the real story together. Each story revealing an act that had an impact.

The stories are sad, brutal and unsettling. But nonetheless stories that have been part of the valley.

I don’t re-read books but might need to re-read this to make more sense of it.