{"product_id":"the-book-of-gold-leaves-9780241970829","title":"The Book Of Gold Leaves","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMirza Waheed was born and brought up in Kashmir. His debut novel\u003ci\u003e The Collaborator\u003c\/i\u003e was shortlisted for the \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e First Book Award and the Shakti Bhat Prize, and longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize. It was also book of the year for the \u003ci\u003eTelegraph\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNew Statesman\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBusiness Standard\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eTelegraph India\u003c\/i\u003e. Waheed has written for the BBC, the \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGranta\u003c\/i\u003e, Al Jazeera English and \u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives in London.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA haunting illustration\u003c\/b\u003e of how, at the end of last century, normal life became impossible for many of those who call Kashmir home . . . \u003cb\u003eWaheed's talent lies in the vivid, convincing detail he brings to descriptions of everyday lives\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003cb\u003e The careful meshing of domestic intimacy with political events is done deftly, with integrity.\u003c\/b\u003e Like his great-grandfather's gold painting, Waheed's work will undoubtedly endure * Financial Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWaheed \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ewrites about war with a devastating and unflinching calm, with the melancholy wisdom of someone attuned to but never hardened by its horrors\u003c\/b\u003e . . . \u003cb\u003eHe \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ehas a formidable insight into his large cast of characters\u003c\/b\u003e, from the elegant grief-stricken principal of the girls' school taken over by Indian officers to the spoilt boy-turned-insurgent who betrays his own father * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA harrowing tale of love in a time of conflict and change\u003c\/b\u003e . . . The language in this book is lyrical, indeed at times it seems to be poetry masquerading as prose. \u003ci\u003eThe Book of Gold Leaves\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003cb\u003ethe sort of book one can read and re-read - and then read again\u003c\/b\u003e * News on Sunday *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA dazzling and heart-breaking story \u003c\/b\u003eset in war-torn Kashmir - \u003cb\u003eessential reading\u003c\/b\u003e * Stylist *\u003cbr\u003eWaheed writes about Kashmir with compassion, not anger . . . [and] one finds a strange and terrible beauty. \u003cb\u003eThere are no heroes or villains in this exquisite book, just a palpable grief for what might have been\u003c\/b\u003e * India Today, 'Books of the Year' *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA beautifully told and finely choreographed story of love, art and conflict in Kashmir\u003c\/b\u003e -- Kamila Shamsie * Guardian, Books of the Year *\u003cbr\u003eWaheed's new novel returns to 1990s Kashmir. If \u003ci\u003eThe Collaborator\u003c\/i\u003e was journalistic in its zeal to explain Kashmir . . . [here] \u003cb\u003ewhat keeps you reading is the story\u003c\/b\u003e. He relies on family dynamics to drive the action . . . it's ultimately \u003cb\u003ehow the novel accounts for the moral toll of war\u003c\/b\u003e * Sunday Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePoetic and political with a warm sensuousness, \u003ci\u003eThe Book of Gold Leaves\u003c\/i\u003e is the year's best book.\u003c\/b\u003e As beautifully written as the paintings on papier mache that one of its central characters executes, this fine examination of the Kashmiri condition through \u003cb\u003ea Sunni-Shia love story leaves the reader both wretched and transformed, and brings us to a greater understanding of the fragility of love in a harsh climate\u003c\/b\u003e * Hindustan Times, 'Books of the Year' *\u003cbr\u003eLike the gold leaves of the book's title, Waheed's prose is like pixie dust, sprinkled all over a city of heartbreak and despair. \u003cb\u003eIt is a city that has found in Waheed, the great-grandson of a much-admired papier-mache artist, its truest troubadour.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eRead him and weep.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Kaveree Bamzai * India Today *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA romance set against the backdrop of unrest in the Kashmiri valley\u003c\/b\u003e in the 1990s, Waheed's second novel \u003cb\u003eexplores the reasons behind young men taking to bloodshed\u003c\/b\u003e * Scroll India, 'Books of the Year' *","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52090667598167,"sku":"9780241970829","price":14.39,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780241970829.jpg?v=1762273006","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-book-of-gold-leaves-9780241970829","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}